Mastodawn

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Edmonton! It's October. It is the month of rodeos, readers, and things that go bump in the haunted house. And the weather is well & truly autumnal, but still lovely so get out & make the most of it.

1/21

#YEG Festivals & Special Events

Until Oct 4: Edmonton International Film Festival with screenings at the Metro Garneau and Landmark City Centre cinemas.

Oct 1-4: Canadian Finals Rodeo, which runs Oct 1-4 at Rogers Place & the Expo Centre, with various country music shows, a farm & ranching expo, & other events all week.

Until Oct 31: Pumpkins After Dark light display in Borden Park. Tix $20-ish.

Until Nov 8: Deadmonton haunted house tours at the old Edmonton Sun building (43St@93Ave). Basic tix $44.

Oct 3 - Nov 1: Dark haunted house tours at Fort Edmonton Park. Basic tix $50.

Schedule - Edmonton International Film Festival

SCHEDULE See our 2025 schedule below Download our Schedule at a Glance HERE! View 2025 EIFF schedule.

Edmonton International Film Festival

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Oct 11 (Sat): Public Art Celebration in Churchill Square focused on their kid-friendly climbable sculptures, with the artists on site & extra entertainment & activities. Starts 3pm.
For folks in the north end, there will also be an opening party for the new playground-as-public art in Balwin Park on Oct 17.

Oct 15-19: Litfest, a celebration of non-fiction books, with various author interviews & panels, workshops, & related events. Most events $15 or less.

Oct 15-26: StarFest: St Albert Readers Festival is a series of events featuring authors being interviewed live about their books, at the St Albert main library (same complex as the Arden Theatre). $10/session, many sold out.

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Oct 15-19: NorthwestFearFest a horror movie film festival from the organizers of the NorthwestFest documentary film festival.

Oct 18: Edmonton Underground Film Festival at the Orange Hall. 3 themed programs; $15-25/program or $40/day.

Oct 18-19: Edmonton Short Film Festival at City Centre Cinemas.

Oct 23-25 (Thu-Sat): Colour Me Comedy Fest features non-white-guy stand-up comics, at Horowitz Theatre & the Orange Hub. $27-65 per show.

NorthwestFEARFest, NWFearFest, Fear Fest Edmonton — NorthwestFest

FearFest - Horror film festival - Edmonton - NWFEARFEST

NorthwestFest

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Oct 25 (Sat): Scare on the Square free kid's Halloween party in Churchill Square, noon - 4pm.

Oct 25: Chamak! a Diwali-themed music concert / cultural festival in the Ice District Fan Park, $61+up.

Oct 25: Refinery: Jumpscare a Halloween & retro horror movie-themed art party at the Art Gallery of Alberta, $45, 18+.

Oct 31 & Nov 1: Scream, a Halloween-themed electronic dance festival, at the Expo Centre. $209/weekend, 18+.

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

#YEGTheatre Calendar

Oct 3-4: FEST: Festival of Edmonton Seniors Theatre with workshops & performances at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church.

Oct 3-4: Threads of Hope from Viter Ukrainian Dancers and Folk Choir uses music, dance & theatre to tell a story of a family in adversity. $33-57.

Oct 3-5: National Stilt Walker's Symposium including a Saturday afternoon performance with tickets ($20) open to the public.

Until Oct 5: Life of Pi adapts the novel about a boy in a lifeboat with a tiger, promising an "immersive storytelling" experience. At the Citadel's Shoctor Theatre, $40-152.

Until Oct 11: The Pink Unicorn from Northern Lights Theatre, is a story of a mother fighting for the rights of her queer child. At the Fringe's Studio Theatre, $37 with various discounts (or season subscriptions) available.

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Oct 3-12: Pinocchio from the Alberta Musical Theatre Company is a family-friendly (non Disney) telling of the story. At the Roxy's Nancy Power Theatre, $14.

Oct 7: Music of the Night is a touring concert revue of Andrew Lloyd Webber pieces, at the Myer Horowitz Theatre (UAlberta). $65 with discounts.

