A Few Things to Watch For
We’re gone after this week, but Edmonton’s still hopping.
In Festivals…the Kaleido Family Arts Festival runs this weekend on 118 Avenue (part of Arts on the Ave)…down in Hawrelak Park there’s a peace concert this weekend, on September 11…Latitude 53′sVisualeyez is back next week…Community League Day is on Saturday, September 17…The Edmonton International Film Festival is back on September 23, and runs through October 1. That last day is Alberta Day, with plenty of homegrown films playing…For a little French flair, check out the Edmonton Chante music festival, September 23-October 1…Also beginning September 23 is the Edmonton Accordion Festival…the Edmonton Comedy Festival gives it a go, October 19-22…the same dates as Lit Fest…
The ESO, Alberta Ballet, Edmonton Opera, Citadel Theatre, and Roxy Theatre headline the arts season that runs through the spring of 2012.
In sports…The Capitals are hosting the North American Baseball League’s championship series right now…The Eskimos will wrap their (more…)
Bikers Clean Where They Ride
Hey, what are you doing tonight? Around 6:30?
Maybe you’d like to help the Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance, in co-operation with the Hardcore Cycling Club and City of Edmonton, clean up some trails in the river valley.
This isn’t the first time the group has hit the trails without their bikes. They did it back in May too, keeping the trails in tip-top shape for all uses. Today’s cleanup is south of Saskatchewan Drive, between the Walterdale Bridge and Old Timer’s Cabin (on Scona Road).
There’s a BBQ after the cleanup, so you’ll be rewarded with more than just the satisfaction of a job well done.
Oh, and if you head down to Queen Elizabeth Park, bring some gloves, closed toe shoes and any tools like pruners and shovels. Also, water. You need to stay hydrated.
Labour Day Events
The Labour Day weekend. Always a tough one.
It’s great to have a long weekend, but this September holiday also means summer is ending. We might as well enjoy it. (And there is supposed to be nice weather.)
The Labour Day weekend features one of Edmonton’s most musical summer festivals. The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s annual trip to Hawrelak Park for Symphony Under The Sky.
Tonight, Saturday, and Sunday, there are Movies on the Square. This weekend’s films are Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, and Kung Fu Panda.
A few music notes for you (no pun intended)…Tonight, Mass Choir is at the Pawn Shop…and Paul Bellows releases a CD, at the Haven Social Club, with James Murdoch, Nathan Carroll, Stew Kirkwood, and Peter Hendrickson…Saturday, there’s a non-stop dance party called Metropolis, at the Edmonton Event Centre…Sunday, Sonic Boom is back for another long weekend at Northlands.
In sports…the NSC Minnesota Stars are taking on FC Edmonton Saturday – FC Edmonton 2012 season tickets are already on sale…Sunday, the Edmonton Wildcats are home to Winnipeg Rifles in Prairie Football, at Clarke Stadium…
And on Saturday, International Bacon Day is celebrated at Lux, with a 3-course family-style meal featuring bacon.
A look back: Southgate Mall Re-opening (sally)
(As we wind down our days at the edmontonian, we’ll be looking back at some of our favorite posts, stories, items, etc from the last 2+ years. Feel free to submit your own.)
I particularly enjoyed 2009′s Southgate Mall rebrand, because it was a triumph of the internet!
We could all get together online and make smart ass-y jokes about the big glittery August 5th signs, and then “cover” the event by getting our mall opening bureau chief (read=our friend) @egranado -who is no longer at that twitter handle, BTW – to tweet us pictures from inside the launch.
INTERNET NEWS FTW!
Are you man enough to Walk a Mile?
By Kristi Coleman, Fund Development & Communications Assistant, YWCA Edmonton
Violence against women is something we’e all heard about, but it’s usually regarded as a “Women’s issue.” The struggle to end violence against women and protect and support its victims has typically been a movement headed, and made up of, dedicated women. For the average guy, it can be hard to know how to get involved in this struggle, or even if you’re welcome at all. But men have a crucial role to play in the fight against gender violence. (more…)
End of August Events
Yes, Edmonton, summer is winding down. But, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of great stuff going on to lift your spirits. (And pretty good weather recently too.)
