Smart Meetings

Known as the Festival City, Edmonton hosts more than 20 major festivals throughout the year, including the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, the International Fringe Theatre Festival, the Canadian Finals Rodeo, and the Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival, North America’s largest cross-country ski marathon. For excellent general information about Edmonton, talk to Edmonton Tourism (edmonton.com), which has a team to serve meeting planners.

Edmonton has several large meetings facilities. With more than 450,000 sq. ft. of gathering space, Northlands Park (northlands.com) is Western Canada's largest exhibition facility; it is connected by Light Rail Transit to downtown.

Located downtown, the Shaw Conference Centre (shawconferencecentre.com) has 150,000 sq. ft. of meeting and exhibit space; more than 1,200 hotel guest rooms are located within four blocks. This last spring, the center opened its new Hall D, a 27,000 square-foot events facility with a massive wall of glass with views over the city. The first major addition to the Shaw Conference Centre since it opened in 1983, the hall adds 26,900 sq. ft.

The dazzling TELUS Centre for Professional Development (uofaweb.ualberta.ca/conferenceservices/) operated by the University of Alberta, is a specially designed training center, with high-tech rooms for webinars, video conferencing and other business meetings. The University of Alberta Conference Centre ( hfs.ualberta.ca/) has numerous other meeting facilities.

The Royal Alberta Museum (www.pma.edmonton.ab.ca) can host up to 200 guests for a sit-down dinner or 12 to 1,000 people for a cocktail event. The museum has 400-seat theater that is equipped for video conferencing. Also downtown, the Citadel Theatre (citadeltheatre.com), home of one of Canada's most acclaimed theater companies, can seat up to 700 people for a function. The Francis Winspear Centre for Music (winspearcentre.com), a world-class concert hall, can accommodate up to 2,000 people for meetings and events. The four climate-controlled glass pyramids at the Muttart Conservatory (edmonton.ca; look under “attractions”) house tropical, temperate, desert and show gardens; they also can provide space for functions.

Fort Edmonton Park (edmonton.ca/fort), Canada’s largest historic park, has summertime catering facilities available for up to 1,000 people. Just opened this year is the historical reproduction of the 1920s Midway and Exhibition, which includes a carousel with 32 carved and hand-painted horses. A reproduction of the 20s-era Hotel Selkirk has 30 private guest rooms and a 70-seat dining room .

Last, but certainly not least, is the West Edmonton Mall (westedmontonmall.com) is Canada’s answer to the Mall of America. It was, until recently, the world's largest entertainment and shopping complex and indoor amusement center (a title taken by the Mall of Arabia in Dubai). If you’re ready to send your group to romp in World Waterpark or Galaxyland, the Mall can accommodate up to 2,000 at a time. Two hotels operate in the mall.

For the small group, Alberta has a variety of interesting aboriginal experiences. At Eagle Spirit Cultural Experience (eagle-spirit.ca), guests can participate in a “smudging ceremony,” with traditional native chants and drumming, visit a sweat lodge and journey to discover their spirit animal.

Other activities available in the province include tepee camping and overnight canoe trips with Edmonton Canoe (  edmontoncanoe.com), which offers guided and unguided trips on remote rivers. Outings can be arranged for groups of up to 40 paddlers. See buffalospirit.ca for other ways to experience Alberta’s native culture.

The area north of Edmonton also has another unusual advantage: “In the wintertime, the area is very popular for viewing the northern lights. People can book a three-night package, and at nighttime they’ll view the aurora borealis, and they’ll do aboriginal activities by day,” says Belsher of Travel Alberta International. For more information, contact Altacan Tours (altacan.ab.ca).

Getting There

Edmonton International Airport (edmontonairports.com) serves as a travel hub for all of Alberta, and is one of Canada's busiest airports. A Sky Shuttle provides frequent service between the airport and downtown and other parts of town.

Edmonton Transit System (ETS; takeETS.com) is also an efficient option.

Calgary International Airport (calgaryairport.com) is about 20 minutes from the city center. Once on the ground, getting around is easy via Calgary's Light Rail Transit (calgarytransit.com).