Events

Arts on the Ave and Kaleido are excited to present the 20th anniversary of the Kaleido Family Arts Festival—and it’s going to be our brightest, boldest year yet!

Kaleido is a wildly joyful, wonderfully wacky, radically open celebration of the arts in the heart of the Alberta Avenue Arts District. This year’s theme is hearts a-glowin’ and we’re lighting up the streets with music, theatre, dance, zany street performances, mouthwatering eats, vibrant artisans, pop-up galleries, and magical moments.

From alleys to rooftops, from parks to pavement, Kaleido is taking over Alberta Avenue from 90-95 Street with creativity everywhere. Come dance, play, and celebrate 20 years of art, love, and community with us!

Date and Time:

Friday, September 5, 2025: 6 to 10 pm
Kaleido After Dark Improv Show (Indoors) - 10 to 11 pm

Saturday, September 6, 2025: 10 am to 10 pm
Sunday, September 7, 2025: 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Venue Name and Address:

Between 90 to 95 Street & 118 Avenue
Edmonton, AB

Link to Event:

https://www.kaleidofest.ca

Event Cost:

Free

Exhibition Dates: August 15 to September 6, 2025

Open Reception: Friday, August 15, 2025 7-9pm

Location: Alberta University of the Arts room 371 (open to the public)

Hours: Monday - Friday: 8am-8pm, Saturday: 8am - 5pm, Sunday: closed

The 2025 AUArts Summer Residency offers artists a unique chance to immerse themselves in their creative process using the university’s facilities. This year, twenty-nine artists participated over a ten-week period. Despite their varied backgrounds and the wide range of media they explore, they were united by the vibrant energy they poured into their work. Thunderstorm captures this surge of collective creativity—an electric charge that arises when so much artistic expression and momentum gather in one place.

The exhibition reflects the powerful transformation that such passion can ignite—not only in the materials the artists shape, whether canvas, clay, paper, fabric, or even living plants, but also in the environment their work inhabits. Thunderstorm invites viewers to feel the dynamic current of creative energy that has infused the residency, standing as a tribute to the power of artistic commitment and the enduring influence of creative intensity.

For more information, visit auarts.ca

Behind every postcard is a story of struggle and survival.

Beyond the Postcard reveals Cuba’s untold truths—its humor, pain, and resilience—through Afro-Cuban Canadian artist Hebert Poll Gutiérrez. Experience film, puppetry, poetry, and animation in this urgent 60-minute live show. Hosted by Adania Reyes with Ameli Pereira, Samuel Kugbiyi & Sara-Maya Kaba.

“This isn’t just Cuban history—it’s human history. And it’s urgent.”
Listen. Stand with us. Act.

Don’t miss this powerful journey—secure your tickets now and be part of a story that demands to be heard!

When: Saturday, September 27, 2025 from 7 to 9 pm
Where: SpanicArts Calgary
131 6 Ave SW
Calgary, AB

Register: www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-postcard-cubas-untold-stories-tickets-1555104943749?aff=oddtdtcreator

When: Saturday, September 6, 2025 from 5:30 to 9 pm
Where: Kiyooka Ohe Arts Centre
244034 Horizon View Road
Calgary, AB

The time has come to get your tickets for an evening of vibrant contemporary art and community at Kiyook Ohe Arts Centre's (KOAC) annual fall fundraiser! Join us on September 6, 2025 for LOOP&PARALLEL—a special art exhibition and exclusive fine art auction that celebrates KOAC co-founders Katie Ohe and Harry Kiyooka’s longstanding influence in the arts with a special theme that celebrates their bold popularization of postmodern abstraction in Alberta. Think crisp lines, loops, and shapes, and mid-century brights. We invite you to have fun with this theme, and pull out your bold & bright fits!

The evening will include an exclusive art auction preview sponsored by LEVIS Fine Art, alongside a special exhibition curated by Ash Slemming that highlights the intertwined legacies of KOAC co-founders Katie Ohe and Harry Kiyooka. Featuring artworks that loop back to their aesthetic innovations and run parallel to their enduring impact - the exhibition celebrates a small selection of contemporary artists whose work shares a kinship with Katie & Harry's post-modern abstraction and playful use of form and gesture - including Chris Cran, Rhys Douglas Farrell, Joanne MacDonald, Sinéad Ludwig Burgess, and Kristine Zingeler. The fine art auction features over twenty artists with works ranging from painting and sculpture to mixed media, offering something for both seasoned collectors and first-time buyers, all in support of KOAC’s mission.

This event is KOAC’s largest fundraising event of the year and proceeds allow KOAC to foster the growth of visual arts; supporting educational art programs and workshops, a vibrant and inclusive artistic community, and sustaining KOAC’s ecologically significant grounds alongside captivating sculptures that stand as timeless testaments to the value of art & nature, together.

Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite and include a catered evening by Salon Catering, an exclusive preview of our fine art auction thanks to LEVIS Fine Art, and special first-access to the LOOP&PARALLEL exhibition in Harry Kiyooka’s studio space gallery, curated by Ash Slemming.

Join the celebration! 

If you would like to become a sponsor for this event or any future KOAC program, please email us:

community@koartscentre.org

https://www.koartscentre.org/tickets2025/

Come enjoy an all-age free Community Paint Day on Saturday, August 30th, 2025 where participants can help fill in the background to the project's design, created by local artist Emma Guido. All materials are provided and a free BBQ is available for folks when they're done!

Where: 5031 50th Street, Red Deer (former site of the Buffalo Hotel)
When: Saturday, August 30, 2025 from 12 to 4 pm

This project is made in coordination by the Downtown Red Deer BIA, the Red Deer Arts Council, and Altruistic Current. 

A huge thank you to the @cityofreddeer 's Community Public Art Grant in making this possible.

Event Description:

Marissa K is a vibrant, imaginative singer-songwriter based in Edmonton, Alberta. As a fan of escapism, Marissa strives to transport her listeners through her songs into a unique, colourful world. She focuses her songwriting on storytelling, as her inspiration comes from her background in performing in dance and theatre. Her music evokes the vitality and nostalgia of songwriters such as Vanessa Carlton and Sara Bareilles, but has a distinctive, theatrical writing style that is all her own.

Date and Time: Friday, August 29, 2025, 7 to 9 pm

Venue Name and Address: The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse - 9351 118 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5G 0N3

Link to Event: www.thecarrot.ca/events-at-the-carrot/2025/marissak

Event Cost: $10 Cover | Youth (12 & under) $5 | All Ages