Nikita Zadorov just lost the series for the Canucks.....with his mouth

Here's why Zadorov is wrong.

I've lived in Edmonton for most of my adult life, so I think I'm a pretty good authority about what it's like to live in this city. Zadorov's comments couldn't be further from the truth.

For starters, there's all the festivals that take place in Edmonton, especially in the summer. There's a reason why Edmonton is nicknamed Festival City, because in the summer - as has been the case for many years - there's a festival going on pretty much every week.

There's The Works for those who enjoy art, Cariwest, the Fringe Festival - which FYI is the second largest Fringe Festival in the world (only the Fringe festival in Edinburgh, Scotland is bigger), Folk Fest (which I'm always well aware of when it is because I live in the neighborhood next to it's venue and during those three days there isn't a parking spot to be had in the neighborhood), The Heritage Festival, and of course the highest profile one in K Days, when a nice "sub-event" also takes place - A Taste of Edmonton.

Even a lot of winter festivals have come online in recent years, an example being Ice on Whyte and a smaller version of Quebec's Winter Carnival taking place in La Cite Francophonie, for any Quebec ex-pats in the area or those wanting a taste of French Canadian culture.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. How about all the tourist attractions around the City? West Edmonton Mall (which contains Galaxyland), Chinatown, the Muttart Conservatory, Fort Edmonton Park, the John Janzen Nature center, the Edmonton Valley Zoo, Prince of Wales Armories, The John Walter Museum, and The City Arts Center, which is always putting on artistic events of every flavor you can think of. In the suburbs Millennium Place in Sherwood Park and the Arden Theater in St. Albert are hopping as well.

Are you looking for cultural events? No problem. Edmonton has you covered there too - The Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton Opera, Alberta Ballet, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Servus Theater, and the Art Gallery of Alberta are all at your disposal.

If you're looking for getting outside, the city has a large network of walking and biking trails - especially in the river valley, too many public parks to mention, public and private gyms to get a workout in, dog parks, spray parks, playgrounds, golf courses, driving ranges, mini golf courses, indoor and outdoor arenas, ski hills, campgrounds, and frisbee golf courses located all over the city. There are amateur sports leagues you can involved in all over the city of any flavour imaginable.

There are all kinds of smaller theaters and performance spaces around the city which help to support it's thriving arts scene - which includes live theater, improv theatre, art galleries (especially on 124 street), comics, poetry readings, and musical performances both large and small. Fun fact - the Oilers home in Rogers Place was built to also accommodate large concerts so Edmonton is and has been for some time, a hub of concerts which always seem to be taking place at RP.

Then there's also the thriving restaurant scene - everything from diners to fast food to every kind of ethnic food you can think of, not to mention all the food trucks that have popped up in and around Edmonton over the last five years or so. There's also a huge variety of pubs, bars, and craft breweries that have popped up recently too.

Edmonton is also home to a world renowned bakery in the Duchess Bake Shop, with locations in downtown and the south side. Edmonton is known for it's green onion cakes and donairs, in particular. I already mentioned all the entertainment districts in Edmonton.

If sports is what you're into besides the Oilers, there's also the Oil Kings, AJHL teams in Sherwood Park and Spruce Grove, the Edmonton Elks, the Edmonton Stingers, and Edmonton FC.

So when Zadorov says there's "pretty much nothing to do" he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. Just because Edmonton isn't a pretentious playground for the rich like Toronto, Vancouver, New York, LA, or to a lesser extent Calgary, it doesn't mean there's nothing to do. Perhaps Zadorov needs to move here for awhile before he spouts off about there being nothing to do.

Recent Posts