Things to Do in Edmonton in February 2027: 100+ Family Events
Twenty-eight days, one long weekend, and the best winter festival lineup in the country. February is short, which is the only kind thing anyone can say about it — but it's also the month Edmonton goes hardest: snow screens, ice climbing on the riverbank, lantern-lit ravines and a Family Day Monday where half the city's attractions drop their prices or open the doors for free.
Below you'll find 100+ family events, winter festivals, Family Day activities and free things to do — everything happening this month in one place.
Planning weekend by weekend instead? Our things to do in Edmonton this weekend guide updates every week, and the full Edmonton family events calendar has every date we're tracking.
Missed the first winter festivals? Our January guide covers what kicked the season off.
February Festivals
This is the deepest festival month of the winter, and most of it is free or close to it.
Silver Skate Festival — Edmonton's longest-running outdoor winter festival, held in the river valley at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park. Snow sculptures, fire sculptures, a skating pond, heritage activities and a recreation zone. Free admission, ten days long, and the single best winter outing in the city with kids.
International Festival of Winter Cinema — Outdoor films projected onto a screen made of snow, partnered with Silver Skate at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park. Bring chairs, blankets and a thermos, and gather around a fire to watch a movie in the park in February. There is nothing else like it.
Flying Canoë Volant — Mill Creek Ravine transformed with light installations, Franco-Albertan, Métis and First Nations storytelling, music and food. Walk the illuminated trail after dark. Dress for standing outside.
Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival — Western Canada's premier Nordic ski event at Cooking Lake-Blackfoot, with shorter kid and family distances alongside the full tour. One of only three Birkebeiners in the world.
YEG Ice Fest — An urban ice climbing wall at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park, often paired with Ice Climbing World Cup competition. Free to watch elite athletes climb a frozen wall downtown, with try-it programs for beginners.
Fire and Ice Festival, St. Albert — Hosted by the St. Albert firefighters: obstacle course for kids, petting zoo, sleigh rides, skating, maple taffy, ice carving and fire trucks. Free.
View all Family-friendly Festivals
Family Day in Edmonton
Family Day 2027 falls on Monday, February 15, making it a three-day weekend from Saturday the 13th. This is the busiest family weekend of the winter in Edmonton, and a lot of it costs nothing.
What typically opens up:
Royal Alberta Museum — Free admission on Family Day, usually 10am to 4pm. Mammoths, the bug room and the Children's Gallery. Go early; the line by noon is real.
Rutherford House — Free tours with costumed hosts, treats from the old-fashioned kitchen, and a period family craft. Small, charming, and never crowded.
Family Day in the Arts District — Free family arts programming from the Edmonton Arts Council across multiple downtown venues, often including the Citadel, the AGA and EPL.
Fort Edmonton Park — Special Family Day admission rate, with programming at the Indigenous Peoples Experience and the 1846 Fort Courtyard.
Edmonton Valley Zoo — Campfire, animal talks, crafts and games.
The ReUse Centre — Scavenger hunt, board game café and toy swap. Free and genuinely fun.
Leisure Centres across the region — Free or discounted drop-in swim and skate, inflatable obstacle courses, roaming performers and photo booths. Leduc Recreation Centre and the Edmonton Garrison both run big ones.
Plan this one in advance. Family Day Monday is the highest-attendance day of the year at most of these venues. Arrive at opening or go late afternoon, and have a backup in your pocket.
Confirmed 2027 events land in our events calendar as they're announced.
This Month's Featured Events
If you do only five things in February, make it these.
Silver Skate Festival — Free, ten days, and the best winter festival in Edmonton. Non-negotiable.
A movie on a snow screen — The International Festival of Winter Cinema is the strangest and most memorable thing on this list.
Family Day at the Royal Alberta Museum — Free admission, February 15. Get there for opening.
Walk Flying Canoë Volant after dark — Twenty minutes of magic, then straight home to the heater.
Valentine's weekend at the pool — City of Edmonton leisure centres run Valentine's pool parties and crafting events. Cheap, warm, and it burns an afternoon.
Indoor Things to Do with Kids
Still winter. Still dark early. This section is going to work hard for you.
