William Hawrelak Park
Encyclopedia
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. It is named after former mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
William Hawrelak
William Hawrelak
William Hawrelak was a politician in Alberta, Canada, the longest-serving mayor in Edmonton's history, and a candidate for election to the Canadian House of Commons.-Early life:...
, and was formerly known as Mayfair Park.
The park is situated in Edmonton's river valley
North Saskatchewan River valley parks system
The North Saskatchewan River valley parks system is a continuous collection of urban parks in the North Saskatchewan River valley of Edmonton, Alberta....
, next to the North Saskatchewan River
North Saskatchewan River
The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows east from the Canadian Rockies to central Saskatchewan. It is one of two major rivers that join to make up the Saskatchewan River....
. The park is home to the Heritage Amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
, which is used for many festivals and performances, such as the Freewill Shakespeare Festival, the Edmonton Heritage Festival and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra's Symphony Under the Sky Festival. Also there is a large artificial lake that is popular with visitors. In the summertime one can rent paddleboats or feed ducks, and in the winter the entire lake is a vast skating rink
Skating rink
A skating rink may refer to:* an ice rink used for ice skating* a roller rink used for roller skating...
.
The park has walking–hiking trails around the perimeter which can be used for cross-country skiing in the winter. There are picnic sites, a playground, and even beach volleyball nets on site.
In recent years, the park has played host to the Bright Nights Festival around Christmastime. Many light installations are present and city-dwellers can drive their vehicles around the park for a fee.