Pumpkins, frights and Thanksgiving delights: Ways to save and spend time this long-weekend in Edmonton

Hand-carved pumpkins at display at Pumpkins After Dark in Edmonton's Borden Park on Sept. 26, 2024. (Sean McClune / CTV News Edmonton)

Are you looking for a way to get out of the house this Thanksgiving weekend? If so, there are multiple fall-themed events to help pass the time and enjoy the outdoors while Edmonton is still seeing those double-digit highs.

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The family-friendly Pumpkins after Dark has been set up in Borden Park until Halloween, with more than 6,000 hand-carved pumpkins to peruse. Eight start times are available. Adult tickets are $28, youth tickets are $19, and kids three and under are free. 

Prairie Gardens will have a haunted pumpkin festival Saturday to Monday. The event includes access to the pumpkin patch, sunflower maze, petting farm and a self-guided u-pick veggie tour. Admission starts at $24, with kids two and under free. Tickets are $5 less online. 

An overhead picture of Prairie Gardens Adventure Farm near Bon Accord, Alta. (CTV News Edmonton).

Dark at Fort Edmonton Park will be offering several spooky-season experiences until Nov. 2. You can escape a menacing jokester, visit a sinister farm or brave an encounter with demons. The event is recommended for ages 14 and up. General admission is $50. 

The Edmonton corn maze will remain open until Oct. 27. Tickets start at $14 for youth, with kids three and under free. Other family-friendly farm activities available for an extra cost include tractor rides, spud guns and mini golf. 

The northern lights (aurora borealis) make an appearance over a home near Cremona, Alta., on Oct. 7, 2024. Auroras are the result of disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere caused by the solar wind. (Jeff McIntosh)Stargazers can take in the night sky over Elk Island National Park Saturday and Sunday for Gateway to the Stars. The event offers cultural stories about the sky, led by an expert park interpreter, as well as teachings on how to use a star chart and constellations for navigation. Admission to the park is free for youth 17 and under. Adult admission is $9. 

Love in a Dangerous Time, a free touring pop-up exhibition, will be open at the John L. Haar Library at MacEwan University on Friday as part of Edmonton Queer History Month. It will run until the end of the month. 

Hockey fans can catch the Edmonton Oilers at home both Saturday and Sunday, when they play the Chicago Blackhawks and the Calgary Flames. 

How to skip the dishes without Skip the Dishes

If you'd like to take it easy this Thanksgiving, some Edmonton restaurants are offering pick-up holiday meals – allowing you to spend more time digesting and less time on the dishes.

Edmonton Freson Bros. has four-person locally sourced turkey dinner boxes (with classic pumpkin pie) for pickup for $60. As of Friday, the Glenora location was already sold out. Meals can be ordered on the Freson Bros. website.

 

 

 

 

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The Western Sandwich Company is offering a thanksgiving meal with assorted macarons for dessert. Whole turkey dinners for six cost $229, white half-turkey dinners (for three) are $119. Ordering information can be found on the company's Facebook page. 

Two different sized dinners are available from The Westin Edmonton, and include a choice of pumpkin cheesecake or sticky toffee pudding for dessert. Meals start at $325 for four to six people, and $435 for eight to 10. More information can be found on the Westin's Instagram page. 

Other restaurants will be offering dine-in holiday meal deals. You can find a list here.