Today we conclude our culinary adventure through the Summer festival of North America in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, for the annual Edmonton Folk Festival, which kicks off again this Thursday. But before the event starts once again, we wanted to look back to our time at the event last year and deliver you some of our favourite meals from our time at the festival.
Trying the “local delicacies” is a common trait amongst all these festivals, and the Edmonton Folk Festival is no exception. According to local legend, Edmonton was the birth place for the Green Onion Cakes. Though it’s a merely a variation of a common Chinese dish that migrated to Edmonton along with the population in the 1980s, it’s still something they’re proud enough to call their own – and it was a common fixture of the Folk Festival (as well as, apparently, any event that happens in the city).
Above, as well as in the picture that we’ve used throughout this article series, you’ll see the Green Onion Cakes on a plate that includes some noodles, spring rolls and sweet chili. A bit of sour cream is added to the Cakes for good measure. Then there was the Smokehouse BBQ Food Truck, with some excellent BBQ Burgers. You’ll find a love of Southern USA style BBQ cooking throughout Alberta – including at the Calgary Stampede, which we covered earlier in this series – and it seems that Edmonton is no different. Though that mix of Asian style cuisine, with their love for BBQ, certainly makes for one of the most unique blends of dishes you’re likely to find at any event in the world.
But in the end, few things beat the classic festival fodder. Like a banana dipped in chocolate, and covered in peanuts. They made it fresh for you, with a choice of the toppings – though I couldn’t go past the classic. It looks good enough to eat doesn’t it? Can I have another, please?
So, this brings us to the end of our Culinary Adventure through the Summer Festivals of North America. All in all, what have we learnt from our culinary adventure? Well, festivals in the US and Canada have done a lot to make sure their events have something for everyone – and though we have food trucks to thank for some aspects of this change in expectations, it really is the festivals who have been celebrating local cuisine for years – be it Ottawa Bluesfest, New Orleans Jazz Festival, the Calgary Stampede or Lollapalooza – who have set the bar high enough that the rest need to follow. It’s great to finally see Australian festivals follow suit, and we look forward to our next Summer to see what culinary treats we’ll be enjoying at festivals at home…
More about the Festival:
The Edmonton Folk Festival takes place from August 4th to 7th. This year, Australia’s The Cat Empire will perform, alongside the likes of Calexico, Eric Bibb, Jason Isbell, The Head and the Heart, Nathaniel Rateliff, Passenger, The Tallest Man on Earth, Willy Mason and more! For tickets and more details head to their official website.
Getting There:
Air Canada offer daily direct flights from Brisbane or Sydney to Vancouver, from where transfers are available to Edmonton. For more details head to their official website.
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