On the festival circuit this weekend, there’s DEDfest, In/stall/ed, East Meets West, and Open Sky.
DEDfest is Edmonton’s annual horror film fest. In/stall/ed is is a unique performance and visual art display, happening in the McCauley neighbourhoods in parking spaces. Yeah, public art baby! Latitude 53 is running this, and there will be 17 performances and installations on Saturday. East Meets West continues up in Little Italy and the McCauley neighbourhood, and there’s Mercury Opera performing Madame Butterfly in Giovanni Caboto Park. The Open Sky Music Festival is packing Hawrelak Park with bands and bands and musicians and more musicians.
If you’re into walking, the Highlands neighbourhood is kicking off their walking map this weekend. These maps are great ways to get to know an Edmonton neighbourhood.
I haven’t heard a whole lot about MEAET but it sounds like a cool idea. A bunch of people get together, have some food, enjoy themselves, then vote on who to give some money to for a project.
You can also Show What You Grow, at Fort Edmonton Park.
In music, there’s the earlier mentioned Open Sky Music Festival, with plenty of bands and artists down in Hawrelak Park…Wunderbar’s got Fire Next Time tonight and The Joe and Doug Hoyer triumphantly returning to Edmonton (after a national tour) on Saturday night. Also on Saturday, Hale Hale, Southroot, and Zero Something play the Starlite Room. Back to Friday night, Warped Tourers Inner City Elegance are at Expressionz Cafe. Now back to Saturday (surely I should have done this in chronological order) there’s live music at Ricky’s in Mill Woods (with Consilience and Tyson Skakun).
Oh, and if you walk by CKUA on Jasper Avenue tonight and it seems like something cool is going on it’s because they’re celebrating their amazing record library and have a live performance from 100 Mile House.
Down in the river valley, the Edmonton Capitals host the Calgary Vipers through the weekend.
And over at Clarke Stadium (beside Commonwealth) the Edmonton Huskies are home to Saskatoon Hilltops in Prairie Football.
EPL Squared
This post is a combination of “downtown is where it’s at” and “Edmonton’s library is cool.”
Tomorrow – Friday, August 26 – the Edmonton Public Library is flipping all of its best parts inside out and taking the Stanley A. Milner branch across the street, and outside, to Churchill Square. It’s an event called EPL Squared.
There will be a book sale (with the profits going to help fire-ravaged Slave Lake’s library), a human library (where you borrow a person instead of a book), lots of games, stories, music, an e-reader kiosk, and Marty Chan’s Secrets of the Square.
Make the jump to find out what that’s about. (more…)
Fringey Weekend
Not sure if you’ve heard anything about this Fringe festival we’ve got going on in Edmonton, but that comes to it’s spectacular conclusion this weekend.
We’ve been posting videos, mostly trailers, of some plays.
Oh, and while Fringeopolis will finish up this weekend, there are popular plays being held over.
The Fringe, however, is not Edmonton’s only festival this weekend.
We’ve got the Labatt Blues Festival down in Hawrelak Park…the Dragonboat Festival over in Louise McKinney Park…and East Meets West in Chinatown/Little Italy, with East Meets West: Tropicana Afrika on Sunday…
The Blues Festival has plenty of great artists, but that’s not the only live music worth checking out.
The Edmonton Show VI is on tonight at Avenue Theatre, with Scenic Route to Alaska among the arts and entertainment…there’s a Degrassi Junior High dance party at the Pawn Shop, with DJs Caitlin and Spike…Matt Landry and the Dryland Band are among the bands playing at Brixx tonight…My Sister Ocean headlines a show at Brixx on Saturday…Ricky’s in Mill Woods is starting up a series of Saturday night music nights (with a little help from our old friend Consilience) with Kaleb Kaiser, Mack Behm, and Nelson Lemay kicking things off…The Edmonton Show VI is back on Sautrday night (still at Avenue Theatre) with a killer lineup of Sugarglider, Mitchmatic, and A.O.K….and Chris Isaak is at the Tentue on Sunday night…
Movies on the Square is back in Churchill Square, with Rio and Hop on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. There’s a 1920s picnic at Tiptop Park on Saturday. And you can Yelp your way through East Whyte with a passport to deals and discounts.