Oct 8-18: According to the Chorus is a musical set backstage in 1980s Broadway. At Walterdale Theatre, $27.

Oct 9-18: The Moors is a gothic tale of a governess arriving at an isolated mansion on the English moors. From UAlberta Drama at the Timms Centre, $25 with discounts.

Oct 11 (Sat): Movies & music collide as horror film score composer Claudio Simonetti's Goblin accompany 1977 Italian horror film Suspiria, plus a concert. At Metro Cinema, 8pm, $100.

PINOCCHIO - Theatre Network

Theatre Network

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Oct 15-26: Cycle is a one-person play (previously at last year's Fringe) about cycling in the city & the intersection of personal & political. Some of the audience will ride along on stationary bikes. At the Roxy's Lorne Cardinal Theatre, $22 with 2-for-1 Tuesday.

Oct 17-19: Ballet Edmonton presents Siren, a collection of 3 works, two brand new. At MacEwan's Triffo Theatre, $20-45.

Oct 15 - Nov 6: Morningside Road explores culture and family from the perspective of a young Canadian trying to connect with her Scots-born grandmother as the older woman's memories fade & jumble from dementia. Written & performed by Grindstone regulars Mhairi Berg & Simon Abbott, so there should be some humour mixed in. Presented by Shadow Theatre at The Varscona, $40 with discounts & pay-what-you-can/2-for-1 shows.

CYCLE - Theatre Network

“…provocative, creative, kinetic, emotional! two handle bar thumbs up!!” – Michael Janz, City Councillor in Edmonton “A fascinating and nerve-wracking solo show part-memoir, part-documentary, part activist drama on wheels” – Liz Nicholls, 12th night “You gotta make time for this piece of theatre. It will warm your heart, it will make you want to stand […]

Theatre Network

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Oct 18 - Nov 9: Big Stuff is a comedic exploration of grief from a married couple of Second City alumni. At the Citadel's Rice Theatre, $40-63.

Oct 22 - Nov 9: Wildcat is an Edmonton-based crime caper about middle aged women causing a ruckus on the Internet. I don't know the backstory, but that does sound intriguing. From Workshop West at the Gateway Theatre, pay what you will ($40 suggested).

Oct 24-25: Alberta Ballet presents works originally choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, reinterpreted by female Canadian choreographers. At the Jubilee, $73-178.

Oct 24 & 26: Afrique en Cirque from Cirque Kalabanté, at the Arden Friday ($32-60) or Festival Place Sunday ($52-59). I saw their scaled-down set at Kaleidofest last month: impressive gymnastics & juggling.

Big Stuff - The Citadel Theatre

The Citadel Theatre

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Oct 26 (Sun): The Boo Revue! a glow-in-the-dark Halloween kid's musical, at The Arden (two matinee shows), $15-25.

Oct 28 - Nov 1: You Can't Take It With You, a classic Broadway farce about young lovers introducing their very different families. From ABBEDAM Productions at UAlberta's Timms Centre Second Space, $15-18.

Oct 28 - Nov 8: Tough Guy from Persistent Myth Productions explores the aftermath of a shooting in a queer nightclub. At the Fringe's Backstage Theatre, $26 or pay-what-you-will.

Oct 31: The Winspear's annual Halloween tradition, a showing of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu with live organ music score. 7:30pm, $40-64.

The Boo Revue! / City of St. Albert

A frightfully fun, blacklight puppet musical for the whole family—spine-tingling tunes and dazzling theatrical flair!

City of St. Albert

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Amelia's #YEGmusic Picks

Check my pinned posts for suggestions of where to find more music nights & listings!
(Prices are advance purchase, with fees if I can find that out easily. Times are show start, if specified. All ages unless noted 18+.)

Oct 2-3 (Thu-Fri):
Country Showdown takes over Blues on Whyte with double bills of alt/trad country. 8pm, $9-14, 18+.

Oct 2-4 (Thu-Sat):

The usual, first Thursday of the month, Big Tent Revival country night at River City Revival House is being extended to 3 nights of great local alt-country, trad-country & roots. 9pm, no cover, 18+.

