Learn about Alberta's new brand

Royal Tyrrell welcomes # 10 million

Royal Tyrrell Museum Nine year-old Dayton Stachniak of Edmonton got the surprise of his life at the Royal Tyrrell Museum on Thursday, August 19 ... more

Dinosaur fossils found in Edmonton

Regional Dialogue Sessions A tunnel excavation in Edmonton has uncovered two types of dinosaur fossils thought to be the remains of an Albertosaurus and Edmontosaurus ... more




Alberta Arts Days: Sept. 17 to 19

Alberta Arts Days Show off your provincial pride and share your passion for the arts. Help make Alberta Arts Days 2010 three wildly creative days. Join the celebration!




Did You Know?

  • The Edmonton Eskimos were originally a baseball team that joined the Western International League in 1952. Learn more about Alberta’s sport history at the Provincial Archives of Alberta.

  • In Alberta, more than 900 films are classified and given ratings every year? Learn about film classification at Alberta Film Ratings.ca.
  • The Cultural Policy Initiative has collaborated with 18 Government of Alberta ministries to identify 198 initiatives which currently support the goals of The Spirit of Alberta, Alberta's cultural policy.
  • The greatest landslide in North American history occurred at the Frank Slide site in 1903. Learn more about this natural disaster and its terrible human toll at the Alberta Register of Historic Places.
  • Alberta's film and television production history dates back to the 1940s, with films like Springtime in the Rockies starring Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda and Cesar Romero, and River of No starring Marilyn Monroe. Find out more about Alberta's film industry from Alberta Film.
  • 116 communities hosted 571 events during Alberta Arts Days 2009. Visit Alberta Arts Days 2010 for information about this year's events.
  • Though set in Wyoming, Brokeback Mountain was filmed all in Alberta, featuring more than 20 different locations including Kananaskis, Fort MacLeod and Canmore. Learn more about Alberta's film, television and digital media industry at Alberta Film.
  • The Alberta Foundation for the Arts distributes roughly 1,400 grants per year, supporting hundreds of arts and culture organizations. Of these, approximately 500 grants are distributed to emerging and professional artists. Learn more about AFA grants here.

  • The present-day City Centre Airport in Edmonton was the first municipally owned airport in Canada. Learn more about Alberta’s history at the Provincial Archives of Alberta.

  • There are almost 30 different film festivals that place in Alberta year. Find more Alberta arts and culture activities by visiting What's On in Alberta.
  • Fort Chipewyan is the oldest continuously occupied Euro-Canadian settlement in Alberta. Learn more about this pioneering community at the Alberta Register of Historic Places.
  • Six regional dialogues with 164 cultural facility stakeholders were held to discuss opportunities and needs, resulting in input for the development of a cultural facility capital planning framework. Read a synopsis of the outcomes in the Regional Cultural Facilities Dialogue Report.
  • The Arts Branch staff in the Collections Unit manages 17 different art collections with nearly 10,000 pieces including paintings, photographs and sculptures. Learn more about the art collections at the Alberta Foundation for the Arts - Provincial Art Collections.
  • The Father Lacombe Church in St. Albert is the oldest building still standing in Alberta. Learn more about this mission church at the Alberta Register of Historic Places.
  • 43 musical acts performed at Alberta House and other Alberta programming, and 41 artists and arts organizations ranging from Alberta Ballet to Feist participated in the Cultural Olympiad?
  • Constructed of heavy timbers, the towering tipple at Atlas Coal Mine in the Drumheller Valley is the largest surviving structure of its kind in Canada. Learn more about this remarkable construction at the Alberta Register of Historic Places.
  • The average Albertan volunteer donates 172 hours of their time each year. Learn more about Alberta's voluntary sector from Alberta Culture and Community Spirit.
  • In Alberta, 15-19 year olds are more likely to volunteer than 20-24 year olds. To find out how the Alberta government recognizes Alberta's volunteers of all ages, click here.

  • The Alberta Hotel in Red Deer was built in 1891 and was Red Deer's first hotel. A three-storey brick addition was built in 1912. View historic photographs at the Provincial Archives of Alberta.

  • Dr. Mary Percy Jackson, a decorated British physician hired by the Alberta government, was the only doctor in the 400-square mile territory of Battle River in 1929? Learn more about Alberta’s medical history at the Provincial Archives of Alberta.

  • Calgary's City Hall is the oldest existing city hall in Alberta, and the earliest example of steel-frame construction in Calgary. Learn more about this monumental civic building at the Alberta Register of Historic Places.
  • The first artwork to be accessioned into the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Collection was a baseball card featuring a portrait of Don Getty in 1972. Learn more about the art collection at the Alberta Foundation for the Arts - Provincial Art Collections.
  • Alberta is home to more than 20,000 non-profit organizations and more than 9,020 registered charities. To find out how the Alberta government supports the nonprofit/voluntary sector, visit the Community Spirit Program website.
  • More than 3,000 people are employed directly in Alberta's film, television and digital media industry, with many more being impacted by production-induced spending such as hotels, caterers and lumber companies. Find out more about Alberta's film industry at Alberta Film.

  • Telus Field in Edmonton was once known as John Ducey Park. Born in New York State, John Ducey was an Edmonton baseball legend fondly known as “Mr. Baseball.“ Learn more about Alberta’s sport history at the Provincial Archives of Alberta.

  • Movies made in Alberta are featured on the Alberta Movie Maps driving tour. Three different driving routes take visitors to more than 100 film locales and settings from popular films like Brokeback Mountain and Unforgiven.
  • The McKay Avenue School hosted the first two sessions of the Alberta Legislative Assembly in 1906. Learn more about some of the influential legislation passed during these inaugural sessions at the Alberta Register of Historic Places.

  • Prohibition, a law that prevented the manufacture and sale of alcohol, came into effect in Alberta on July 1, 1916 and ended in 1923. Learn more about Alberta's past at the Provincial Archives of Alberta.

  • Every year, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts funds approximately 70 festivals throughout the province enriching communities big and small with music, dance, film, visual arts and cultural celebrations. Learn more about AFA grants here.
  • Stephan G. Stephansson, one of western Canada's premier poets, hailed from the small Icelandic community of Markerville. Learn more about this farmer-poet and his fascinating life at the Alberta Register of Historic Places.
  • Albertans aged 55 to 64 make up 12.3 per cent of Alberta's population. Of this group, 43.6 per cent volunteer an average of 181 hours per year. Learn more about Alberta's nonprofit and voluntary (sector) here.
  • The first North American photographs of the Sputnik I satellite were captured by a scientist at the Newbrook Observatory in northern Alberta. Learn more about the photograph that sent shockwaves around the world in 1957 at the Alberta Register of Historic Places.
  • Alberta film crews have been nominated for 48 Academy Awards since 1948, and have received 22 Emmy Awards out of 92 nominations. Learn more about Alberta's film, television and digital media industry at Alberta Film.
  • Alberta has roughly 1,445,000 men, women and children who volunteer. That's about 40 percent of Alberta's population! Learn more statistics on Alberta's nonprofit and voluntary sector here.
  • Albertans aged 65 and older make up 12.2 per cent of the population. Of this group, 41 per cent volunteer. Learn more about Alberta's nonprofit and voluntary sector here.