In sports…the Edmonton Eskimos are home to the B.C. Lions tonight…the Edmonton Capitals are home to the Chico Outlaws all weekend…the 82nd running of the Canadian Derby is Saturday at Northlands Park…and FC Edmonton is home to the Atlanta Silverbacks on Sunday…
Yelping East Whyte
I won’t pass up an opportunity to talk about East Whyte. Yelp is currently holding a promotion called Passport to East Whyte Ave. which gets you plenty of deals and discounts on “the other side of the tracks.”
For a lot of people Whyte Avenue is a hot spot of shopping and nightlife that runs between Gateway Boulevard and 107 Street, maybe to 109 Street. But if you head east, past Gateway Boulevard, you’ll find a whole other pocket of Old Strathcona.
With beer and live music pub Wunderbar, Flirt Cupcakes (their original location), The Paint Spot, The Traveling Tickle Trunk, Hardcore Bikes, and the new Red Pony Consignment offering specials, it’s worth printing off the PDF passport, or dialing it up on your cellphone. While you’re exploring the quieter side of Whyte, check out two of the best sushi houses in the city; Furusato and Maki Maki, enjoy a pint on the patio of The Empress, pick up some baked goodies at Empress Bakery, grab European foods and snacks at K&K Foodliner, eat Indian at Daawat and Narayannis, and check out Roots for healthy and organic items.
Speaking of Roots, the grocery store turned specialty store is about to move into the main floor of a spectacular new building at the corner of Whyte and 102 Street (which you can see pictured in this story), called Roots on Whyte. It may be my new favourite building.
Langano Skies will be re-opening soon, so you can enjoy the best Ethiopian food in Edmonton again.
Go on, cross the tracks, you know you want to.
Fringe Events
Alright, so there’s no getting around the big event happening right now in Edmonton. The 30th Edmonton International Fringe Festival; Fringeopolis is on this weekend and until August 21. Almost all of the 180 plays will be happening in the Old Strathcona neighbourhood, but watch for venues in other parts of the city, like the Edmonton Public Library, downtown, and 118 Avenue.
We’re posting videos for Fringe plays, so keep your eyes on our “From the Web” category.
Now, that is not the only thing happening in Edmonton. A couple of smaller festival/street party items this weekend:
- Art in the Alley – art, music, an outdoor movie, and more, all happening in the Alley of Light. That’s the backlane that runs from Beaver Hills House Park, past the Sobeys, across 104 Street, over to the U of A’s downtown campus.
- Eastwoodfest – Back for another summer, this celebrates all things Eastwood (118 Avenue, betweem 85 and 87 Street)
- There’s a tea party at the U of A’s environmental students group naturalized site, which was top community garden in the Front Yards in Bloom contest.
In sports…the Edmonton Capitals are back home, hosting the Yuma Scorpions this weekend…FC Edmonton is home to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers…the Oil City Derby Girls’ rookies are taking on the Yukon Roller Girls…northwest of Edmonton, the St. Albert Heavenly Rollers take on the Cold Lake Lakeland Lady Killers (such a good name), on the 76th anniversary of roller derby…this weekend is also the kick off to the Prairie Football Conference season, with the Edmonton Wildcats home to the Calgary Colts, at Clarke Park (beside Commonwealth Stadium)…
In Friday music…it actually kicks serious butt…The Edmonton Show is back for a VIth run (that would be 6th), with Ann Vriend and Liam Trimble leading the way…Whiskeyface kicks off their tour at Brixx with The Sorels…Michael Rault and Sans AIDS are at The ARTery…Romi Mayes is releasing a CD tonight at the Haven Social Club…Carrie Day is at The Carrot (don’t forget about The Carrot!)…All Time Low is at the Edmonton Events Centre…
Saturday…The AwesomeHots get the day going with a Hair of the Dog afternoon show at the Black Dog…Paperplanes and Dragonboats release an EP, with The Paronomasiac, at The ARTery…
You'll be screaming with excitement over The Room.
