Edmonton Riverboat opening preparations ‘most stressful and most exciting time’ of year

The Edmonton Riverboat undergoes maintenance work in preparation for the 2026 season on April 22, 2026. (Curtis Goodrum / CTV News Edmonton)

Don’t be fooled. The Edmonton Riverboat may still be docked while the North Saskatchewan River thaws, but…

“This is the most stressful and most exciting time of the entire year,” owner Eric Warnke said in an interview on Wednesday, two weeks ahead of the boat’s opening day on May 7.

“Once the season starts, we can relax a little. It’s counterintuitive, but that stuff is set on autopilot. We’ve spent all winter preparing.”

In the two years Warnke has owned the tourist attraction, he has increased its attendance from 15,000 to roughly 35,000 and wants to see how much higher it can go.

Because the boat serves between 400 and 800 meals a day, its executive chef mostly spent his winter planning menu changes and finalizing food suppliers.

“This season especially: brand new menus,” Shane Loiselle told CTV News Edmonton. “We’re just trying to up our game every year, using as much local fresh produce and producers as we can, and producing as much stuff on the boat as we can.”

Running a restaurant on a boat means he is uniquely challenged by space constraints. Whereas land-based restaurants typically receive food orders every three to five days, the riverboat doesn’t have the room to hold that much stock and is resupplied daily.

“It’s where the excitement is for me,” he said.

Outside the kitchen, a number of upgrades were made to the boat, including a new wheelchair lift, new beer lines, and new ovens, dishwashers, and air conditioning.

The early spring is also the time to hire and train seasonal workers.

“The intense part usually is the first one to two weeks. Once we get comfortable, we’re ready to give’r throughout the season,” said vice-president of hospitality Lisa Jarvis.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Curtis Goodrum