Food & Drink
Producer to Plate in Southern Alberta
Local restaurants that feature Southern Alberta farmers, ranchers, and greenhouses on their chef-curated menu.
Local restaurants that feature Southern Alberta farmers, ranchers, and greenhouses on their chef-curated menu.
Owner Carmen has a passion for creating wholesome and nutritious dishes, with sustainability at top of mind. There is a list of creamy soups, panini-pressed sandwiches, and fresh salads made with Alberta-farm chickpeas, like the chickpea dill salad, locally-grown produce, and the high-quality oils and balsamics featured in the Tuscany-themed taproom.
For those on the lookout for live music, this bustling spot has a stage that hosts local and traveling bands, spanning the genres. The flavourful food menu features Southern Alberta beef from Mike’s Meats with the steak fajitas. For an appetizer, try the salsa flight and pair with the tequila flight.
Owners Chris Orchard and Sandee Anderson are fully focused on serving Southern-sourced dishes. Chef Chris has offered a culinary menu that features local ranchers and greenhouses for over 20 years. Chris drives two hours for elk from North Fork Ranch and drives over two hours for lamb from Ewenique Farms. Front of House Manager Sandee has curated the ultimate cocktail menu. Along with the farm to fork produce, absolutely everything on the menu is made from scratch.
Owners Mario and Yasmin serve a menu full of authentic Mexican cuisine. From a salsa bar, to enchiladas, tacos, and burritos, you’ll also find locally-sourced ingredients featured in the dishes, like the Quesotaco with beef from Deerview Meats.
A cozy eatery serving soups, sandwiches, salads, and shareables inside the historic site Hargrave-Sissons Block. Owners Miranda and Bryton want guests to feel at home and feature local artists and local ingredients, from Seven Persons Sausage and Deluxe Meats + Seafood, to local craft beer and locally-grown vegetables.
Chef Adam and General Manager Jen opened Hometown on historic North Railway Street, bringing a beautiful view of the Canadian Pacific Railway. A familiar place emulating a welcoming home, and serving upscale comfort dishes, elevated brunch, and a blind menu for Sunday Dinner Feature. Alberta-sourced ingredients are sprinkled throughout the seasonal menu, to pair with a premium cocktail and mocktail list and local craft beer.
Hot drinks, sweet treats, and local markets.
As you walk towards the baked goods, admire the local art gallery on the walls. Time is taken to steep tea, blend lattes, brew coffee, layer sandwiches, simmer soups, and bake treats at this modern café.
1775 Dunmore Rd. SE
Located on the Southwest Hill, this neighbourhood brunch and bakery spot celebrates the magic of being human, whether seated in the colourful indoors surrounded by local art, or on the beautiful sunny patio with a crafted beverage in hand.
#104 266 Ave. SW
Zucchini Blossom Market & Café
For two decades, this market and café has prepared bright-coloured meals that feature Southern-sourced ingredients, and is located in one of Medicine Hat’s most historic neighbourhoods.
50 3 St. NE
An all-season market, featuring over 60 Alberta-based vendors, from many creative and culinary worlds. Within the market is a cafe with a drive-thru. This local spot is ready to serve, whether there’s time to stop or only time for to-go while driving Highway 3.
1750 Gershaw Dr. SW
Sunshine Cafe & Market Guided Tour
Hop on the Sunshine Trolley to visit all four cafés and markets in Medicine Hat. Sip curated beverages, sample sweet and savoury treats, meet the owners, and shop along the way.
Jacqueline Walker started playing the cello at six years old.
"There is something really special about being the background music that creates an atmosphere." - Jacqueline Walker
As she sets up her bow stringed instrument inside Medalta in the Historic Clay District, cellist Jacqueline Walker prepares to perform inside the National Historic Site.
Guests will delight in a locally-prepared dinner, with live music complimenting the historic beehive kiln. A spot where clay was once fired. One of the many venues Walker has performed in Medicine Hat.
Drawn to the cello when she was six years old, Walker appreciates the instrument for its beautiful, calming sound. And as she performs live, enhancing the experience for guests is something she’s grown to enjoy.
Rustic Kitchen + Bar, a spot that’s served the city for over 20 years, hosted an Italian feast where Walker performed. She says there’s something to be said about how sound waves naturally have an effect on people, and it’s felt when music is played live.
Medicine Hat has been home to her and her family for over a decade. Picnics at Kin Coulee Park, mornings at the Farmers’ Market, lunches at a local eateries, and the endless sunshine have encouraged them to stay in the small city.
If you’d like for Jacqueline Walker to perform at your next event, she can be contacted at walker.jacquelined@gmail.com.
A colourful race coming to Medicine Hat's trail system.
“People feel good whenever they’re doing something together. They feel unified, and this race brings people together and is a really great way to build good memories.” - Deborah Northcott
Deborah Northcott is the co-founder and director of Real Humanitarian, and hosted the first Colour Run in 2014.
After over a decade, the fundraising event continues to see families and friend groups running through a rainbow of colour on the trail. Food grade certified and gluten-free coloured powder is thrown into the air throughout the race, painting a vibrant canvas onto racers.