All weekend…the Edmonton Rock Music Festival, a collaboration of The Rock and Roll Society of Edmonton and K-97, takes over Hawrelak Park. There will be plenty of, uh, rock.
You can always catch a movie in the cool confines of a theatre. And The Room is at Metro Cinema tonight at 11:20pm. If you haven’t seen The Room yet, YOU NEED TO SEE The Room. (Metro Cinema is now in the Garneau Theatre.)
You can hug your way to donated peanut butter, at West Edmonton Mall.
Oh, and if you’re using the LRT this weekend, remember that the train will not stop at Coliseum station because of work on the station platform.
Take A Breather
What a perfect time to just pause and reflect, Edmonton.
With festival after festival after festival we’ve hit that lull in summer’s festival calendar. It’s a great time to take a few days off from running around the city, eating green onion cakes, and just enjoy summer as it is.
Perhaps you’ll take a long walk in the river valley. Or relax with a book at one of the branches of the EPL. Take the kids to a new spray park (check with your local community league). Jump into the new Queen Elizabeth Pool. Or just laze on the couch with an oscillating fan pointed at your face.
Whatever you do the next few days, enjoy it.
Because the Fringe starts later this week and that is one motherflippin’ busy festival.
Weekend Events
If you happen to look at Gallagher Park and wonder what the heck all those people are up to, it’s cool, it’s Folk Fest.
But that’s not the only festival in Edmonton this weekend. Heck no! It’s also Cariwest, so expect Jasper Avenue to be flooded with colour for the parade tomorrow, and then party all day at Churchill Square.
It also happens to be Animethon weekend.
And today is International Beer Day! So, drink some beer.
Now, outside of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival there’s still music to be had.
You can’t much more opposite folk than metal. The Starlite Room and Brixx are hosting Metal Fest 2011 tonight. Down at Hawrelak Park tonight you can help raise money for the Canadian Liver Foundation at a concert with Sister Gray and The Apresnos. Also tonight…The Secretaries, Hellfire Special, Throttle, and Nature are at the Pawn Shop…Over at Wunderbar, you can help Hang Loose raise money for a “Solidarity Rock” trip to Cuba. They’re playing with with Service:Fair and The Frolics.
Tomorrow night at Wunderbar it’s Field + Stream, Extra Happy Ghost, and Lab Coast…Dragonette is at the Edmonton Events Centre, with Dirty Radio…and The Weekend Kids, with Old Sins, Liv, and The National Security Council are all at Brixx.
This weekend also officially opens the Garneau Theatre as the new home of Metro Cinema. (For non-Metro movies, Gregg’s got some thoughts.)
FC Edmonton is home to the Puerto Rico Islands Saturday night, at Foote Field.
And a reminder: The LRT does not stop at Coliseum station this weekend, but still runs Clareview to Century Park.
Wednesday Night Eats
I know what’s going on, you’re sitting there wondering where the heck you’re going to get anything halfway decent to eat in this burg now that Taste of Edmonton and the Heritage Festival have packed it in for another summer.
Thank goodness it’s Wednesday night in Edmonton.
If you’re in the downtown area, you can head over to 112 Street for some ice cream and chocolate, as Kerstin’s celebrates a new chocolate ice cream. You could even walk away with free ice cream. Plus, any night is a good one to check out one of the best placed in the city to get chocolates.
If you’re not downtown, don’t worry. Wednesday is a solid farmers’ market night in Edmonton (and area). Tonight is the night for the Callingwood, CastleDowns, Southwest Edmonton, and Sherwood Park markets.
Told you it was a good night for food.
Callingwood runs its market Wednesdays and Sundays, and is no rookie on the scene. Sherwood Park has had a market since almost before I was born. Southwest and CastleDowns are newcomers but adding to the booming market scene in Edmonton.
Farmers markets aren’t just for the weekend!
Heritage Weekend
This is it Edmonton, the long weekend we’ve been waiting for all month. (I said long weekend, not log.)
