“What I’ve come to love most in the summer is the strange, beautiful ritual of the Folk Fest lottery — the tarp run,” says Lindsay Robertson. She’s the vice president of communications, marketing and brand at the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation. “Before dawn on the Saturday and Sunday of Folk Fest weekend, after only a few hours away from the hill from the night prior, we gather beside the Muttart pyramids, sleepy-eyed, clutching travel mugs of coffee and rolled-up tarps.”
Robertson and her group sit in the corral, “trading colours,” the colourful lottery tags that will govern which group can enter first and claim a prime spot on the hill. Once that is set, Folk Fest organizers categorize each block by giving it an artist’s name. When a particular group’s artist’s name is called, that group can enter the grounds and stake their tarp. First one gets their pick of the hill.
“Every artist’s name called out sends a ripple through the crowd: cheers, groans, nervous laughter,” Robertson says. “In five years, the best place we have ever pulled was second and honestly, it felt second best to winning the Stanley Cup. Folk Fest is my happy place, but the tarp run is the tradition I hold closest, truly nothing like it.”
If there’s anything to be gleaned from this series: we Edmontonians love food and we love being outdoors. When we’re not slurping noodles or lingering over brunch, we’re taking scenic strolls, stopping at dog parks and snapping pictures at river valley vistas. Delve into this year’s list of Edmontonians’ favourite things — with best-loved picks from a variety of noteworthy locals who span the arts, business, sports and non-profit realms — to help build your own summer bucket list. And if you can’t make it beyond your backyard, you can at least follow this foolproof formula and enjoy something tasty in the sunshine.
This article appears in the July/August 2026 issue of Edify
