Taste of Edmonton opens Thursday for 40th-anniversary of festival

Taste of Edmonton features 13 new food vendors Nicole Weisberg has the details on the 40th anniversary of the annual food festival at Edmonton's Churchill Square.

Taste of Edmonton is back for its 40th year. The fan-favourite food festival starts Thursday at 11 a.m., and runs until July 28 with 40 booths and eight food trucks.

"This year, we've got 11 new restaurants, two new food trucks that are joining. So with all of that combined, we've got 178 menu items. Eighty-eight are brand new for Taste of Edmonton this year," Donovan Vienneau of Taste of Edmonton said on Wednesday.

The festival, which takes place in Churchill Square, also features a performance stage and a new market where local artisans will sell their work.

"We've got 90-plus artisans, local Edmonton artisans that will be in our marketplace. That's brand new."

"The musical programming starts at 12 p.m. daily instead of 5 p.m., so we've increased by five hours each day."

Taste of Edmonton is also doing its best to ensure people stay cool amid the heat wave.

"We are ready for it. We've got medical personnel on standby. We've got lots of ice chests everywhere around the site," Vienneau said.

"Lots of beverage options, we're leaning into it. We hope Edmontonians are smart about it, please bring a hat. Bring lots of sunscreen, drink lots of water. And if anybody is feeling in any sort of dire straits, we've got over 1,000 volunteers at Taste of Edmonton this year, we will make sure they're feeling well supported."

Vienneau says while costs are up for many things in 2024, ticket prices for Taste of Edmonton are not.

"Ticket pricing is the same since 2018. We have not increased our tickets. We want to make it as affordable as possible with everybody."

Tickets are available online or can be purchased on-site.