It’s also one of those peaks of festivals that mark our summer. Here’s what I mean:
Heritage Festival (It is the Heritage Day weekend… Also, you can’t drive your car to Hawrelak for all of the fun.)
DRAW (drawing. obvs.)
Capital Ex (Woot!)
Taste of Edmonton (Deep fried deliciousness – alright, mostly deep fried.)
Food Day Canada, where restaurants create entirely Canadian-sourced meals (with Culina Mill Creek, Culina Muttart, Culina Highlands – now the Highlands Kitchen, D’Lish, The Marc, )
Yeah!
In sports…the Eskimos are home tonight to the Toronto Argonauts and the Capitals play host to the Lake County Fielders. The Fielders are having all kinds of off-field troubles this season.
On a more serious note, there will be a vigil for a Fort McMurray woman missing for the last year.
Wicked continues to play at the Jube.
Edmonton comedian Jon Mick records a live comedy album, at Wunderbar. You can not only enjoy a night of fine Edmonton comedy (and comedians) but listen for your laughter on his recording. And if you want you can help him pay for the album by throwing him a few bucks. Pretty solid night.
In music, it’s a pretty solid weekend. Sister Gray is playing New City Legion tonight with Cygents, The Frolics, and Very Dangerous Animals…Luke Doucet and the White Falcon is with Michael Rault, at the Starlite Room…Capital Ex has plenty of music, including Ace of Bass Sunday night…Taste of Edmonton also has lots of live music…
On Saturday, there are two great afternoon shows on Whyte Avenue, with Tyler Butler and F&M at the Black Dog for Hair of the Dog, and The Provincial Archive at The Empress with Montreal’s Charlotte Cornfield…
Saturday night…Toy Singers have a farewell show, with Old Uglians Jessica Jalbert, Liam Trimble, and Sugarglider at the Haven Social Club…across the city, The ARTery’s got the Beehive Bonanza Mini Market and Show, with Rocktimus Crime, Service:Fair, and Jom Comyn…
Sunday night sees a long weekend showcase at the Pawn Shop, with Matt Machete ready to blow things up…On the holiday Monday, Jeff Morris kicks off his tour at the Black Dog…
Now, to get this party started, let me present to you the new album from our pals The Fight. (The whole album is embedded here, just flip through the tracks. Oh, and buy it if you dig it.)
See you Tuesday!
p.s. Speaking of The Fight, Jom Comyn, Service:Fair, Jessica Jalbert, Liam Trimble, The Provincial Archive, Tyler Butler, and Sugarglider, this Sunday night is likely the last time you’ll be able to catch the edmontonian presents on ShawTV (channel 10 on Shaw cable), so tune in at 9pm and be able to tell your space-grandkids you saw it on an actual television set.
A Sister Gray Giveaway
What are you doing Friday night?
Sister Gray are having a single release party at New City Legion. And they want you to join them. (You might remember them from a previous post, and they being Sonic’s Band of the Month earlier this year.)
They really want you to be there. So, they’re offering up a pair of tickets to the show. It’s going to be a good one too. With Cygnets, The Frolics and a new band; Very Dangerous Animals. That’s an all-Edmonton lineup.
What? Two tickets isn’t enough to convince you?
Fine.
How about two tickets to the show, two download cards of Sister Gray’s new single, AND two t-shirts? Yeah, now we’re talking.
The new single, by the way, will prepare you for the new album, likely to come at the beginning of 2012 according to the sisters Graling.
Drop us a comment to be entered into a draw for the prizes. We’ll draw a winner at 5pm today. You can’t have won anything from us in the last 30 days and must be ready to have a good Friday night. The winner will be contacted by e-mail.
Global Youth Assembly 2011
Yes, Edmonton, it’s that time again. Time for a Global Youth Assembly.
Every two years our city gets to plays host to 800 young folks from across Canada and 30+ countries around the world who look to Ignite Change Now! Make the jump for conference details and a music video. (more…)
Rainy July Weekend
This guy is always ready to party.
