It is Thanksgiving weekend, the Canadian Finals Rodeo wraps up at Rogers Place on Saturday with a free country expo and a ranch rodeo running at the Expo Centre, Chinatown throws its last night market of the year, and the Halloween season opens properly: pumpkins at Borden Park, haunts at Fort Edmonton, a free Halloween house in the north end and ghost tours on Whyte every night. Three days for most of it, four if you count the Monday.
The Oilers and the Elks are both on the road, so the big-ticket weekend is the rodeo. If you are hosting dinner, the turkey-to-go list has pickup windows through Monday, and the what is open on Thanksgiving Monday guide covers transit, grocery stores and what you are owed if you work.
Fifteen things worth doing in Edmonton over the long weekend, with times, addresses and what each one costs.
Canadian Finals Rodeo, final performances
Sports
The CFR runs Wednesday through Saturday at Rogers Place this year, so Friday and Saturday are the last chances to see the national championship decided in person: bareback, saddle bronc, bull riding, barrel racing, the whole card, with the season titles on the line in the final go-rounds. Tickets for the closing performances are the hardest to get and the best seats go first, so buy before you drive down. The arena is on the LRT at MacEwan station, which beats downtown parking on a rodeo night.
When: Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10 (CFR runs October 7 to 10)
Where: Rogers Place, 10220 104 Avenue NW
Cost: Ticketed, see cfr.ca
Cinch Canadian Country Expo
Free
The daytime half of CFR Week, and it is free all six days. The Expo Centre fills with western vendors, a youth rodeo, competitions running across several arenas and family programming, so it works as an afternoon out whether or not you have rodeo tickets for the evening. Sunday is the final day and the one with the ranch rodeo (below). On-site parking is at the Expo Centre; it fills early on the Saturday.
When: Through Sunday, October 11, daily
Where: Edmonton Expo Centre, 7515 118 Avenue NW
Cost: Free (select events ticketed)
Heritage Ranch Rodeo
Sports
The Sunday afternoon closer for CFR Week, and the better value if you only buy one rodeo ticket: working ranch teams competing in the events that actual ranching is built on, in the Expo Arena, for well under half the price of a Rogers Place seat. It is also the most kid-friendly rodeo of the week, with a 1:30 p.m. start and done before dinner.
When: Sunday, October 11, 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Where: Expo Arena, Edmonton Expo Centre, 7515 118 Avenue NW
Cost: From about $17.55 plus fees
Chinatown After Dark, last one of the year
Market
The monthly night market on 98 Street has its October edition on Saturday, the fifth and final one of the 2026 run: food stalls, seating in the alley, crafts, entertainment and the most alive Chinatown feels all year. It is free to walk in and it goes until 11. Eat there rather than before; the stalls are the point. Dress warm, it is October and it is outdoors.
When: Saturday, October 10, 6 to 11 p.m.
Where: 10640 98 Street NW
Cost: Free
Spook Fest Halloween Night Market
Market
A Halloween night market with more than 90 vendors inside the Alberta Aviation Museum hangar, with costumed characters wandering the floor, a photo booth, a flash-tattoo bar and hourly giveaways. It is the second year for this one and it was busy last time; go at 4 when it opens if you want to shop without a crowd, or after 7 if you want the atmosphere. Register on Eventbrite before you go.
When: Saturday, October 10, 4 to 9 p.m.
Where: Alberta Aviation Museum, 11410 Kingsway NW
Cost: Free entry, registration on Eventbrite
Rubaboo Indigenous Arts Festival, closing weekend
Culture
Dreamspeakers' 17th Rubaboo festival, themed You Are Loved, wraps up on Sunday after a two-week run of theatre, comedy, literary events, visual art and workshops across downtown venues. Most of the programming is free or pay-what-you-can. Check the schedule for the final weekend's events before you go, because the venues change from night to night.
When: Through Sunday, October 11
Where: Various venues, see schedule
Cost: Free or pay-what-you-can for most events
Murder on the Orient Express, final weekend
Culture
The Citadel's season-opening Agatha Christie closes on Sunday, so this is the last weekend to catch Poirot on the train. It is the kind of show that works for a mixed group, teenagers included, and the closing-weekend performances are the ones with the leftover seats, so check the box office for singles. The Citadel is closed on Thanksgiving Monday.
When: Through Sunday, October 11
Where: Citadel Theatre, 9828 101A Avenue NW
Cost: From about $40
Hedda Gabler at Studio Theatre, opening weekend
Culture
The U of A's Studio Theatre opens its season with Ibsen's Hedda Gabler in the Patrick Marber version, at the Timms Centre on campus: opening night is Friday at 7:30, with another performance Saturday at 7:30, and the run continues to October 17. Studio Theatre is the best theatre bargain in the city, with regular tickets in the $15 to $25 range and the preview and matinee performances usually half that.
When: Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10, 7:30 p.m. (runs to October 17)
Where: Timms Centre for the Arts, 87 Avenue and 112 Street NW
Cost: About $15 to $25
Pumpkins After Dark
Family
The walk-through trail of thousands of hand-carved, lit pumpkins at Borden Park is in its third weekend and it is the no-scares Halloween outing for small kids: carving demonstrations, food trucks, and a route you can push a stroller around. Entry is time-slotted, so book the slot you actually want; the early ones go first on a long weekend. Parking is at the Expo Centre next door and costs $16.50, which is worth budgeting for.
When: Through October 31, evenings
Where: Borden Park, 1020 75A Street NW (parking at the Edmonton Expo Centre)
Cost: From about $17, timed entry
DARK at Fort Edmonton Park
Halloween
Edmonton's biggest haunted festival takes over Fort Edmonton Park for the month: three returning haunts, a new one called Camp Ski' 83, two scare zones, local food and the 1920s midway at night. This is the grown-up end of Halloween, the one with real jump scares, so leave the little kids at Pumpkins After Dark. Gates open at 6:30 and the haunts run 7 to 11 on event nights; general admission is $50 and the $80 fast pass is worth it on a Saturday, when the lines for the haunts are the longest of the week.
When: Select nights through October 31; gates 6:30 p.m., haunts 7 to 11 p.m.
Where: Fort Edmonton Park, 7000 143 Street NW
Cost: $50 general admission, $80 with fast pass, plus fees and GST
The Nightmare Before Christmas at Maisie's Magical House
Free
The north-end house that goes all out for Christmas has turned itself into a free walk-through Halloween display for October: illuminated decorations, skeletons, Halloween characters on selected evenings and plenty of spots for a family photo. It is a residential street, so park considerately and keep it to a quick visit after dark. Admission is free; the household collects donations for the Second Chance Animal Rescue Society, so bring a few dollars.
When: Evenings through November 1
Where: 9619 144 Avenue NW
Cost: Free, donations to SCARS welcome
Haunted Pumpkin Festival at Prairie Gardens
Family
Prairie Gardens in Bon Accord, half an hour north of the city, runs its Haunted Pumpkin Festival every weekend in October: the pumpkin patch, a pumpkin cannon, farm activities and a not-too-scary haunted setup that has been an area tradition for three decades. It is a full afternoon, it is outdoors, and it is the long weekend, so go in the morning before the parking field fills. Admission starts around $15, with packages above that.
When: Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11 (every weekend in October)
Where: Prairie Gardens and Adventure Farm, 56311 Lily Lake Road, Bon Accord
Cost: From about $15
Edmonton Ghost Tours in Old Strathcona
Heritage
The hour-long walking tour of Old Strathcona's haunted buildings runs nightly through the Halloween season: the Strathcona Hotel, the Princess Theatre, the old high school and a dozen shops and houses with stories attached. Meet at the Rescue statue beside the Walterdale Theatre at 6:45 for a 7 p.m. start. It is a history tour with ghosts rather than a scare attraction, so kids are fine; bring gloves, because you stand still a lot.
When: Nightly, 7 p.m. (arrive 6:45)
Where: Meet at the Rescue statue, 10322 83 Avenue NW
Cost: $20 adults, $15 kids under 12, plus Eventbrite fee
Fall Harvest at the Muttart, open Thanksgiving Monday
Culture
The Muttart is open every day except Christmas, which makes it the reliable Thanksgiving Monday outing when most of the city is shut: the feature pyramid is the Fall Harvest show, with a coleus tower, pumpkins and chrysanthemums, and the other three pyramids are the warmest rooms in Edmonton on a cold October day. Weekend and holiday hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
When: Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday to Monday (Fall Harvest runs to November 15)
Where: Muttart Conservatory, 9626 96A Street NW
Cost: Adults $14.95, youth and seniors $12.95, children $7.75
Thanksgiving dinner, out or to go
Food
If the oven is staying off this year, Edmonton has more options than usual: Highlands Golf Club's brunch buffet on Sunday morning and turkey take-out with pickup through Monday, Chateau Louis's gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner on the Monday night, the DoubleTree's Sunday brunch, and the Westin's Harvest Feast to go. We have put every verified dinner, brunch and turkey-to-go offer for Edmonton and Calgary, with prices and pickup windows, in one list.
When: Saturday, October 10 to Monday, October 12
Where: Across Edmonton
Cost: From about $34 per person for takeout; brunches and dinners $45 to $79
Editor's Pick: Sunday. Walk the free Country Expo in the morning, take in the Heritage Ranch Rodeo at 1:30 in the arena next door, then spend the evening at Pumpkins After Dark with the kids or DARK at Fort Edmonton without them. It is the one day that has CFR Week and the Halloween season in it at once. (If you are free Saturday night instead, Chinatown After Dark is the last one of the year.)
Know an event we missed? Tag us @culturealberta or email hello@culturealberta.com.
Comments
Conversation