The Winter Cities Shake-Up is an international conference on shaking up preconceptions about how we plan, design, live, work, and play in winter cities. It’s a conference for urban planners and designers, entrepreneurs and business people, artists, cultural and community organizers, and people who live in winter cities and want to take advantage of all winter has to offer.

For our Early Bird rate of $505 (and even less for non-profits!), the Winter Shake-Up package is one you don’t want to miss! Just take a look at the numbers:

3 (and a half) Days
The conference officially begins on January 28 and closes on January 30, 2015, but we encourage you to arrive on January 27 and to head over to Edmonton’s gorgeous Winspear Centre for the Welcoming Reception.  Cocktails, art displays, performances and storytelling will set the stage for three more days of creative thinking around making the most of the winter season.

60+ Presentations
Winter Shake-Up has over 60 brilliant minds coming to Edmonton from places like Iceland, Finland, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, and across Canada and its Northern Territories.

3 Keynote Speakers
Helen Marriage: Artichoke , London, England - Artichoke produces urban spectacles and large-scale, ambitious events that bring people together to be part of something out of the ordinary.  For example, the Sultan’s Elephant. 42 tons of elephant and a 20 foot girl cruising through the streets of London for four days before disappearing in a puff of smoke… 

Mikael Colville-Andersen: Copenhagenize Design Company - Colville-Andersen is a leading global voice in urban planning. He believes the bicycle is the most important tool for rebuilding livable cities: “You make the bicycle the quickest way from A to B in a city, any city, doesn’t matter how hot or cold, and citizen cyclists will ride, seduced by the good design, the convenience and the safety.”

Terry O’Reilly: Marketing expert, author, and radio host - How do we effect large-scale social change? How do we change a city’s ‘story’ from being cold, dark and dangerous for half the year because of winter, to being fun, full of opportunity and THE place to be – in winter and all year round? Part of the answer lies in marketing done right: “Really good big ideas are powerful enough to change not only how we think, but what we do and the choices we make.”

30+ Market Vendors
The conference officially wraps at 11:45am on January 28. 15 minutes later, the fun continues at the Winter Shake-Up Festival & Market!  Edmonton’s downtown gathering place, Churchill Square, will light up with food, drinks, entertainment, activities for all ages and an outdoor market featuring over 30 local vendors.  The Shake-Up Festival and Market, from noon – 8pm, is a party for conference delegates and all Edmontonians.

9 Field Trips
As a Winter Shake-Up delegate, you can choose from 9 field trips, each showcasing different aspects of winter life. These include:

  • a sampler of the Ice on Whyte Festival
  • winter cycling with Edmonton Bicycle Commuters
  • a behind-the-scenes peak into the Silver Skate Festival just days before it opens
  • a visit with Edmonton’s Snow Boss
  • place-making at the community level with the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, an umbrella organization for 156 city community leagues
  • a trip to Landmark Home’s innovative indoor house production facility
  • a birds-eye view of Edmonton’s booming downtown revitalization, including plans for Blachford, one of the largest sustainable development projects being planned, and the new Edmonton Arena District

7 Pre and Post Conference Activities
Edmonton has so much to offer in the way of winter fun that we can’t possibly include it all in the Shake-Up Conference. We encourage our delegates to check out these activities, before and after the conference:

  • Bison Tour at Elk Island National Park, January 27, 11am-3pm
  • Skiing and Snowboarding at Snow Valley, January 27, 10am-4pm
  • Starlight Bike Ride to the University of Alberta Observatory, January 29, 7:20-9pm
  • Fun with Snow Sculpting and Winterscaping, Friday, January 30, 2-4:30pm
  • Wacky Winter Challenge at Miquelon Lake, January 30, 2:30-6pm
  • Tour Through the River Valley with Walkable Edmonton, January 30, 2:30-5pm
  • Cross-Country Skiing at Victoria Park Nordic Ski Loop, January 30, 3:30-8pm

We can’t wait to see you in January for this incredible conference! 

Follow us on Twitter @WinterCities! 

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