Organizers say roads at winter festival cleared after plea made to city

Finishing touches are being made to prepare festival roads for Deep Freeze: A Byzantine Winter Festival on Jan. 16, 2026. (Darcy Seaton/CTV News Edmonton)

Roads around an Edmonton winter festival are clear of snow and ready just in time for the weekend event.

Organizers of Deep Freeze: A Byzantine Winter Festival made a plea to the city to have streets along the festival route, on 118 Avenue between 90 and 95 Street, cleared of snow. Those pleas were heard and city graders started scraping roadways on Thursday afternoon.

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In a statement sent to CTV News Edmonton on Friday, Val Dacyk with the City of Edmonton said the city has completed “enhanced clearing support for the Deep Freeze Festival as was committed to festival organizers before the event.” Dacyk said the work included clearing the bus detour route, critical sidewalks, windrow removal, and alleys and back lanes around the business areas.

Christy Morin, the artistic director and general manager of the festival, said she was “ecstatic” to get a call from the area’s city councillor with the good news.

“The intersections that were the worst are now cleared … so we are really glad that they’re done to the extent they are, and we know that this was really nip and tuck,” Morin told CTV News Edmonton on Friday.

Morin added that volunteers and equipment will be doing some additional clearing on Friday night “to keep things moving and smooth” and as accessible as possible for visitors taking in the festival, which celebrates the vibrant arts and multicultural community in the Alberta Avenue District.

The schedule of events includes deep freezer races, a giant ice slide, ice carving, wagon rides and fireworks.

“It actually brings tears to my eyes knowing how Edmonton loves these festivals (and) how it is so important that we get together and celebrate and have these rituals in the wintertime,” Morin said.

The festival presented by Arts on the Ave runs Saturday and Sunday. A full schedule and map can be found on the event’s website.

This is the 19th annual Deep Freeze festival. The theme this year is ‘Under the Stars.’

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Darcy Seaton