A new event with three arts and music organizations looks to bring more people back to the downtown core and reach the pre-pandemic level of foot traffic.
The event is set to take place Saturday in the Arts District, a section of downtown Edmonton, from the art gallery to the Winspear Theatre, next to Churchill Square.
The first-ever Arts District Day is a collaboration between the Citadel Theater, Winspear Theatre and the Art Gallery of Alberta and is funded by the Edmonton Arts Council. It will have free activities, live music and free art gallery tours.
Signs advertising the first-ever Arts District Day on March 14 hopes to bring people to Edmonton downtown, seen on March 12, 2026. (Leo Cruzat, CityNews)
Jessie Van Rijn, executive director of the Citadel Theatre said, events like these help bring people downtown.
“It drives folks downtown,” Van Rijn said. “We know that these free activities help build trust with families and audiences to come downtown, and that’s such a major part of downtown revitalization.”
Businesses in the area say they are still not seeing a return to pre-pandemic foot traffic.
Kelly Zaidan has been operating in L’Espresso Cafe on 99 Street for 20 years. He says while business was booming until the pandemic, the café was just surviving.
Citadel Theatre in the Arts District, downtown Edmonton, on March 12, 2026 (Leo Cruzat, CityNews)
“We have to lay off some of our staff, and we have to reduce our business hours,” Zaidan said. “I don’t see it as 100 per cent recovered yet, especially because a lot of the City staff are still working from home.”
Art organizations in the area also say their memberships and subscriptions have still not bounced back fully to pre-pandemic levels.
“People’s behaviour and their experience of cultural activities and organizations have changed,” said Catherine Crowston, executive director and chief curator at Art Gallery of Alberta.
“We’re also not fully back downtown in terms of the kind of return to work. Also, there are not as many people living downtown.”
Art Gallery of Alberta, in downtown Edmonton, will offer free activities for Arts District Day on March 14 (Leo Cruzat, CityNews)
Zaidan said while some people still have safety concerns in downtown core, he says he has noticed things were improving slowly.
He believes that with events like Arts District Day, along with more office workers returning downtown, they can see the changes that have been made.
“We are really hoping that brings people back to the cafe. We put people downtown and bring life to downtown again,” Zaidan said, adding that he is excited to open the café on a Saturday after a long time due to the event.