Alberta

Alberta is one of Canada's provinces. It celebrated 100 years as a province in 2005 on September 1st. As part of the Centennial celebration, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the province from May 23 to May 25, 2005.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Alberta

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Alberta is well known for its warm and outgoing friendliness and frontier spirit.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Summer brings many festivals to the province. Edmonton's Fringe Festival is the world's second largest after Edinburgh's. Alberta also hosts some of Canada's largest folk festivals, multicultural festivals, and heritage days (to name a few). Calgary is also home to Carifest, the second largest Caribbean festival in the nation (after Caribana in Toronto). These events highlight the province's cultural diversity and love of entertainment. Most of the major cities have several performing theatre companies who entertain in venues as diverse as the Arts Barns and the Francis Winspear Centre.

Related Topics:
Edinburgh - Carifest - Caribbean - Caribana - Toronto - Francis Winspear Centre

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Alberta also has a large ethnic population. Both the Chinese and East Indian communities are significant. According to Statistics Canada, Alberta is home to the second highest proportion (two percent) of Francophones in western Canada (after Manitoba). Many of Alberta's French-speaking residents live in the central and northwestern regions of the province. As reported in the 2001 census, the Chinese represented nearly four percent of Alberta's population and East Indians represented better than two percent. Both Edmonton and Calgary have Chinatowns and Calgary's is Canada's third largest. Aboriginal Albertans make up approximately three percent of the population.

Related Topics:
Statistics Canada - Manitoba - Chinese - East Indians - Chinatown - Aboriginal Albertans

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The major contributors to Alberta's ethnic diversity have been the European nations. Forty-four percent of Albertans are of British and Irish descent, and there are also large numbers of Germans, Ukrainians, and Scandinavians.

Related Topics:
British - Irish - Germans - Ukrainians - Scandinavia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Both cities heavily support first-class Canadian Football League and National Hockey League teams. Soccer, rugby union and lacrosse are also played professionally in Alberta.

Related Topics:
Canadian Football League - National Hockey League - Soccer - Rugby union - Lacrosse

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tourism is also important to Albertans. A million visitors come to Alberta each year just for Calgary's world-famous Stampede and for Edmonton's Klondike Days. Edmonton was the gateway to the only all-Canadian route to the Yukon gold fields, and the only route which did not require gold-seekers to travel the exhausting and dangerous Chilkoot Pass.

Related Topics:
Tourism - Stampede - Klondike Days - Yukon - Gold field - Chilkoot Pass

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Visitors throng to Calgary for ten days every July for a taste of "Stampede Fever". As a celebration of Canada's own Wild West and the cattle ranching industry, the Stampede welcomes around 1.2 million people each year. Only an hour's drive from the Rocky Mountains, Calgary also makes a visit to tourist attractions like Banff National Park something which can easily be done in a day. Calgary and Banff each host nearly 5 million tourists yearly.

Related Topics:
Wild West - Stampede - Rocky Mountains - Banff National Park

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Alberta is an important destination for tourists who love to ski and hike; Alberta boasts several world-class ski resorts. Hunters and fishermen from around the world are able to take home impressive trophies and tall tales from their experiences in Alberta's wilderness.

Related Topics:
Ski - Hike - Ski resort - Trophies - Tall tales

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~