If you ask any Edmontonian, most everyone will tell you K-Days is the most anticipated summer event in the city! Edmonton is coined Canada’s “festival city” for a reason and K-Days is Edmonton’s biggest summer festival.
What is K-Days?
K-Days is an annual 10-day exhibition held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in late July.
The fair has a midway complete with midway games and foods, indoor and outdoor discovery zones for kids, an indoor market hall for shipping and food, an exhibit dedicated to indigenous history and culture, daily live shows – this year, the stage will be taken over by Global Pet Foods SuperDogs, and an outdoor music fest headlined by Billboard musicians!
For as long as I can remember, K-Days has always been a part of my summer even as an adult.
This year, K-Days runs from July 21 to July 30, 2023 from 12 pm to 12 am.
Gastronomic Adventures
One of the reasons why I go to K-Days is for the food! Carnival food is greasy and unhealthy, but oh-sooo good!
My favourites are the classics - mini donuts (extra sugar please!), elephant ears, sno-cones, colossal onion, and fresh lemonade!
Every year ahead of the event, K-Days announces a list of weird and novelty new foods only available at K-Days. This year, the list includes:
Mustard and ketchup soft serve ice cream
Oreo fried cheesecake
Asian shrimp chip nachos
Peanut butter corndog and peanut butter pickle dog
Habanero cherry ice cream taco
Kool-aid chicken burger
Loaded pickle cheese fries
Giant fried squid on a stick
Mini donut lemonade
Pepperoni pizza grilled cheese
The Midway
Photo courtesy of K-Days
I could never resist midway rides. K-Days has everything from the classic ferris wheel and swings, to heart-pumping ones like the Mega Drop and Ring of Fire. Fair warning, some rides do have loooong lines.
Younger fairgoers can experience their own excitement with the smallest rides in Kiddieland.
Photo courtesy of K-Days
You may want to consider the Ride-All-Day Pass if you plan on riding more than a handful of rides. The advanced Ride-All-Day Pass is $48 and it includes general admission. The same pass is sold on the grounds for $55 and it does not include general admission access.
Midway Games
Radwin is a sucker for a midway games, and the kids always egg him on because who doesn’t want to skin the biggest stuffed animal prize?
This year, the prize pool had a wide selection of Super Mario and Squishmallows, much to the kids’ excitement. We walked away with more than we would have liked.
The kiddos with their cousins, my sister's kids!
Most games are $10 to play. The Kiddieland games is guaranteed a prize every game.
Indoor Explorium Exhibits
To get away from the heat, we spent a good two hours inside the Expo Centre. Radwin and I always do a loop through the shopping half and food court while the kids get to spend some time at the petting zoo and live SuperDogs Barkade show.
Photo courtesy of K-Days
I love that K-Days now incorporate an exhibit dedicated to indigenous history and culture, complete with education experiences, live performances and traditional makers.
Music Concerts & Performances
Your admission ticket to K-Days gets you access to free live music performances. This year’s full line-up of headliners are:
July 21: Elijah Woods with Curtis Waters
July 22: Three Days Grace with One Bad Son
July 23: Quiet Riot with Aldo Nova
July 24: Ruby Waters with Don Amero
July 25: I Love the 90s, Young MC, Color Me Badd and All 4 One
July 26: Big Wreck with The Prairie States
July 27: Always ABBA with D’orjay
July 28: Tegan and Sara with TALK
July 29: James Barker Band with Doc Walker
July 30: Shawn Desman with Noelle
Photo courtesy of K-Days
Music enthusiasts can upgrade their concert experience with two premium ticketing options – access to the front of the stage with private bars and private washrooms, and an 18+ elevated viewing platform with catered food, private washrooms and a cash bar.
Other Fun Activities
There are so many other activities on the grounds for both adults and kids. There’s the world’s largest inflatable obstacle course, climbing walls with various levels of difficulties or how about baby goat yoga?
Jordan wanted to give the climbing wall a try and he made it all the way to the top on his first try!
Stay for Fireworks
Every night at 10:45 pm, the sky is illuminated with fireworks synced with music. It is the perfect way to end a summer day at the fair!
Photo courtesy of K-Days
Tips
Purchase your admission tickets in advance on the K-Days website. They are discounted and the Ride-All-Day Pass includes general admission. Tickets can also be purchased from retail partners Costco and Save-On-Foods.
Bring sufficient cash. Most of the midway food stands and all the midway games accept cash only.
Bring sunscreen and a hat. There are not many shaded areas at the Expo Grounds and the weather is known to hit low to mid 30s in July.
Check the weather for rain before you leave your house! Summer weather in Edmonton is unpredictable.
Check the music fest and shows schedule before hand. Then be sure to snag a spot at least 15 minutes before show time.
Bring water bottles and fill up at the numerous water stations.
Just go and have fun!
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