I know it’s raining. A lot. But, there’s some sun in the weekend forecast, and not everything that’s happening is outdoors, so we can still have fun this weekend. Come on, it’ll be fun!
We’ve got plenty of festivals on. Rain or shine, they’ll be going all weekend (well, most of them, so watch for venue changes and cancellations if the rain never stops).
Our annual summer exhibition, Capital Ex, begins today. So, get your cotton candy on.
A Taste of Edmonton is in Churchill Square. (As it always coincides with Capital Ex, which is a one-stop LRT ride away). Get your eat on from lots of Edmonton restaurants. Or take your food home and deep fry it. Anything goes!
The Freewill Shakespeare Festival winds down for another summer, in Hawrelak Park. Of course, there’s the Edmonton Indy and Race Week Edmonton events (most of the events are downtown, the race is at the City Centre Airport).
On Sunday, Fork Fest begins part 2 of its summer run. Time to get your local eat on.
In arts…Year of the Rabbit wraps up this weekend. It’s a combination of visual arts and a play, at the Catalyst Theatre. Wicked is also playing in Edmonton. There’s burlesque at The ARTery tomorrow night, with the River City Review. This is also the weekend for Edmonton: The Musical.
Pretty solid music weekend, so you can stay dry. The New Music West conference and festival is in Edmonton, and will have plenty of shows around the city. The Frolics, The Burning Sands, and Hook ‘Em Revue are at Wunderbar…Kenny Shields and Streetheart are at the Century Casino…Warning to Avoid, GBM, and rhodes play at New City Legion…Manraygun is at The Empress…
The Taste of Edmonton and Race Week Edmonton festivals also have their share of music.
And there’s the Sasquatch Sweet Sixteen Festival, at Rangeton, Alberta. Bring the rubber boots!
The Campus Community Garden is planning a second shot at an open house. They are certainly hoping for a sunny Saturday.
In sports…the Edmonton Capitals are home to the Chico Outlaws this weekend…and the Edmonton Prospects are home to Medicine Hat, at John Fry Park…there’s also the Kokanee Edmonton Canada Cup in Kinsmen Park, so expect a muddy good time on mountain bikes!
If you’re into local government and transit, you could also check out the Downtown LRT connector workshop happening Sunday afternoon.
A night of fine Edmonton music
As we’ve talked about before, Thursday can be a great night for live music in Edmonton.
Tonight is one of those nights.
Over at Wunderbar, you’ve got a fantastic early show. Double-fantastic since you won’t be all groggy tomorrow at work. Cadence Weapon, fresh off his two-year stint as Edmonton’s Poet Laureate, is playing fresh material at the little bar that is big. He’ll be with Mitchmatic and Ghibli, so, yeah, it’s a huge show.
Down the street (the street being Whyte Avenue) at the Pawn Shop tonight you’ll be able to find Black Mastiff, Hale Hale, The Get Down, and Misha and The Spanks playing as part of the New Music West festival and conference. That conference runs through the weekend.
For something a little different, there’s Edmonton: The Musical up on 118 Avenue. Live bands, theatre, fundraising for local arts groups; it’s pretty much a perfect package of Edmonton arts.
There will probably also be music, if only as accompaniment, to Latitude 53′s Thursday night patio party too.
Watch Out For That Parade
This photos is two years old but still relevant.
Capital Ex begins this weekend. But, dating back to days of yore when it was known as Klondike Days, it always begins with a parade.
That parade happens this morning. Downtown. At 10am.
You can consider yourself warned and/or delighted.
For those of you on the delight side, there are more than 100 floats, bands, entertainers and more fun that will march around 10am-12:30pm. The parade route takes them up and down 102 and 103 Avenues, between Churchill Square and 108 Street.
For those of you on the warned side, traffic delays begin at 6:30am in the east Jasper area, and extend to the parade route by 8:30. Things will be slow in the downtown until about 1pm when the route is opened up to traffic again.
Plan your morning schedules accordingly (especially if you really want to see the parade in person).
Baseball Prospects
If you’re into baseball, you might already know about the Edmonton Prospects. Though, this might also be the first time you’re hearing about them…in which case I’m glad we’re talking.
