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 season…FC Edmonton will conclude its inaugural season (and made the playoffs)….there’s Prairie Football at Clarke Park…and lots of roller derby, including a clash between Edmonton’s E-Ville and Oil City Derby Girls leagues on September 17…oh, and the Oilers begin their quest for a new winning team in October…

Share Edmonton and the EEDC’s Festival calendar are good places to keep updated on what’s up.

There’s gonna be a lot of great music around Edmonton. (Be sure to keep on top of that at YEGLive.ca.)

Friday, Lyra Brown and Brian McLeod join Rapid Fire Theatre in a night of Edmonton entertainment…The Consonance, Tiff Hall, and Kusch are at Haven Social Club…Wool on Wolves play two shows (!) at the Pawn Shop this weekend, on Friday with The Wheat Pool and Saturday with Scenic Route to Alaska…

The Provincial Archive play with Library Voices September 17…At Avenue Theatre on September 23 you’ve got Christian Hansen and the Autistics, with Doug Hoyer…100 Mile House and The AwesomeHots are playing with Jesse D and Jacquie B, September 25…September 30, at The ARTery, Weird Canada’s got a show with Jennifer Castle, Kris Ellestad, Mark Templeton, and Field+Stream…at the end of the month (and every month) the Sonic Band of the Month plays the Pawn Shop (it’s The Frolics in September)…October 1, The Deep Dark Woods are at the Royal Alberta Museum…On October 21 F&M play Yellowhead Brewery with Tyler Butler…and October 28, Ariane Mahryke Lemire plays the Haven Social Club…

We’ll let Landon A.R. Coleman play us out of this events post. (Landon is playing at Wunderbar on September 28th and the CD will be available at Blackbyrd as of September 17th.)

Edmonton is a busy place. So get out there and enjoy your city!

Hey, what are you doing tonight?

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.

The Labour Day weekend.

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.

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!

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. 

There are staggering stats:

• Every six days, a Canadian woman is murdered by her current or ex romantic partner. (Statistics Canada, 2009)
• Half of all women in Canada have been victims of physical or sexual violence. (Statistics Canada, 1993)
• Violence against Women costs tax payers over $4.2 billion for lost wages and productivity, as well health care, social services criminal justice services. (Statistics Canada, 2005)

Women make up half the population of Edmonton, Alberta, and Canada, and violence against women affects us all; therefore we all have a part to play in ending it. Men have a rightful place in the movement to demand equality and safety for women, children, and men. It’s a cause that more men are beginning to speak up about, and encouraging other men to do the same.

Men such as Jackson Katz, a former college football player and self-described “Anti-sexism Activist.” Katz talks to sports teams, law enforcement and the US military about violence against women and gives them tools to address sexism in their everyday lives.

Or Michael Flood, an Australian man who educates others about violence against women and what role our culture has in excusing that violence.

Coming up in September, there is a special opportunity, just for Edmonton men, to join the fight against violence against women, and have a lot of fun with other Edmontonians! YWCA Edmonton is holding its second annual WALK A MILE IN HER SHOES® event to help women and their children walk away from violence. Men will sign up to walk, either independently or as a group, and raise money through donation pledges from their family, friends and co-workers. On Tuesday, September 13, all of the Walkers will come down to Winston Churchill Square, put on some fabulous high heel shoes and, after a brief tutorial, walk a course around the square (not an actual mile!). Shoes are provided; ski poles are recommended for especially wobbly Walkers!

Donations will go to YWCA Edmonton programming to support women and their children who are escaping violence.

This is a great event, and the funding is direly needed to provide sustainable support to the women of Edmonton. Last year we had an amazing group of Walkers come out for this event, including Mayor Mandel, the Edmonton Police Services and the whole Harry Ainlay High School football team!

Want to get involved? There are many ways to make a difference through this event (the best one involving some fabulous cherry pumps).

1. You or you and your friends/co-workers/brothers/teammates can sign up to walk.
2. You can donate to a registered Walker or Team.
3. You can nominate a man to Walk a Mile.
4. You can make a general donation to the YWCA Edmonton.
5. You can sign up to volunteer to help run the event (heels optional, ladies welcome!).

If you would like more information about Walk a Mile, please contact Lisa Evangelos by e-mail; lisa.evangelos@ywcaofedmonton.org or phone; 780.423.9922 ext. 238.

If you would like to speak with a YWCA representative about this event and the program and services offered by YWCA Edmonton, please contact Communications Manager Amber Niemeier, (e-mail: Amber.niemeier@ywcaofedmonton.org and phone: 780.423.9922 ext. 281).

Looking for more?

Here are some great ways that Jackson Katz suggests men can fight violence against women and sexism every day.

1. Approach gender violence as a MEN’S issue involving men of all ages and socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. View men not only as perpetrators or possible offenders, but as empowered bystanders who can confront abusive peers
2. If a brother, friend, classmate, or teammate is abusing his female partner — or is disrespectful or abusive to girls and women in general — don’t look the other way. If you feel comfortable doing so, try to talk to him about it. Urge him to seek help. Or if you don’t know what to do, consult a friend, a parent, a professor, or a counselor. DON’T REMAIN SILENT.
3. Have the courage to look inward. Question your own attitudes. Don’t be defensive when something you do or say ends up hurting someone else. Try hard to understand how your own attitudes and actions might inadvertently perpetuate sexism and violence, and work toward changing them.
4. If you suspect that a woman close to you is being abused or has been sexually assaulted, gently ask if you can help.
5. If you are emotionally, psychologically, physically, or sexually abusive to women, or have been in the past, seek professional help NOW.
6. Be an ally to women who are working to end all forms of gender violence. Support the work of campus-based women’s centers. Attend “Take Back the Night” rallies and other public events. Raise money for community-based rape crisis centers and battered women’s shelters. If you belong to a team or fraternity, or another student group, organize a fundraiser.
7. Recognize and speak out against homophobia and gay-bashing. Discrimination and violence against lesbians and gays are wrong in and of themselves. This abuse also has direct links to sexism (eg. the sexual orientation of men who speak out against sexism is often questioned, a conscious or unconscious strategy intended to silence them. This is a key reason few men do so).
8. Attend programs, take courses, watch films, and read articles and books about multicultural masculinities, gender inequality, and the root causes of gender violence.  Educate yourself and others about how larger social forces affect the conflicts between individual men and women.
9. Don’t fund sexism. Refuse to purchase any magazine, rent any video, subscribe to any Web site, or buy any music that portrays girls or women in a sexually degrading or abusive manner. Protest sexism in the media.
10. Mentor and teach young boys about how to be men in ways that don’t involve degrading or abusing girls and women. Volunteer to work with gender violence prevention programs, including anti-sexist men’s programs. Lead by example