Edmonton, Alberta

As a native of Indianapolis, a laid-back Midwestern city, my first visit to Edmonton has made me feel at home. The sixth-largest city in Canada is similar in size to Indy (a little over 1 million), and the people are very friendly.

It takes some effort to get to Edmonton - it's almost four hours north of Calgary - but a visit, especially in the summertime, is worth it.

I visited in late July when the city was buzzing was several of its biggest events of the year - although I'm not sure anything tops Oilers hockey in the winter in the mindset of Edmontonians.

Edmonton's CapitalEx, a 10-day "state fair", was in mid-swing. I didn't see any pigs or other livestock common to the Indiana State Fair, but there was a lively midway with games and rides, several concert areas and exhibition halls filled with various vendors. One of the most unique attractions was a butterfly exhibit, where visitors could walk in a large area covered by netting and mingle with thousands of exotic butterflies.

Another area drawing a large crowd at CapitalEx was Sip!, a wine and food-tasting experience. This area offered fair goers the chance to sample wines, beers, spirits and food from some of the areas restaurants and breweries. I two very interesting beers brewed by Amber's Brewing Company. The first was Australian Mountain Pepper Berry Lager. It was quite tasty, and it had just a hint of a pepper flavor. I also sampled the Sap Vampire Maple Lager, which was quite different from any beer I had tasted before due to its maple taste.

CapitalEx takes place at Northlands, which also houses the Oilers' arena and a horse track.

Another event taking place in Edmonton during my visit in July was Taste of Edmonton. Forty restaurants set up booths in Sir Winston Churchill Square, located downtown just a block from my hotel - Sutton Place. Visitors could sample nearly 80 menu items from the different restaurants.

Two major sporting events were also occuring in Edmonton during my visit, an Indy car race at the City Centre Airport and a rodeo. The city also has an independent minor league baseball team and a Canadian Football League team.

I didn't have time, but the city also offers numerous parks, hiking and biking trails to take advantage of on the long summer days. With its northern location, the sun rises around 5:30 a.m. and doesn't set until around 10:30 p.m. Bring sunscreen. The northern location makes the sun feel more intense. I noticed my skin starting to feel hot after only a limited amount of time outside.