My husband and I went to see First Date in February when it was playing. Show was decent but not…read morewhat I would say memorable. It is one of those cute Valentine's type of shows that they play that time of year. Fairly predictable but enjoyable. The service we recieved was excellent considering that it was a buffet but the servers were attentive and our water and wine glasses were always topped up. Buffet is large and extensive. I normally dislike buffets but here they are well executed. Salad bar, a small seafood session (didn't enjoy the sushi rolls), cheese section. What has changed is instead of the prime rib station was replaced with a striploin and beef brisket station. I tried a piece of each. They were certainly not stingly. I am surprised on how much I enjoyed the striploin. But for a girl that doesn't like sweets, I love the Mayfield dessert choices. They are bite size so you can try a selection. I always get the rice pudding. So for a fairly predictable night out for both food and entertainment, which you won't be blown away but you won't be disappointed, try here.

We have been going annually to the Mayfield for our wedding anniversary for over 10 years now…read more Until now, we have been very happy with our choice, except perhaps for the time they did improv. This year, we happened to go the first week of the new season, Simon and Garfunkle. The show was excellent, the two singers channelling Paul Simon and Art Garfunkle perfectly. The only fault I could find with the show was that the drums were inappropriately loud. I have S&G vinyl that I just played to prove that my memories of the 60's are quite correct: The drums on the original are very subdued. The likely cause is that the program had a long resume for the drummer. Likely his ego was as puffed up as his resume. Where we were disappointed was with the dinner. It's always a buffet and excellent if you arrive as soon as the doors open. This time, we chose the brisket from the carvery and found it quite dry. The baked desserts were stale, as if they had been saved for the month the MDT was closed. Everything elsa was freshly made, salads and the items on the steam tables. Another problem was with the air conditioning. My wife complained that it was too cold in the theatre and was told that nothing could be done about it. Thankfully, the staff brought her a fuzzy warm blanket that she was able to wrap around herself. Before the show started, I looked around and another man in short sleeves was wrapped up as well. There had been a late summer heat wave which would have required cooling one or two nights before. The MDT should have been able to adapt more quickly. Hopefully when our anniversary rolls around next year, the MDT will be back on its game.

Easy online booking. Greeter checks your name at the door,…read moreand you walk right in. Perfectly nice foyer. Buy a delicious glass of wine at the concession and seat yourself. Comfortable theatre seats. Great viewing. One exit at the top of the stairs and one at the bottom. If you need to leave in the middle of an act ( I really had to go to the bathroom!!!) you will be escorted back to the upstairs theater entrance. No problem. Just a little eye rolling. Washrooms are clean and modern. Staff are terrific.

Been going here for years (started sometime in high school) and it hasn't changed a bit in quality…read moresince I left. Awesome improv on Friday and Saturday night and tickets are a steal for 2 hours of entertainment. Rapid Fire Theatre is the best - love the Whose Line is it Anyways game style that they use. Just went here to see two shows for the Improvaganza Festival (Wednesday - Opening Night and Saturday - Rapid Fire Theatre and The Gentleman's Club). Tickets were $10 and $15 respectively, worth every penny. Go while you still can! Perfect for a date or hang out with friends. Plus they have cheap drinks and candy (twizzler/nibs).

L'UniTheatre is a gorgeous theatre in Edmonton that is sometime forgotten by the general public…read more Tucked away in the french quarters of Edmonton L'UniTheatre produces its own french theatrical programming as well as is a popular rental venue for companies such as Good Women Dance Collective and Workshop West Theatre. It is also programmed heavily during the Fringe Festival. Built in the late 1990's the theatre is a beautiful space with 3 levels of seating stacked in a manner that allows everyone to be near to the stage and with great sight lines. There really aren't any bad seats in the house. The theatre remains well kept, easy to access and a great spot in a beautiful neighbourhood.

Went here for the first time last night to see a dance performance. The theatre is small - looks…read morelike it can seat around 100 people - and pretty basic. The audio seemed fine but they were only playing recorded music so I don't know what it would be like for a live performance. Two pet peeves: - The seats aren't staggered at all so the person in front of you is right in front of you. Moving their head at the same time as you are moving your head, etc. If you get stuck behind someone taller than you, it's pretty much tough luck, suck it up. Also, not a lot of leg room, rows very close together. - I don't know if it's just because it was -30 outside, but it was boiling hot in the theatre. I got a little dizzy! A few of my friends commented on it as well.

We came here to see the Nutcracker balleta few weeks before Christmas. It was superbly done,…read moreincredible dancers, incredible sets, special effects and costumes. The ESO was there to do all the music which was also amazing. I preordered drinks for the intermission, which I highly recommend if you are seeing anything here. You order before the performance starts and you pick up your drinks etc as soon as intermission starts. I'd never seen a ballet before, it was wonderful and I would love to go again. Pro tip for parking, don't park in the Jubilee parkade, it takes an hour to get out of after. Park anywhere else.

We were there for Romeo and Juliet ballet. Alberta Ballet definitely did an amazing job and we…read moreenjoyed this version a lot. Beautiful and amazing performance! Alberta Ballet is a gem of this province and we should all support them for these amazing experiences! If you haven't gone to ballet yet, it's a great experience and also tickets could be a nice gift to your friends and family! :)

For the most part, I love the fringe. There's loads of shows. Local artists feel well supported…read moreand empowered and its generally well organized and very well attended.... but this was the first year I brought my kids to the Kids Fringe and it was disappointing. To begin with, it wasn't organized well for ages.... there was a booklet that the kids could take around the activities to get stamped.... my 4 year old and 1 year old were too young to understand the concept and my 7 year old wasn't allowed into many of the activities because he was too old and he was bored stiff at many of the others. The fossil digging was pretty cool - everyone enjoyed this. The Box fort zone was highly anticipated.... and highly disappointing.... my front yard on trash day would be more exciting to play in. As pictured, it was a few boxes that were collapsed and largely falling apart.... there was so so much potential for this event.... but it was completely unsupported. We'll continue to support the main fringe festival, but we'll be looking for other activities for our kids.

I love everything about the fringe except the food. You can keep the disappointing 9$ Philly…read morecheesesteaks, but give me so many plays, give me terrible recommendations from artists and promoters, give me unexpected theatre gems that look like bombs from descriptions and names, give me mostly terrible merchandise to purchase with enough neat stuff to keep you looking, give me cheesy and entertaining street performers, give me costumes, racy or not, to grab your attention, give me that sea of humanity in the heart of old Strathcona. It's a whirlwind, you'll laugh, you may cry, you may wonder why it is so humid, hot or cold, you may wonder why there are so many zombie plays (much more last year!). But it's fun and is never a dull moment ... And it means summer is almost over. Enjoy it for what it is. Edmonton at its best! Just a few words of advice. I've NEVER seen an exceptional one man show and zombie show + comedy usually = entertaining. Happy fringe-ing!

Awesome awesome AWESOME belly laughing night at a Rapid Fire Theatre's Inprovaganza tonight! The…read moreBenjamins ROCKED it with their kiss or cut scene! All us ladies had our jaws dropping to the floor when those ladies cut their hair on stage! Say what? Yeah, for real - with blunt stationary scissors! Be sure to arrive on time! Show starts sharp :-) Concessions halfway thru include twizzlers for 2 bits. I highly recommend you drink your wine or beer through a twizzler to get the full experience!

Quite honestly with improv theatre, you never quite know what type of entertainment you're really…read moregoing to get: it will be improvised meaning that it will not follow a script but beyond that, you really don't know. Over the years I've been to numerous RFT shows and events though I definitely don't attend frequently. They are currently located in the Zeidler hall in the Citadel Theatre and this venue is pretty much a perfect size for their shows. They sell drinks (including alcohol) and twizzlers/nibs which can be purchased either before the show or at intermission (depending on the type of show, this may vary). As they're located in the Citadel, you can get here easily via transit and there are many parking garages available within easy walking distances (including the attached library parkade).

