The Great Canadian Fitfest
"Finding your fit in YEG."
On February 4 and 5, Edmonton was one of the host cities for the Great Canadian Fit Fest. Over 70 different fitness-related businesses were featured over the span of two days highlighting not only the growth in volume of the fitness industry within our city, but also the large diversity of activities available. When the two masterminds behind the event, Steve Capp and Jackie Winther were in the early stages of developing Fit Fest, their vision was to “provide an unintimidating environment for adults of any age or fitness level to get out and try new types of physical activity available to them.” From seeing the event, and being present at Yogalife’s own exhibit on the Saturday, I can say that Steve and Jackie accomplished that, and then some.
Set at the Edmonton Expo Centre, upon entering GC Fit Fest, you’re hit with a high-energy blast of pump-up music coming from one of the hourly group classes held in the central square amongst the exhibits. Yogalife was privileged to host two classes over the weekend, with Cole Williston on Saturday guiding his group through an acro yoga session, followed by Amy Stuparyk who led a flow class on the Sunday.
A short walk around the perimeter of the group class space exposes you to a number of different health and wellness initiatives.
Styles of exercise exhibits were diverse and included activities such as pole dance fitness, parkour, axe throwing, kick boxing and Crossfit.
Probably the most viral on Instagram was a high intensity obstacle course involving monkey bars, wall climbing and carrying a cement ball on to a pedestal. Wellness industries including various massage therapy schools, physiotherapy businesses, float businesses and fitness foods were also a feature at the event.
It was weekend that exposed the Edmonton community to a whole range of fitness activities. Increased awareness of what’s available, through festival events such as the Great Canadian Fit Fest will hopefully aid those looking to get started on a journey to better health find their niche, or help those who feel stuck in a routine find something that makes exercise fun again. Yogalife had a great time meeting other health and wellness initiatives, and exposing our wonderful community to those interested in starting a yoga practice! For more information, and for updates on future events, you can check out GC Fitfest on their website: