Taste of Edmonton opened Wednesday in a new temporary location outside the Federal Building on the Legislature grounds.
For the first time in the festival’s history, attendees won’t be restricted to the beer gardens to drink a beer or glass of wine. This year, most of the site is under an all-ages liquor licence.
The festival had to move to the Capital Plaza near the Legislature from Sir Winston Churchill Square this year, after construction on the Valley Line LRT closed the downtown block.
The Works Art and Design Festival also had to move to the legislature grounds due to the Churchill Square closure. The CariWest Festival will also be held in the same area in August.
The move took years to plan, and required a change in legislation that banned drinking and dancing on the legislature grounds.
“I will say a lot has in fact changed since 1985, and we really did need to update the policy,” Infrastructure Minister Sandra Jansen said. “Our policy and procedures are really a better fit for Edmonton right now.”
This year’s festival will offer more than 40 new dishes for attendees to try; it will wrap up July 29.
With files from Nicole Weisberg