On Saturday, May 24, 2025, the Colour Run will begin at the Visitor Information Centre and will weave throughout the coulees with slight inclines. Beautiful views of Paradise Valley Golf Course and Medicine Hat coulees are found along the paved pathway, while a DJ plays music and keeps the energy high.
The Colour Run is hosted in partnership with the Rise Up Hot Air Balloon Festival in 2025. Both bring colour to the city in new ways. While people wait for flights in the morning and evening, they can participate in this event that’s also happening in the city.
Find more details or sign up for The Colour Run here.
Prizes are awarded at the end of the event and sponsors can get in on the fun with a trophy awarded for best colour station as voted on by the participants. Hues for Humanity is a fun way to support Real Humanitarian’s educational support programs for at-risk children in developing nations, while enjoying time with family and friends. By participating as a sponsor of the Hues for Humanity event you will become an integral part of helping these children build their lives. 100% of the profits earned from Hues for Humanity events are used to support Real Humanitarian’s education, health and empowerment initiatives around the world. Each year Real Humanitarian provides educational, medical, and social-emotional support to over 1000 youth through their programs and partners in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Guatemala.
In the historic hub with local eateries, an ultimate live music crawl is found in downtown Medicine Hat.
A vibrant energy bounces off the colourful hand painted walls when live music fills Casa Amigos Cantina. Local to traveling bands of all genres will take the Cantina stage in the summer, including three from Puerto Vallarta. Drink specials and the dance floor await those who search for live entertainment. Start the evening with the salsa & chips flight, and pair it with the tequila flight. They opened their doors with the goal to be a music hub, and they love how hosting live music invites people downtown to have dinner and stay longer to enjoy the live music.
For bands interested in booking this venue, Casa Amigos Cantina features a portable stage and PA system if needed.
With a patio that seats more than the indoor area, LOCAL Public Eatery throws summer events with live music as the main entertainment. And many people still talk about their events as more summer seasons pass. The LOCAL team says the patio is where the core memories are made in the summer, and live music plays such a big part in that. It elevates the experience of going out. We want people to have a very vivid experience that they remember for many summers to come.
Snug inside a historic site, note: comfort food + drink hosts their Summer Concert Series. Live monthly performances invite guests throughout the year. The traveling, Canadian artists make a stop in Medicine Hat's Historic Downtown to play inside the beautiful brick building. The menu at note: is inspired by local ingredients and homemade comfort food that can be shared. From the Farmers Plate to All Cheese for a Basement, indulge in a few dishes while live music graces the space.
The Yard Patio & Eatery (seasonal)
With an elevated food menu and a hot spot for live music, The Yard Patio & Eatery stays as local as possible with everything they do. Beers and spirits are sourced from Medicine Hat breweries and its distillery. Dishes featured on the menu include ingredients produced near the city. And the outdoor eatery is hosting the Patio Dinner Club once a month until September, where local chefs will prepare a five-course meal under the sunshine.
From live entertainment to open mic nights, this downtown brewery always has something happening in the Taproom. Located inside a historic building in the heart of the city, Travois Ale Works is a micro-brewery serving rotating beer and the classics made by Brewer Brady and a chef-curated menu by Chef Jordan. While joining in on the live entertainment, pair it will a flight, a pint, and a plate full of thoughtfuly prepared food.
| Downtown Medicine Hat is becoming an entertainment district to hop around. And with the new Tipsy Trolley, people can pedal to the next spot.
| If you’re a band interested in performing at one of these venues, owners are available through email or social media.
iIf you're a venue for live music, add your downtown eatery here.
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Hidden in the hills.
“Cypress Hills is as beautiful as any other place in the world. And the ultra-marathon showcases and introduces people to this hidden oasis we have in our corner.” says Rita Pasiciel.
An ultra-marathon brings racers to the rolling hills, with vast scenery, forested areas, and an array of landscape to view. Hidden Oasis Ultra is a 50-kilometre trek through lodgepole pine and aspen forest throughout Elkwater in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.
Event organizer Rita Pasiciel has traveled the world and continues to fly to races hosted hundreds of kilometres away. After she moved to Medicine Hat seven years ago, she planned and hosted Hidden Oasis Ultra with a small team of people that launched in 2022.
“Cypress Hills is as beautiful as any other place in the world. And the ultra-marathon showcases and introduces people to this hidden oasis we have in our corner,” says Pasiciel.
Surrounded by flat prairie land, when driving into Elkwater people are suddenly immersed by rolling hills and green forest. It’s a place locals often refer to as “an oasis in the prairies”.
Hidden Oasis is the first ultra race hosted in this small part of the world, where experienced runners from British Columbia to Ontario have run the challenging and nature-filled marathon.
Wooden medals made of local trees and carved locally are given to those who quickly cross the finish line, a more natural, sustainable keepsake sourced from the place that’s home to the experience.
“This race has to be on your list. It’s a fun event, and it happens to be a race at the same time,” says Pasiciel.
Justyna Kolodziej Gavrylov joined Hidden Oasis for the first time in 2023. Impressed by the food stations, amount of washrooms along the 50-kilometre trail, and feeling of being welcomed by organizers, volunteers, and racers, this runner is ready to return.
