Caribbean culture will take over Edmonton’s downtown this weekend

Cariwest Caribbean Arts Festival will kick off its 41st year, celebrating Caribbean culture through food and music. A stage was being set up in downtown Edmonton on August 8, 2025. (Sasha Pietramala/CTV News Edmonton)

Cariwest Caribbean Arts Festival organizers are hoping to bring the colour to Edmonton’s downtown despite the cloudy weekend weather.

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Set up was underway on Friday morning in Sir Winston Churchill Square, where the three-day carnival celebrating Caribbean culture will take place until Sunday.

Food trucks, market vendors, and live entertainment will fill the square when the festival officially kicks off at 5 p.m. on Friday. The first night will include a costume extravaganza, giving people an opportunity to see the large costumes up close before they are seen in Saturday’s parade.

The parade starts its route at noon, beginning at 108 Street and Jasper Avenue, before travelling east to Sir Winston Churchill Square.

The following road closures will be in effect during the parade:

• Jasper Avenue, between 100 and 109 Street;
• 99 Avenue, between 107 and 109 Street;
• 100 Street, between Jasper Avenue and 103A Avenue; and
• 108 Street, between 99 Avenue and Jasper Avenue.

“Our footprint is growing,” Cariwest President Samantha Alexander told CTV News Edmonton on Friday before the festival, which is in its 41st year.

”It’s a testament to the Edmontonians. Everybody knows that we’re a festival city. It’s a really great time of year. I know that there’s many other festivals happening on this same weekend, but we do still get the numbers out.”

The Western Carnival Development Association is a non-profit organization that brings the annual carnival to life, with 100 per cent of the board filled by volunteers. Alexander added that most of the parade participants are also volunteers.

“Without them volunteering their time to make costumes and then to come out and participate in the parade, there would be no parade,” she said.

Festivities will continue in the square on Saturday until 11 p.m., and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

A kids zone will be set up for children ages one to six, which is meant to educate and keep Caribbean culture alive, said organizers. Kids will get to do arts and crafts, and have an opportunity to play steel pan and walk on stilts.

“It’s vibrant and very colourful (and) displays a lot of energy and excitement,” Alexander said about the festival’s longevity. “The closer we get to it, everybody just feels this bubbling joy.”

A full schedule of events is listed on the festival website.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Sasha Pietramala and Brandon Lynch