The Prospects are part of the Western Major Baseball League (WMBL), which is a college-level league. It’s about a single A level and you might just see a future star or two at the plate.
You’ll see Alberta and Saskatchewan teams in the WMBL, like the Melville Millionaires, in from the province to the east for another game tonight.
The Prospects only have a few home games left this summer (playoffs don’t look good), and play down at John Fry Park.
Vroom
It’s Race Week Edmonton, Edmonton!
Leading into the Indy race on Sunday, there are plenty of events and concerts downtown, at West Edmonton Mall, and up in the Kingsway area, to try and make the Indy more of a festival than just a race.
Among the events and fun:
The Ford Fun Zone in Centennial Plaza (behind the Stanley A. Milner Library)
Race Week Street Festival in Rice Howard Way
The Old Spice Guy and DJ Pete Tong (which always makes me think of the fantastic movie “It’s All Gone Pete Tong“)
And more!
The race, by the way, is at the City Centre Airport on Sunday.
Shut Your Mouth, It’s Art Crawl
While Whyte Avenue’s Art Walk has nothing to do with the TV comedy Bob’s Burgers, they do have streets of art in common.
Yes, today through Sunday you can find artist after artist all around Whyte Avenue and Old Strathcona. More than 200 artists will be selling their paintings, drawings, photos, sketches, and anything else they can fit onto the sidewalk. It’s always a busy weekend, and remember to bring cash.
It’s a Handmade Mafia weekend, so get yourself over to the Strathcona Baptist Church for plenty o’ fun. (It ties into the Art Walk too.)
If you’re into rabbits you’re going to want to check out the Year of the Rabbit and Hare Band Cabaret at the Catalyst Theatre. Even if you’re not a fan of rabbits, the stone and canvas art from Jason Carter and a play by Bridget Ryan may be just the ticket.
In other festival news…
The Freewill Shakespeare Festival continues in Hawrelak Park, with Othello and Twelfth Night. The Edmonton International Street Performers Festival is in Churchill Square, with some late night madness this weekend to close things out. The Edmonton and Northern Alberta Historical Festival wraps up this weekend too. That seems so timely with all the history and heritage in the news this week.
Race Week Edmonton officially begins on Monday, but the annual Soap Box Derby is Sunday on Victoria Park Hill. Also in racing this weekend, the Sourdough River Festival (and raft race), in Terwillegar Park.
In live music…
The Grapes of Wrath play two shows at the Haven Social Club tonight…Samantha Schultz will wow you with her guitar skills at the Blue Chair Cafe tomorrow evening…Ghost Cousin releases a new album Saturday night at Wunderbar…and our old pals Boy and Gurl come up from Calgary for a show at On The Rocks Sunday…
On Sunday, a new Fork Fest begins. Get your eat on!
The Eskimos, FC Edmonton, and Capitals are all home for games this weekend.
It’s Sunny…go, go, go!
Yes, that blue stuff is called sky. It’s been a week or so since we saw it and it’s glorious.
Nobody will be happier to see thesun return than those who have been out in the rain (and mosquitoes) at the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival. It’s been going all week at Churchill Square, rain or shine. Now is the time for those of us fairweather festival goers to head on down and catch musicians, face painters, actors, magicians, human knots, comedians, jugglers and acrobats.
The Street Performers Festival runs through Sunday. And Friday and Saturday nights have special “late night madness” shows at the Stanley A. Milner Library.
*****
You know, speaking of sunny skies and things to do, it is Thursday. And Thursdays in the summer mean Latitude 53′s Summer Rooftop Patio Series. Tonight is a partnership with M.A.D.E and food from Elm Cafe. Thursday night hasn’t had it so good.
Happy Slurpee Day!
Today is July 11, 7-11 if you will, so the 7-Eleven convenience store chain is celebrating an unofficial birthday.
Every location of 7-Eleven in Edmonton (and everywhere else) is giving away free (FREE!) 7.11 ounce Slurpees today.
Each store will give away 1,000 Slurpees. So get out there and get some icy fun.