Upcoming Shows - The Commercial - Hotel & Blues on Whyte

Upcoming shows at The Commercial. Check back often, new events are always being added!

The Commercial - Hotel & Blues on Whyte

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Fri, Oct 3:

A celebration of women in funk, Funk the Matriarchy play the Yardbird. 8pm, $29.

Songwriter folk from Catherine MacLellan at St Basil's Hall for the New Moon Folk Club. 7:30pm, $30.

Alt folk-rock from G.W. Myers at The Carrot Coffeehouse. 7pm, $10 (kids half).

Songwriter folk-roots from Kaeley Jade at CKUA's Beresh Arts Den. 8pm, $25.

Lively rock & roll from Calgary's The Definitive and Toronto's The Jailbirds at Blakbar. 9pm, $17, 18+.

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Sat, Oct 4:

Post Punk Roller Disco, at Rollers Roller Rink, with live bands & DJs. 4pm-midnight, $30 includes rollerskate rentals.

Sweet pop/R&B from Haidee at The Aviary. 7:30, $20.

The Northern Lights Folk Club presents a local folk-revival-revival double bill, with Lori Reid and Sam Steffen playing Parkview Hall. Lori sounds like she stepped off a Lilith Fair stage, while Sam manages to sound like early Bob Dylan without sounding like he's imitating Bob Dylan. 8pm, $29.

A tribute to Louis Armstrong from Don Berner Big Band featuring Joel Gray, at the Milner Library's Muttart Theatre. 7:30pm, $40-49.

Smooth folk interpretations of Beatles songs by Martin Sexton at MacLab Centre. 7:30pm, $40.

Hendrix-esque fiery electric blues rock from Wild T & The Spirit, at the Commercial. 9pm, $11, 18+.

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Sat-Sun, Oct 4-5:

Blue Rodeo play the Jubilee as part of their 40th anniversary tour. Limited tickets left, mostly resale, $140+.

Sun, Oct 5:

Hipster pop-punk from Montreal's Dany Laj & the Looks at Blakbar Tavern. 5pm (doors), $16.50.

Roots-rock from Lloydminster's Bonfire Moon at On The Rocks. 9pm, $10, 18+.

Tues, Oct 7:

Liven up your lunch with Dave Babcock & the Nightkeepers in Churchill Square. Noon-1pm, free.

Thurs, Oct 9:

Hypnotic folk-pop from the Daniel Lanois Trio at Festival Place. 7:30pm, $58-64. (The following night's show in St Albert is sold out.)

Pop-R&B from Laura Ulmer releasing an album at 9910. 8pm,$18.

Blue Rodeo : "Lost Together" - The 40th Anniversary Tour | Jubilee Auditorium

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Fri, Oct 10:

Jazz & beyond from Audrey Ochoa at the Blue Chair. 7pm, probably $20.

Afro-folk-pop fusing traditional & modern, from Mbira Renaissance Band at Rec Room South, celebrating their return from a tour of Zimbabwe. 7:30pm, $10-15.

Assorted alt-rock bands as the Hi-Light Festival hosts a fundraising concert at The Aviary. 7:30pm, $19.

Retro-hip pop-rock from Yukon Blonde at Double Dragon. 8pm, $33, 19+.

Funk fusion & psychedelic groove local double bill with Stone Joy and Sudden Love at The Commercial. 9pm, $12, 18+.

Music

Blue Chair

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Sat, Oct 11:

Afro-Caribbean-latin jazz from Montuna West at the Yardbird. 8pm, $35.

"Canadian ConTent", a tribute to Canadian songwriters from Barbara Leah Meyer, Jan Randall, and Bill Werthmann at the Blue Chair Café. 7pm, probably $20.

Sun, Oct 12:

Pan-African fusion folk rock from Melafrique at the Yardbird. 8pm, $31

Mon, Oct 13 (Thanksgiving Day):

Tight jumping blues from Ottawa's JW-Jones at the Chromozone listening room (77 ave@72St). 8pm (1 set only), $28, 18+.