“You have everything — the open space on Horseshoe Canyon and a nice breeze with sunshine. Then you go into the forested area where it’s shaded. The landscape and scenic change is massively different throughout the whole race,” says Kolodziej Gavrylov, who moved to Medicine Hat in 2021.
She says there’s a wholesome, local energy, with a main focus of coming together, running outdoors, and being in nature. It brings people through all the best spots in Elkwater.
Once the finish line is crossed, food and beverages from Medicine Hat Brewing Company await the racers, during the socializer for them to celebrate their accomplishments throughout the marathon, meet other runners who travel for events just like this, and to carry the day into the evening.
Three Indigenous women sharing inspiration in Medicine Hat and beyond.
Good Sweetgrass Woman, Many Blessings Woman
Brenda Mercer, who’s Dakota Sioux from Standing Buffalo Nation, has been beading for 51 years, since she was eight years old. Her non-Indigenous cousin taught her the daisy stitch, and Mercer was hooked.
The artist always has earrings in her purse, to give to strangers and friends. When giving, she shares a bit about who she is and her story, “I tell them, ‘I made these for you with all my love and good intentions. I’ve had people come up to me a year later saying they wear them with pride and still feel the love.'”
Mercer also hosts Sharing Stories at the Saamis Tepee, where she shares personal stories and Indigenous stories from the past, while she teaches an Indigenous craft to the group. Find more information on page xx
Find Brenda Mercer’s jewelry (White Horse Rider Co.) at the Visitor Information Centre, 330 Gehring Rd. SW.
Métis woman JoLynn Parenteau writes about Indigenous people, places, language, and traditions, in a column with the Medicine Hat News. After two years of writing, Parenteau feels it’s time to encapsulate each article in a book: an anthology to preserve the true stories of historic and modern-day Indigenous life.
“Those connections to culture really are soul-uplifting for all of us, and it’s so important through all heritages,” says Parenteau. “Everyone is so multi-faceted. There’s never one single layer to a person. That’s what I enjoy discovering about people.”
Along with writing, Paranteau has been invited to speak at events across Canada acknowledging Indigenous homelessness, and in 2022 she launched the 90-minute financial budgeting course “Métis Money Moves”. Since then it has grown to a 10-hour, four class instruction.
Whether she is writing, speaking, or teaching, Parenteau has set her sights on helping people, through story-telling from her experience and stories shared by others.
White Bear Woman
Josie Saddleback, who’s Nehiyah Cree, was drawn to a beautiful jingle dress full of reds, turquoises, oranges, and yellows, with pockets that could hold her medicine and crystals. When the dress fit like a glove, she knew jingle dancing found her.
“I feel very grounded and proud of who I am when I dance. Once I hear the downbeat of the drum, the song takes over me. I feel close to my ancestors. I’m carrying their spirits with me, their presence, and I’m keeping their memories and cultural teachings alive, and making them proud.”
The jingle dancer and jewelry artist started Saddleback Stones in 2020, after already beading for two years. She drives the prairie roads in the summer and stays in the city to attend markets and share her handmade rings, earrings, necklaces, and candles. Saddleback also beads the edges of wide-brim hats and along false eyelashes, to have the beads emulate eyeliner.
Follow @SaddlebackStones to find the artist at an upcoming market.
Sharing Indigenous culture by gathering together.
A conversational day spent outdoors with local storytellers from Miywasin Friendship Centre, in places Indigenous peoples called home, lived off the land, and started their traditions and storytelling. Ride the Sunshine Trolley to two locations, and then join a hands-on Indigenous practice to take home near the end of the gathering. Visit tourismmedicinehat.com for event dates.
Join Dakota Sioux artist and storyteller Brenda Mercer in learning about the land, medicine plants, and Indigenous peoples who lived and gathered on these lands for hundreds of years. Discover new ways of knowing and connecting through personal stories and crafting at the Saamis Tepee. Visit tixx.ca for event dates.
A celebration of Indigenous culture and Powwow demonstration is hosted annually at Kin Park, with teepee displays, dancers and artisans, face painting, and food trucks. Delve into Indigenous traditions, live music, Powwow, and regalia at this community event.
Showcasing Métis and Indigenous culture, the gathering brings together talented musicians, dancers, and cultural teachers, in a traditional setting of tipi’s and trapper’s tents. The event features instrument workshops, from fiddle to Métis jigging, and artisans offer instruction in sash finger weaving, Métis beading, hand drum making, and smaller crafting. Activities and traditional games, Métis history, Elder storytelling, and Michif lessons also take place during The Hills Are Alive. Visit miywasincentre.net for more details.
Pat Aaker and her daughter April guide a visit to Saratoga Park, which was once a Métis community until the early 2010s. The family lived in the community for many years. The mother and daughter will share stories of their life, their neighbours, and what was once a vibrant community of friends and family. Visit tourismmedicinehat.com for event dates.
Located at the Medicine Hat College, the Ómahksípiitaa hosts gatherings year-round that are open to the public, including artisan markets and craft circles.
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