Paint Nite

Super fun! Highly recommend for date night! Or even a get together with friends! I paid 25.00 on groupon. You don’t need to have any artistic ability! It’s very easy to learn! Instructor walks you through the steps!

I’m so glad I finally did this!
We were a group of 4. 2 of us had been to paint nite events in the past, but 2 of us were brand new to this concept. I was really nervous because I have no artistic abilities, but after stalking some of the events online, I was cautiously optimistic since none of the paintings looked awful.
All bookings are done online… which is awesome cause I detest booking things on the phone. On their website you can view all upcoming events. They have a wide range of locations, times and skill levels. You can also see the painting for each event so if you are looking for a particular colour scheme or theme, you can pick accordingly. I was really impressed with all the locations! I expected them all to be downtown or on Whyte, but there’s a decent selection for north end, st albert, spruce grove etc.
My selection was limited as one of my friends lives in Red Deer, so it had to be on a weekend. They book up FAST, let me tell you. Before I knew it, all the dates in December were sold out. Luckily, I was able to find one on Sunday, January 3^rd at noon. Our location was The Pint downtown (bonus — free parking on Sundays!).
Pro tip — Check out the Paint Nite Edmonton Facebook page for discount codes. I purchased a groupon for 4 people (regular price is $ 45 each, but with groupon or discount code it is only $ 25/​each) for $ 100. Here’s the pain with the groupon — You are given 4 different groupon codes and as a result, you have to book each person separately. Which was incredibly time consuming and really irritating becase I had to pay the $ 1.25 tax for EACH booking. So, if you can get an instructor discount code (example: Allison20), you can book as many as you want, all at once, and apply that discount code to the total purchase.
Another cool thing about their website is that as you’re looking through each of the events, it shows you how many spots are still available.
The night before the event, I got an email reminding me of the time and location, as well as some tips. such as — arrive at least 15 minutes early, if you can’t attend, send a friend in your place, because you’re too late to cancel, and wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty (they do provide aprons though).
I am typically early for everything… so of course I got there at 11:22. The staff at the bar were friendly and explained that they weren’t set up yet but we could sit in the bar and have some coffee/​cocktails/​snacks.
We were able to sneak in and put our jackets on seats so we could all sit together.
The doors opened at 11:50 and we all filed in. The room seemed to be cramped, but actually worked really well. There were TV screens around the room that showed the painting that we’d be working on, and it seemed that most seats had a good view of those screens. Our instructor was Allison. She was excellent at providing step by step instructions and show us on her own canvass what we should be doing. Her assistant, Annie was fantastic at keeping our paints full and giving us little tips (she was also hilarious).
There was only one server assigned to the entire paint nite area, so food and beverage service was a little slow at the beginning, but she was good at keeping our drinks full after the initial rush.
In the end, I was extremely pleased with the painting. My favourite part is seeing how each participant interprets things slightly differently and ends up with their own masterpiece.
I will ABSOLUTELY be back for more events in the future. I’m thinking this could make an awesome date night too.

I’ve been to 3 paintings now (my friends love them!) and they’re always a great time. Sometimes the venues can be better than others (ahem, The Burg, you kind of sucked as a Paintnite venue), and the instructors are all different and some will instruct better than others… but at the end of the day it’s $ 25 well spent (there are always groupons or instructor discount codes you can find) to get out and do something different with your friends for a couple hours.
You get to pick which painting you do (and where it’s at) when you sign up online, so pick something you like, and, even better — pick out a cool new restaurant you’ve been meaning to try!

Paint Nite is a great way to spend an evening with friends doing something a little different. Whether you’re an artist, a hobbyist or just looking to try something new. Even if you go alone, you’re sure to have a great time!
My Paint Nite was a charity even for the Edmonton Humane Society’s «Poochy Mamas» with proceeds going to EHS’s.
Our instructor was up beat and very encouraging. He went through the steps a little quickly but had a few assistants there to help out if need be. Whether you needed more paint or some advice they quickly were at your service.
My only advice is that depending on where you’re located in the room it can be difficult to see what’s going on. I had to sneak a peek at others work to make sure I was doing okay! Lol… It was awesome to see everyone’s masterpieces at the end!
Overall my PN experience was fun!

My spot, Fairmont MacDonald Hotel, my teacher Alison Lau. Her assistant Annie is a doll too. Love the patio, really enjoy Alison’s instruction. Always have a great time! Not included but Fairmont delicious drinks and treats are always the standard. Their service is excellent. Makes for a truly enjoyable evening.

This is such a great time to get friends together and paint and see how everyones vision comes out, from the same instructions. Will do again!

I am not a very great painter so I chose a day and painting that seems like it would fit my skills or lack thereof. I was nervous at first when I arrived at the pub/​bar it was a little intimidating. However it was a good sized group of people.
The artist walks you through each step of the painting process. I didn’t have to worry about any artist lingo or fancy techniques. There was an assistant there to get you more paint, fresh water or new paper towels. It was a fantastic time and I can’t stop trying to find new people to come with me!

I so enjoyed my first paint night… Was relaxing and so much fun. So I booked a second night For me and my three girlfriends. We go to O2’s and the manager tells us that they don’t hold events for paint night on Tuesdays… I had the confirmation email but no one seemed to know what I was talking about. I finally got a hold of the Paint Night accounts manager who was a complete jerk about the whole thing and basically told me it was impossible that I had a confirmation. I Will try this again with the new Paint night they had to re book for our group, but wow was this disappointing. Make sure you keep your confirmation!!! The accounts manager would have basically called me a liar if I didn’t have it! It is a fun filled girls night out. (if Paint Night doesn’t cancelled your event without letting you know). Beware!

If you get groupon or living social emails, you have likely seen the deals for Paint Nite for $ 25 or cheaper. A great deal considering the regular price is $ 45.
You can check out the website and look for the painting you want to do (including the difficulty level). The venues are O2s, Mercer Tavern, Hotel Macdonald, and now Ed’s. The great thing is you can grab a bite to eat before you paint. It’s recommended you have a drink before painting if you are nervous but I think after a few drinks, your painting looks better!
Events have been booking fast so it’s good to keep an eye on the website as you may need to book months in advance. My girlfriend wanted us to try it out for her birthday and booked weeks in advance for a group of 7.
The great thing about Paint Nite is no experience is required! We were seating in booths and the instructor has a sample painting (which we all took photos of on our cellphones and also looked at the sample on the website) to refer to. There are step by step instructions provided and assistants walking around to help change your water, provide more paint, or answer questions.
It was so easy and fun! Everything is provided and I was happy to bring my first painting home. We spent about 2.5 hours painting and taking photos of each other after. We bought groupons and booked our next paint nite in October; can’t wait!

A great way to spend an evening with friends and have art to take home! RIght now they have a code edmonton20 for $ 20 off. So worth it! You can order drinks and food. They pick great downtown restaurants ours was at O2s. Would go again