10 Things to do in Edmonton this Week - August 31 - September 4
This week's lineup skips the usual weekend clustering and spreads good stuff across every night — comedy on two different nights for two totally different vibes, a hilarious-rated double feature under the stars with Horizon Drive in Movies, a hands-on Japanese cooking class, a downtown mural walk with an artist in tow, an outdoor orchestra night, and close-up magic in a room built for forty.
Here's what's worth planning around this week.
Free Rough Cut Comedy Night | Monday
Monday nights in this city are usually a write-off. Not this one. Free stand-up in the room beneath the Starlite, lineup rotating weekly, hosted by a showcase that's had comics pass through on their way to bigger stages. Nine o'clock, downtown, costs nothing. Get there early if you want to sit.
Free Grindstone Open Mic Comedy Night | Wednesday
Every week Wednesday at 10PM The Grindstone hosts one of Edmonton's only Stand-Up Comedy Open Mics to give first timers a chance to take a huge risk, and pros a chance to work on new material. Each set is 5 minutes, with a light at 4 minutes.
Watch Deadpool & Superbad at the Drive in Movie | Thursday
Two hilarious (but R rated) R comedies, one windshield. Horizon's pop-up drive-in brings Deadpool and Superbad to the Valley Zoo lot on Sept 3. Tickets sell by film, so take one or stay for both. Bring a blanket, the September air has opinions. There’s a brand new VIP option for those who want to be front and centre.
Learn to make Katsu & Milk Bread with Mia Nguyen | Thursday
Join Mai Nguyen for an evening of Katsu. You’ll learn to make crispy pork Katsu cutlets to serve with a Japanese curry, and assemble a perfectly crisp Menchi Katsu Sando made with locally raised ground beef. Plus, you’ll bake your own soft, pillowy milk bread from scratch—the secret to next-level sandwiches served with a Japanese garden salad.
Take an Edmonton Mural Tour | Thursday
You've walked past half these walls without looking up. Linda Hoang fixes that in 2.5 hours — mural by mural through downtown, insider stories on the artists, a live piece in progress with the painter right there to talk to, and dishes from three-plus local spots folded into the $45 ticket.
Adult Retro Craft Night | Thursday
Looking for a new mid-week activity to shake up date night, girls’ night, or your solo evening routine? Come to the Royal Alberta Museum for Retro Craft Night – craft time for adults with a historical twist.
Symphony Under the Sky | Thursday
Some of the greatest music ever written wasn't composed for a concert hall — it was written for the silver screen. Symphony Under the Sky: Hollywood at Hawrelak brings those iconic cinematic soundscapes to life as the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra performs the unforgettable scores that have defined some of Hollywood's most beloved films.
Handcrafted Magic On Stage | Friday
Forty seats, not a bad one in the house. Chris Gowen turns a secret library inside The Rec Room into a Victorian-style parlour for close-up sleight-of-hand — no cups and balls, no rope tricks, just cutting-edge illusion happening inches from your face. Fridays, 7:30–8:45pm, 75 minutes. $42.28, ages 7+ welcome. Rooms this small vanish fast. Book your Friday.
Double Feature Drive in: Round Two | Friday
Catch two big romance films on the drive in movie screen on Friday night: Dirty Dancing and The Notebook. Drive in movie tickets are sold per person, and per screening for the September long weekend drive in at Edmonton Valley Zoo.
Metro Cinema Season Kick off | Friday
Fifty years deserves a proper send-off. Metro Cinema kicks off its 2026/27 season — and its 50th anniversary — with a special screening of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The night starts at 6 PM with a reception: food, drinks, an auction, and a first look at what's coming this season. The screening rolls at 7 PM, and admission is by donation. Alien encounters, half a century of local cinema, and a party to match — mark it down for September 4.
Find the full guide to things to do in Edmonton this week, this month - and this season at www.edmonton.events/calendar.