Royal Alberta Museum — Children's Gallery for under-8s, bug room and Ice Age galleries for everyone else. Free on Family Day, and underground parking means about ninety seconds outside.
Art Gallery of Alberta — Kids 17 and under always get free admission. That's worth repeating: always. Family drop-in programs run most weekends.
Telus World of Science — Hands-on exhibits, the observatory and IMAX. February is when they run multi-film IMAX marathons over the long weekend.
Metro Cinema — Most Saturdays there's a family film with free admission for kids 12 and under with a paying adult. One of the best-kept cheap outings in the city.
Cineplex Family Favourites — Every Saturday morning, a kid-friendly movie for $3.99 a ticket.
Edmonton Public Library — Free storytimes, LEGO clubs and teen gaming drop-ins at every branch, plus the Makerspace at Stanley A. Milner with 3D printers, a laser cutter and a recording booth. Free with a card.
Muttart Conservatory — Four glass pyramids and a tropical room in the middle of February. Watch for the City's 2-for-1 Alberta resident deal with the Valley Zoo — save your receipt from one and get into the other free.
West Edmonton Mall — World Waterpark and Galaxyland. Twenty-nine degrees inside the waterpark while it's minus twenty-five outside.
Indoor Playgrounds and Rec Centres — Several City leisure centres run drop-in indoor playgrounds for a fraction of commercial rates, plus public swim and drop-in skate.
More cold-weather ideas in our things to do in Edmonton guide.
Outdoor Things to Do with Kids
February often has the best snow of the year and the days are getting noticeably longer. Take the twenty minutes.
Skating — Community league rinks are free citywide. Churchill Square and City Hall Plaza run free public skating downtown, and the Victoria Park IceWay is a lantern-lit skating trail rather than a rink, which changes everything for kids who find laps boring.
Sledding — Gallagher Park, Rundle Park, Government House Park and Whitemud Park. Free, exhausting in the right way, works from about age two upward. Helmets on.
Skiing, Snowboarding and Snowshoeing — Snow Valley, Rabbit Hill, Sunridge and the Edmonton Ski Club are all minutes away. February is peak conditions and the last reliable month before the thaw.
Try Para Nordic Skiing — Free adaptive ski sessions with sit-ski and standing equipment, including guided skiing for visually impaired participants. Equipment provided.
Kids Can Catch Ice Fishing — Free ice fishing events for all ages run at lakes around the region in February. Gear and instruction usually included.
Play Rangers — The City's free drop-in outdoor play program for kids 6–12. February sessions run snow forts, snowshoes, kicksleds and a fire with hot chocolate.
Elk Island National Park — Bison from a warm car, forty-five minutes east, plus groomed trails and Dark Sky stargazing that happens before bedtime.
Churchill Square Weekends — Free programming and live music downtown every weekend in February.
Free Things to Do with Kids in Edmonton
February punches well above its weight on free. Between the festivals and Family Day, you could fill the whole month without spending anything.
Silver Skate Festival — Free admission, ten days. Start here.
Family Day Free Admissions — Royal Alberta Museum, Rutherford House and the Arts District programming are all free on February 15.
Art Gallery of Alberta — Always free for 17 and under, all year.
Free Public Skating — Churchill Square, City Hall Plaza and community league rinks. Some sites offer free skate rentals.
Free Drop-in Swim Sessions — Sponsored free swims run at leisure centres through the winter, several with inflatables. The schedule rotates, so check weekly.
Free Coding Classes at Apple — Weekly sessions for ages 6–10 using Swift Playgrounds on iPad. Free, devices provided, register in advance. West Edmonton Mall and Southgate Centre.
Free Home Depot Kids Workshops — Monthly Saturday builds for kids 6+, take-home project included. Register early.
DIY Nights at the ReUse Centre — Free rotating weekly workshops, plus a big free Family Day event.
Play Cafe and Toy Library — Free weekly drop-in for caregivers with kids aged 0–6.
Try-It Sports Sessions — Free introductory lacrosse, Nordic skiing and multi-sport sessions run throughout February as clubs recruit for spring.
Sledding, Snowshoeing and River Valley Trails — Always free, always available.
The full year-round list lives on our free things to do in Edmonton page.