FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Have a question regarding this year's festival? We have the answers! Keep reading for more information about tickets, food, accessibility, and more.
General Festival Questions
Freewill runs from June 27 - July 20, 2025 at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park. We will be presenting "As You Like It."
We will be performing at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park (9999 Grierson Hill NW, Edmonton, AB).
Evening performances run Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30pm.
Matinee performances run Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm.
There are no performances on Mondays or Sunday evenings.
The show runs approximately 2 hours long with a 15 minute intermission.
Yes. With the closure of our usual venue in Hawrelak Park and theatre attendance still hurting from the slowdown during the pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to continue reducing our festival to one production.
With your help, we are hoping to return to the Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park with a full cast and two productions next year. This will only be possible if we can raise enough money this year.
If you’d like to help us, please donate to our Save Freewill campaign, come to the festival, and share the word!
Yes! We will be outdoors, with our favourite ambiance director, Mother Nature.
Unlike Hawrelak Park, our stage and audience are in the open air, so we recommend dressing for the weather and for any inclement weather.
Bring your own chairs, blankets and picnics or sit on the bleachers and enjoy the views of the River Valley. Please note: bleacher seating is limited so we recommend making a date of the experience and bringing comfortable chairs to enjoy the show.
Curb cuts are on all sidewalks around the festival and there are no stairs required to access the theatre space. There is a concrete ramp heading from the parking lot to the grass space. The festival grounds are on grass and may be uneven. Placard parking spots are available.
There are bleachers available but, if you are able, we do recommend bringing your own chair or blanket to enjoy a closer view of the stage.
Port-a-potties are on site, including 2 accessible ones.
Service animals are welcome at the Freewill Shakespeare Festival!
If you have any specific questions, emails us at info@freewillshakespeare.com.
Parking
Parking at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park is a bit limited. We are encouraging people to take transit, walk, roll, or cycle to the festival. Placard accessibility spots are available near the entrance of the festival site.
Public Transit
Louise McKinney Riverfront Park is accessible by Edmonton Transit System (ETS). Please visit the ETS website for further information and schedules. The Park is conveniently located close to several bus stops along Jasper Ave, the Quarters stop on the Valley Line LRT, and Churchill stop on the Metro Line LRT. Additional parking is available underground at the Citadel or Canada Place. As it is on a hill, please note you may have to walk a bit to get to the grounds.
Walking
There are many lovely walking paths in and around the area to also experience the beautiful views of the River Valley.
Biking
There are several protected bike paths and paved walkways around the park. Secure bike lock up is available on site.
The outer gates to the festival, including the box office, will open 60 minutes before each show (at 1:00pm for matinees and 6:30pm for evening performances). The inner gates to the performance area will open closer to the show. “Adopt Freewill” passholders and those who require additional assistance will be seated first.
The Freewill box office and outer festival gates open 60 minutes before each show (at 1:00 pm for matinees and 6:30 pm for evening performances).
We recommend arriving between an hour to a half hour before the show. Arriving earlier also allows you the opportunity to place your seat in the spot that works for you. If you are buying tickets onsite, we recommend arriving at the box office at least 30 minutes before the performance begins.
Limited snacks and drinks will be available for purchase, as well as a selection of wine and draft beer. We’re also selling merchandise, offering a Saturday artisan market, and scheduling artists to perform before the show and during intermission.
Sign up to join our roster by using this form or email us at volunteer@freewillshakespeare.com. Learn more on our Volunteer page!
Yes! You are free to bring along food or snacks to enjoy during the performance.
If you have other questions or concerns, please email us at info@freewillshakespeare.com
We recommend buying your tickets ahead of time. Visit the Tickets page to secure your preferred date(s)!
Tickets will still be available to purchase before the performance.
Pay-What-You-Will performances allow you to set your own ticket price. Our PWYW performances are on Tuesdays-Thursdays and the Saturday matinee.
However much you’d like! Our online system accepts any amount over $1 for the cost of the ticket. Our regular adult prices are $35, if you want to pay that amount, but there is no limit to what you’d like to pay.
Yes! Seniors and students pay $25 for general admission (students need to show a valid student ID). Students who attend on Sunday only pay $5. Children under 12 can come for free!
Our ticket add-ons are food boxes, available on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, made fresh to order by Culina. Due to their processing times, all food boxes must be ordered one week in advance. If you try to purchase and it is not processing, this is due to the deadline having already passed.
To add a food box to your cart, add tickets to any of our Friday, Saturday, or Sunday shows a week in advance of seeing them and you will be able to add-on to your cart and process the payment.
To see the full list of add-on options, check out our Ticketing site or visit our Festival page for more info.
Please email us at info@freewillshakespeare.com to inquire about group pricing for groups over 10.
All seating is general admission. We recommend arriving early if you want to ensure you are seated in a specific spot, or purchase an Adopt Freewill Pass to get the first access to choose your spot. To get the closest spots to the stage, bring your own chairs.
The festival seating is BYOC - bring your own chair or blanket. We will have two banks of bleachers set up as well, with space in front for additional seating. To get a view closest to the stage we recommend bringing a chair or blanket of your choice.
At Freewill, we like to inspire the future generation of audiences and introduce those to the experience of seeing Shakespeare live, at a more accessible price.
If $5 is to much, join us for any of our Pay-What-You-Will performances on Tuesdays through Thursdays or our Saturday matinee, to choose how much you pay.
Sunday performances are $5 for students with a valid ID.
Want to help us continue this initiative? Join us as a Sponsor or Donate today!
This is an open air venue so we recommend dressing for the weather.
If there is rain or wind we may pause the show for up to 30 minutes to give the weather a chance to pass us by. If we are unable to continue, everyone in attendance will be issued a rain check to attend another performance on the date of their choice.
If you do want to exchange your ticket for a different date beforehand, you need to make your request before 3 pm on the day of the performance.
We do not have an age restriction for our senior tickets. If you qualify yourself as a senior or have received senior ticket discounts at other events or festivals, you are welcome to book a senior ticket.