REVIEW UPDATE So we…read moreare now in our 2nd year at Dance Co. and could not be any happier! My daughter did 2 full year long classes last year, attended the summer camp including a pizza party and sleepover, and now both my daughter and son are enrolled again in year long classes. Our experiences at Dance Co have been phenomenal! The quality of instruction and teachers has been top notch, the facility is wonderful, and the staff always friendly and helpful. The only thing I didn't like so much last year was the end of year format for recital time ended up requiring that we purchase tickets to two separate show times and it's through ticket master so you end up paying surcharges on the tickets so they ended up being about $15 each which for a family with grandparents, siblings, and 2 shows to attend ends up being more than a $150. I'm not sure how they could rectify this other than maybe only selling tickets through them and then not having the ticket master surcharge which adds up being close to $40 when you are buying 8 tickets (4 tix for 2 show times). One thing Dance Co. does to help support families with multiple dancers or a dancer that takes a lot of classes, is you pay by the number of hours taught per week. So each subsequent class costs slightly less per hour than the previous class in any given year. And this is the case that swayed me into signing my 3 year old son up for preschool dance this year because his sister is already taking 2 full one hour weekly classes, so why not add on a half hour preschool class on the same night as his big sis? Dance Co. also has a little consignment section which is great for picking up a second hand pair of taps or ballet shoes for your chitlin. They also offer a preschool program that always fills up and looks just marvellous (as I peek through the window). I foresee a long relationship with Dance Co. Two thumbs WAY UP! Oh and don't forget to attend their summer customer appreciation day with a free BBQ, bouncy castle, face painting, trial classes, and draws!

Dance camps anyone? We were lucky to get to try out 2 different camps put on by dance co. One last…read moresummer which was a mermaid theme and over the spring break this year as well. You can really see the instructors enjoy what they were doing. My little can be a bit shy and it was so cool to see her open up and start moving and grooving with the others. A big part of my rating is also based on how well the pivoted during the changes in protocols ect. We always felt well informed and were given tons of options. They do offer a ton of competitive and recreational dancing as well which we are excited to try in the fall, but I definitely can recommend the summer camps. So fun for the kids!

Like some of the other reviewers, 2017 was my first time attending the Deep Freeze festival and I…read morehave to say: I was definitely impressed with what I saw. We were under a bit of a time constraint but somehow managed to pack in some street hockey, curling, ice sculptures, glass blowing, a horse-drawn sleigh ride and pierogis (sooooo good). I can only imagine what we could have done with more time! Festivals like this are the reason I love Edmonton so much. It gives you a reason to look forward to winter and it forces you to go outside, even in -30 weather. Lucky for us, Sunday was bright, sunny, and fairly warm so we didn't have to worry too much about the cold but I definitely recommend bundling up if the weather isn't as nice. You're going to want to spend as much time as possible outside. Of course there are opportunities to pop inside for a bite to eat (again, the pierogis are sooooo good) or to see some live music. I can't wait for next year!

I went to Deep Freeze for the first time this year…read more This is a winter festival, and while there are things that happen inside there are a lot of outside events as well, so be prepared for the weather. If you forgot your toque the festival was selling some, as well as Raising The Roof (a fundraiser for Homeward Trust Edmonton). I really liked this festival. My friends and I went on Saturday when it was the Ukrainian day (they celebrate Francophone culture on the Sunday). The them for the festival was fairies and orgres, which you could see in some of the snow and ice carvings, and the artwork. There were supposed to by fairy doors in the business windows along 118, but I didn't see any, which was kind of sad. It was cool checking out the festival, from the snow scultptures outside to the performances and the art inside the Nina (a gallery I hadn't been to). The festival is free to attend, but they accept donations and if you wanted to get any food that was a purchase as well. We went on the really cold day of the festival, but there are heaters outside and lots of places to warm up. We were sad that we had missed the actually deep freezer races by about 10 minutes. Maybe another year I'll catch that. I love the festivals that Edmonton has and the fact that we continue to have festivals all year long, not just in the summer. Winter isn't my favourite time of year, but it's fun to get out and spend some time outside and check out an awesome festival like Deep Freeze.