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Fri, Oct 17:

Top-notch jumping blues from Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, with Tim Williams opening, in the Chateau Lacombe ballroom, presented by the Edmonton Blues Festival. 8pm, $57.

Fun-loving country from Darius Rucker at Rogers Place. 7pm, $47+up.

Sweet folk-pop from Jed & The Valentine at The Carrot. 7pm, $20 (kids half).

New Orleans-style jazzy blues from Rooster Davis Group at the Blue Chair. 7pm, probably $20.

Calypso & more from Kobo Town at the MacLab Centre (Leduc). 7:30pm, $40.

Four local hip-hop/R&B acts will be supporting Calgary's The Blue at The Aviary. 8pm, $12.

Hipster folk-rock double bill with Elliot Brood and Great Lake Swimmers, at Festival Place (Sherwood Park). 7:30pm, $42-46.
Also the following night at the Arden in St Albert ($45).

A Weekend with Rick Estrin and the Nightcats! — Blues International Ltd.

Blues International Ltd.

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Sat, Oct 18:

Live recording session by Riwo at The Audio Department (Whyte & 69St), re-imagining & expanding her Beauty EP. 6pm, $28.

A (most certainly queer-positive) prom-themed concert from moody-sweet pop singer Caylie G at The Aviary. 7:30pm, $22.

"Kindred Sessions" with VISSIA, Janelle Leaf, & Rachel Gleddie playing songwriter-circle format at the Blue Chair. 7pm, probably $20.

90s nostalgia soft pop double bill from Paula Cole and Sophie B Hawkins at The Shell Theatre (Fort Saskatchewan). 7:30pm, $64.
Also the following week in St Albert.

A tribute to BB King from guitar virtuoso Jack Semple at the Century Casino. 7pm (doors), $42, 18+.

GEDfestYEG at Union Hall, a fundraising tribute to the music of Gordon Downie and the Tragically Hip. 7pm, $60, 18+.

Beauty, Live-Off-The-Floor

An immersive live recording experience of the Beauty EP by Riwo, feauturing 4 NEW bonus tracks!

Eventbrite

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Sun, Oct 19:

Dreamy nostalgic pop as Sarah McLachlan plays Rogers Place in a tour themed around the 30th anniversary of the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy album. 7:30pm, $53+up.

Tribute to Nirvana from The Barkells at On The Rocks. 9pm, $10. (Or catch them the week before just playing their own selves on Thanksgiving Sunday.)

Mon, Oct 20:

Songwriter folk from The Tallest Man On Earth at The Winspear. 8pm, $47-57.

Thu, Oct 23:

Funky-soul-groove from The Dyrty Byrds at The Commercial. 8pm, no cover, 18+.

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Fri, Oct 24:

Emotional extravagant pop from Sarah Slean at Festival Place. 7:30pm, $48-52.

Blues folk-roots from Sean Pinchin at the Blue Chair. 7pm, probably $20.

Introspective-eclectic songwriter rock from Jim Bryson at the Ritchie Community Hall as a fundraiser for Winterruption festival. 7:30pm, $25.

Fri-Sat, Oct 24-25:

Gritty roots-rock from El Niven at Daisy's Saloon. 8-9:30pm, no cover before 9.

Sat, Oct 25:

Country-soul from Russel deCarle at Parkview Hall for the Northern Lights folk club. 8pm, $29.

90s nostalgia soft pop double bill from Paula Cole and Sophie B Hawkins at The Arden. 7:30pm, $73.

Classic rock & roll from Guitar Rumble at The High Note. 8pm, $20, 18+?

Soul & blues from The Black & Blues Band at the Newcastle Kitchen. 9pm, $10, 18+.

Sarah Slean

at Festival Place on Oct. 24, 2025, 7:30 p.m.

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Sun, Oct 26:

Edmonton Blues Hall of Fame induction ceremony, honouring & with performances by Front Porch Roots Revue and Gary Martin, at the Yardbird Suite. 7pm, $40, usually sells out.

