Big city girl living in a small city.
That’s how I always generalized myself. I have always been a big city girl at heart because of vast opportunities and excitement that comes with the liveliness of a flourishing city. With that being said, I still enjoy visiting small towns and hidden gems that normally don’t get as much publicity. It is truly eye-opening to experience a diversity of character, culture, scenery, and of course, eateries outside of Edmonton. Last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting Fort McMurray where I checked out 2 of 12 events happening.
Disclaimer: my visit to Fort McMurray Food Festival was sponsored by Fort McMurray Tourism. All opinions are my own and unbiased.
This is the third year anniversary of the Fort McMurray Food Festival and hopefully many more to come. With 12 events over a span of 10 days, you can expect a ton of good food, drinks, and patio parties. Get your stretchy dance pants and comfy shoes on.
The festival takes place from July 19 to July 28, and all proceeds from the events will be donated to a local charity called Waypoints. This organization provides support to individuals and families that fell victim to domestic violence, abuse, sexual assault, and homelessness through prevention, intervention, treatment, and referrals.
#WeLoveYMM Largest Ever Patio Party
This party is known as the holy grail of parties AKA “Party of the Summer” in Fort McMurray, and this year, it’s hosted in an unique venue — the Heritage Shipyard. This event is sure to keep the vibrance going with live music and delicious east coast foods from local restaurants. The party literally does not stop until the sun goes down and is followed by an after party in a locally favoured bar: Townhall.
First things first, check out the portion sizes of these! Each food and drink voucher costs $6 with each item costing 2 tickets AT MOST. This huge lobster roll was only $12 and same as the fish and chips. The roll consisted of a bun and creamy shredded lobster. Although it still tasted good, I was hoping the lobster would be chunks of lobster instead of shredded and it kind of reminded me of imitation crab meat. The fried cod was light and crispy with perfectly seasoned fries. This is what beats Edmonton by a landslide. Just look at that PORTION.
How adorable these cups are! Having alcohol served in cute kiddie cups are an automatic win in my books. I was surprised to find that their cocktails taste much heavier in alcohol here but is still refreshing.
Taste of Fort McMurray
If you’ve been to any taste of ___ events in the past, it’s basically the same concept but with different setups. Restaurants from all over that city come together to showcase their specialty menu items. You could expect to see a multicultural range of dining options from casual grabs to fancy eats across the region.
Taste of Fort McMurray is set up a little differently than any event I’ve been to in the past. For $45, you get a stamp-able passport which allows you to try every single food option available and then vote on your favourite ones. They give you 2 freebies to try the food again. This option is great, however, some food vendors tend to be very popular and there would be large lineups. Some places might even run out of food early.
Note that this is a volunteer-driven event, meaning, restaurants have to volunteer their time and donate resources to participate in the festivals. Hence why they would run out of food. Every “employee” there is also volunteering there time to be there.
There’s also cute little houses to update your knowledge in Fort McMurray and the Canadian history. I personally cannot absorb any history for the life of me, however, enjoyed checking out how people lived in the past and how Canada came to be.
Check out below to see a few of my indulgence!
You can tell that this trip has been nothing but eventful and I’m so lucky to have the opportunity to take part in this small vacation. Fort McMurray is normally the place people from all over the world come to for jobs and presumed that there’s nothing else to do. To my surprise, there are actually plenty of options and events around this region. Plus a variety of local foods.
Thank you to Fort McMurray Tourism for having me and a bigger thank you to all my readers and viewers for supporting me in this foodie journey.
*not part of Fort McMurray Food Festivals*
During my visit, we also had the chance to explore the small city itself. We went to the Fort McMurray Golf Club and wow! Not only is the view beautiful but their food is also bomb and I would have never expected this from a golf course restaurant. I’ll keep the review for this one short since it’s not part of the food festival, but if you get the chance, definitely pay them a visit and get yourself a pork belly.
YEG CRAVINGS 