Wear Orange to Fort Edmonton Park
On the morning of September 30, the parking lot at Fort Edmonton Park fills with orange — shirts, scarves, ribbon skirts, tiny orange handprints on paper. The park at 7000 143 St NW opens its doors from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and the centrepiece of your visit is the Indigenous Peoples Experience, an immersive exhibit tracing First Nations and Métis histories, cultures and perspectives from before European settlement through the generations that followed. Plan to spend real time inside it rather than passing through; the day is built for reflection, and the exhibit rewards slow attention.
- Where: Fort Edmonton Park, 7000 143 St NW, Edmonton
- When: September 30, 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
- What to bring: An orange shirt — the day is marked by wearing one, in honour of the children who never returned from residential schools and of Survivors, their families and communities.
Walk the Honour Walk in St. Albert
Head just northwest of the city to Mission Park at 15 Mission Avenue in St. Albert, where the afternoon runs from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM. The programme brings together guest speakers, Knowledge Keepers, performers, local artisans and food vendors — the kind of gathering where you can listen, eat, and buy directly from Indigenous makers. The day's centre is the Honour Walk, which moves from Mission Park to Kâkesimokamik, The Healing Garden. Walk it at the pace of the people around you.
Smudge, Tea and Bannock at Fort Saskatchewan
Further afield, the Fort Heritage Precinct at 10006 100 Avenue in Fort Saskatchewan runs its own observance from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM. The morning begins with smudging, tea and bannock, followed by opening remarks and a drum-led community walk along the 1.2 km Heritage Loop Trail — a distance short enough to bring children along. The exhibition "Hear Our Voices: Michel People and Residential Schools" is open free of charge from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. If you have never tasted bannock, this is the setting to try it: simple, warm, and shared in a circle rather than sold from a counter.
Keep the Conversation Going After September 30
The City of Edmonton publishes additional events and educational resources through its own website, so check there as the date approaches for programming beyond the anchor sites above. If you are visiting with children, the CBC Kids YouTube channel carries age-appropriate videos on Indigenous cultures and experiences, and a curated list of children's books by First Nations, Inuit and Métis authors makes a good companion for the drive home. The day itself is observed annually on September 30 — if you are planning a 2026 trip, build your itinerary around that date and treat the surrounding days as open time in Edmonton.
Start with the orange shirt, then choose your ground: the immersive histories at Fort Edmonton Park, the Honour Walk in St. Albert, or the drum-led trail in Fort Saskatchewan. September 30 comes once a year, and each of these places asks only that you show up, listen, and carry what you learn past the day itself.