Sure-fire entertaining blues of many colours from The Colin James Trio, at the MacLab Centre (Leduc). 7:30pm, $66.
Also in: Camrose on Monday, Fort Sask on Tuesday, and St Albert on Thursday, before heading to Grande Prairie and Northern BC.
If you hear about a secret free-admission Wednesday show in Edmonton proper, you let me know. 😉

Mon, Oct 27:

Alt-pop from The Beaches at the Expo Centre. 8pm, $60-91.

"Tropical rock" from The Boom Booms with Jade Moon at The Buckingham. 8pm (doors), $25, 18+.

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Fri, Oct 31:

Moody-sweet folk-pop from Ron Sexsmith at Festival Place. 7:30pm, $35-39.

Old-school rock & roll with rocking blues & rockabilly country touches from the Memphis Mafia Band at the Blue Chair. 7pm, probably $20.

Sat, Nov 1:

Blues-rock with big soul from Samantha King Band at St Basil's Centre presented by the Edmonton Blues Society. 7:30pm, $35, 18+.

Bluesy-roots from Steve Dawson, with Matt Patershuk, at Parkview Hall for the Northern Lights Folk Club. 8pm, $29.

Sweet & easy acoustic rock, songwriter folk, and classic songbook from Kim Gates at the Blue Chair. 7pm, probably $20.

Millennial CanRock from Matthew Good & His Band with I Mother Earth at Midway Music Hall. 7pm, $101, 18+.

Ron Sexsmith

at Festival Place on Oct. 31, 2025, 7:30 p.m.

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

Just added 3 new #YEGtheatre productions to the calendar above (and had to edit 4 posts in the thread to fit them in, in chronological order, 🙄) because a reference in the Taproot arts newsletter made me realize I'd skipped scanning one of the ticket selling sites.

Anyways: a reminder that my calendar compilation methods are far from comprehensive, so let me know if you notice anything I've missed!

And especially when it comes to music, I only list shows where I can find out enough about the band to describe them & they seem interesting to me or I think they'd be interesting to the middle-aged-nerd demographic that dominates on here, but it's always good to get someone else's recommendations.

Alexa Fontanilla Feb 7

@AmeliasBrain
#PostOfTheWeek (season 3):
Gord Downie (Canadian singer-songwriter and musician), singer of The Tragically Hip, died of complications from brain cancer Tuesday night at the age of 53. His death was announced in a statement from his family.

Alexa Fontanilla Feb 7

"Gordie said he had lived many lives," his family writes. "As a musician, he lived 'the life' for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. No one worked harder on every part of life than Gord. No one."

Alexa Fontanilla Feb 7

@AmeliasBrain
The Tragically Hip — Downie, bassist Gord Sinclair, guitarist Rob Baker and drummer Johnny Fay — was formed in a high school in the Canadian province of Ontario in 1984. Guitarist Paul Langlois joined in 1986 while the group was performing in small venues across Ontario. The Tragically Hip would go on to be one of Canada's best-known bands, becoming indelible within the country's pop landscape during its ascent in the 1990s.

Happy birthday and RIP

keithzg Oct 3, 2025

@AmeliasBrain On Monday the 6th, there's a fairly packed punk-I-think show at The Buckingham: Panic Pixie, Mean Bikini, Cop, Shuv It, Reign of Error, Katherine the Boneless.

~$20, 7pm doors and likely an early start considering the weekday and number of bands

https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/panic-pixie-w-mean-bikini-the-buckingham-tickets/14545313

I haven't heard any of these (presumably all or mostly all local #YEG) bands before myself, but my neighbor-through-the-wall Ryan's friend is I believe the lead singer of Reign of Error so I'm gonna go and I'll find out about all those bands on Monday evening I guess ;)

Amelia Bellamy-Royds

@keithzg Excellent. I skimmed over that listing for lack of any description but with that many bands there's decent odds you'll enjoy at least a couple!

And what else are you going to do on a Monday night?