Review by Caitlin Stratton
From November until early January, I consume as much Christmas cheer as humanly possible. My love for anything Christmas brought me to the Edmonton Christmas Market this year for shopping and holiday fun.
The Edmonton Christmas Market is held at Fort Edmonton Park, Thursday through Sunday, from November 30th to December 17th. Over 100 rotating vendors are featured, changing each weekend, with various items to help with holiday shopping. The website lists the vendor categories for each weekend, which have options including jewelry, alcohol, apparel, games, art, soap, and so much more. I found there were some very niche options, such as custom crib board pegs and LEGO ornament-building kits created by a local Lego Master.
As well as having four different market locations around the park, there are many activities mixed in that kept my mother and me busy. There are streetcar and carousel rides, photo opportunities, live music, and movies in the Capitol Theatre. Some events are ticketed, and some are included with admission; a breakdown of prices can be found in the picture below.
I went to the market on the first night, November 30, which also happened to be one of the coldest nights in Edmonton yet this holiday season. It was about -10 degrees as my mother and I perused the market and activities. Luckily, the park had many indoor spaces and fire pits to warm up, so we never felt too chilled by the weather. I found the map easy to follow, and the park was wheelchair and stroller accessible on paved sidewalks. We arrived around 7 p.m. and found the park to be relatively quiet. There was no line to check in for tickets, and rarely was there a wait to speak with vendors at each table/booth.
My mom and I followed the numbers in order around the market
photo Caitlin Stratton
We decided to follow the map in order and began at the Train Station market, which was a warm indoor space filled with goodies like socks, board games, and soaps. My mother had been searching for a cheese board with a particularly cheesy saying earlier in the week, but I told her to hold off on ordering online because we would be attending the market. Behold, the very first table we looked at had cheese boards, and one had the saying she had been looking at online – for half the price ($40)! It read, ‘sweet dreams are made of cheese, who am I to dis a brie’, so we knew she had to get that one right away.
We then headed to the Midway section, which had many food options and alcohol booths packed with samples we enjoyed. The hot cider we tried from True North Cider Company was especially lovely on a chilly night, as this portion of the park is mainly outside. Bakenary Pastries also caught our attention with their adorable holiday macarons. My mother is celiac, and macarons are the one naturally gluten-free dessert she loves, so we picked up a box (6 for $23). After trying them when we got home, I can confirm they were just as delicious as they were cute, and the flavours were so well paired. We both really liked the raspberry pistachio one.
Table Top Café had a great selection of board games in this market. I picked up a card game called Red Flags to play with friends over the holidays ($35).
photo Caitlin Stratton
The Midway also has food trucks and a food tent with plenty of picnic tables and live music to enjoy a burger from Woodshed Burgers or some pad thai from Kin-D Thai. There is also an indoor dining option at Hotel Selkirk for a sit-down-style restaurant serving Woodshed Burgers for those who want to eat inside.
Next, we walked down the 1920 Street market, which had light tunnels between stops for a great holiday photo opportunity. My mother and I snapped some Instagram pictures among the lights. Some market booths lined the side of the street, but nothing caught our eye to stop here. Bill’s Confectionery at the end of the lane had some indoor live rock/folk music by Rob Taylor Project.
The larger indoor Market Hall was our last stop of the evening. Inside a warehouse-type building were most of the vendors arranged in a grid for easy shopping. It was very warm inside, and full of smiling local artisans and holiday shoppers. I definitely enjoyed the break from outside, and my mother and I shopped even more. We sampled some cranberry chicken sausage from Fuge Sausage, and mandarin orange and cranberry gin from Burwood Distillery. The gin was my favourite, so we bought a bottle to take home for some Christmas cocktails. The vendor told us it pairs well with some prosecco and soda water.
photo Caitlin Stratton
The space was easy to move around row by row and wasn’t incredibly loud. However, the tables were quite close together, so it was hard to determine who was selling what at times. Every vendor was very friendly and welcomed us to look at their goods, even if we didn’t purchase them. I really enjoyed hearing some of their stories about how they came to sell or make what they did.
One vendor told us about the coffee that she makes from her family’s farm in Colombia. Another vendor told us about her homemade spice rubs, and which ones her family likes best. She recommended the ‘Sassy’ mix, which is described as bold and cheeky, and her son loves the ‘Ransom mix’, which is described as maple chipotle, from the company TM Spice Co. Another vendor selling Lego ornament kits told us about how his friend, Sam, made the kits and was competing in the current season of Lego Masters as part of the only team from Edmonton on the show! We bought both spice rubs ($6 each) and two Lego ornament kits ($10 each).
The Edmonton Christmas Market was a wonderful holiday evening out. Though we probably spent too much money, my mother and I had the best time walking through the market spaces, tasting different yummy things, and getting into the holiday spirit. We loved being able to support local this year for some of our gifts and we will definitely be back next year for some more Christmas fun.
Edmonton Christmas Market
website
Fort Edmonton Park
7000 143 St. NW, Edmonton, AB
Nov. 30 – Dec. 17 (Thursday-Sunday)
Hours: Thursday 3 pm – 9 pm, Friday 3 pm – 10 pm, Saturday noon – 10 pm, Sunday noon – 8 pm
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