Community Events for Sustainability and Food Security in Edmonton
OFRE events
Join us for hands-on workshops and engaging events in Edmonton, from food preservation and tree care to community fruit gleans and sustainability discussions. There's something for everyone passionate about local food and a greener future.
Explore Our Upcoming Events
workshops and classes
From pickled beets to sourdough bread and home made butter—join us for hands-on homesteading classes that turn seasonal chaos into pantry calm (and maybe jam).
Tomato Preservation Workshop. One Evening, a Winter’s Worth of Tomatoes.
Learn how to preserve the taste and nutrition of your tomato harvest through freezing, dehydrating, ripening tips, and more—just in time for Alberta’s first frost.
Millhurst Apple Cider Celebration
Kick off Edmonton’s Apple Cider Celebration with a hands-on harvest party in Millhurst. Join the community for cider pressing, apple mashing, and fun family food skills at Sakaw Gardens.
Riverdale Apple Cider Celebration
Celebrate the harvest in Riverdale Park with hands-on apple pressing, orchard blessings, and fresh local cider—family-friendly fun rooted in food, sustainability, and the spirit of Edmonton’s river valley.
Avonmore Apple Cider Celebration
Avonmore’s Apple Cider Celebration brings families together for hands-on food preservation, pedal-powered cider pressing, and a joyful orchard blessing. Free, fun, and kid-powered, it’s a seasonal celebration of local food traditions.
Hands-On Homesteading Classes in the Heart of Edmonton
Discover the Joy of Seasonal Skill-Building
At Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton (OFRE), our events invite you to reconnect with the time-tested skills that turn backyard harvests into pantry staples. If you're wrangling crabapples, eyeing your neighbour’s rhubarb jungle, or wondering what to do with six zucchinis the size of baseball bats—we've got a workshop for that.
From fermentation adventures to zero-waste preserving techniques, every OFRE event is built on hands-on learning, community connection, and the power of local abundance.
Grow, Harvest, Preserve: What to Expect
Our workshops cover the full cycle of seasonal food resilience:
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Urban homesteading basics like water bath canning, root cellaring, and dehydration for long-term storage
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Food preservation for all skill levels—from jams and jellies to fermented foods for gut health
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Garden-to-jar solutions for zero-waste cooking, including creative ways to use scraps, gluts, and gleaned produce
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Backyard fruit tree care and seasonal orchard maintenance (yes, we’ll help you tackle that apple maggot situation!)
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Family-friendly and beginner-welcoming sessions taught by local food leaders and preservation pros
Empowering Edmontonians Through Food Literacy
We believe food security starts with food knowledge. That’s why OFRE events blend practical skills with community-building:
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Affordable, accessible workshops designed for busy urban dwellers
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Classes tailored to Edmonton’s climate and Zone 3 harvest rhythms
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A warm, welcoming space to learn, share, and grow—no pressure, just pickles
Whether you’re preserving your garden’s bounty, rescuing fruit from a neighbour’s tree, or learning to stretch your food dollars, you’ll leave each event with new skills and deeper roots in Edmonton’s food community.
Stay in the Loop
New workshops are added seasonally—some sell out fast! Be sure to join our newsletter and be a part of the action.