Live Music Weekend
It looks like a dandy weekend for live music in Edmonton, so let’s start there.
Tonight you’ve got a Christan Hansen & The Autistics all ages show at The ARTery with Paperplanes and Dragonboats, so that’ll be good. The Blame-Its, The Afterbeat, and Wildrose Orchestra, are at New City Legion…Over at Wunderbar you can hear Teen Daze with Oh No Yoko and Sugarglider…Craig Cardiff is at the Haven Social Club with David Blair and Erica Viegas… The Open Sky Music Festival isn’t until the end of August, but Souljah Fyah and Jeff Morris are getting things going this weekend
Saturday night is no less good, with The Weber Brothers, Chris Carmichael, and Lyra Brown at the Haven Social Club…Xplosionation, The Party Martyrs, and All The King’s Men, at Brixx… The Weekend Kids, Old Wives, and Freshman Years at Wunderbar…and The Consonance, Noisy Colours, whiskey wagon, all over at New City Legion.
Sunday (yeah, we’re still going on just music) there’s the Whyte Avenue Street Sale (which means the street will be closed to traffic between 105 and 103 Streets) and SOS Fest playing music on two stages all day long…Sunday night ends the weekend with a giant kick to the face of awesome with The Joe and Doug Hoyer kicking off their national tour at Wunderbar, with Mikey Maybe.
Whew.
We also have a bunch of festivals and the such.
Down in Hawrelak Park you can catch two of Shakespeare’s finest plays during the Freewill Shakespeare Festival. Heading into the Indy we’ve got Race Week Edmonton (which lasts longer than a week). The Edmonton International Street Performers Festival is on at Churchill Square. The Edmonton & Northern Alberta Historic Festival also begins this weekend (which can get you into some cool old buildings).
For the dogs, and dog lovers, you can head up to 118 Avenue on Sunday for Avenue Goes to the Dogs, put on by the Eastwood Community League.
If all of that great Edmonton music and festivals isn’t enough…
Cirque du Soleil’s “Dralion” is at Rexall Place. There’s a Campus Community Garden Open House, Saturday 11-2, at the U of A’s campus community garden. The Edmonton Eskimos will fight, fight, fight on at home to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Oh, and if you’re not doing anything at about 9pm on Sunday you can watch the last episode of our ShawTV series, the edmontonian presents, on Shaw cable channel 10. (It’ll be on YoutTube, Livestream, and iTunes shortly after.)
Give money, see dentists fall from sky?
Have you ever considered jumping out of a plane? There are plenty of reasons to do it – but here’s one of the better ones I’ve heard:
Jump or pledge..and help kids with facial differences take their leap of faith at Camp Trailblazers, a camp that provides them with life-changing experiences. The fourth annual Leap of Faith for AboutFace takes place on July 9th 2011 across Canada. Individuals, teams and corporate teams skydive and compete for fundraising dollars to bring awareness and money in support of sending kids ages 10 to 17 with facial differences to Camp Trailblazers.
The Edmonton edition of the big jump takes place tomorrow at Skydivers R Us, and it’s being heartily supported by Dental Choice, an Alberta-based group of dental professionals- a dentists’ justice league*, if you will (*totally not a dentists’ justice league).
If you’d like to donate to the the Dental Choice team, you can do so here; and if you’d just like to experience the terror live, via social media – I’m told by Dental Choice’s Media Coordinator Angela Wong that the Dental Choice folks will be updating their Facebook status throughout the day.
Rooftoppin’
I know there’s a storm a’ coming, but it’s still a good day to mention Latitude 53′s annual summer fundraisers. The Summer Rooftop Patio Series is back on Thursdays through the summer.
At 5pm, you can pop over to Latitude 53′s 106 Street location and enjoy art, fine nibblies, a beverage, and good company. Pretty nice Thursday, that.
Each week has a different sponsor and different artists. Tonight, for example, is Latitude 53 teaming up with interVivos to bring some festival atmosphere to the patio, with art from Jana Hargarten. Food this Thursday will be from the Blue Plate Diner (food also changes through the summer).
One of the best parts of summer is patios. Rooftop patios are better by a bunch.
Watch the Latitude 53 blog for updates on who’s on the roof each Thursday.
Heat Up The Ave
Between downtown and Kingsway lies the North Edge Business district. 107 Avenue is its anchor.
They’ve held a night market and a street festival before, but this year they combined the two into the “Heat Up The Ave” event. Unfortunately it was scheduled for that Saturday everything around Edmonton got rained out (June 18).
But it’s on tonight! And the blue sky above me as I write this bodes well for a good time in Queen Mary Park.
(Side note: I keep accidentally writing that as Queen Marky Park.)
There will be a jumpy castle, free food, basketball and soccer with the Edmonton Police, face painting and arts & crafts for the kids, and an evening farmers’ market.
Street parties are the new black.
Canada Day Events (and the rest of the weekend too)
Ah, the Canada Day long weekend in Edmonton. If you’re anything like me you started off by sleeping in, then dug into your traditional July 1 breakfast of back bacon+maple syrup poutine. Delicious.
And now that you’re energized by meat, fries, and gravy-syrup you need to get out and celebrate this fine country we call home.
Edmonton does Canada Day pretty damn well. You can catch the Silly Summer Parade on Whyte Avenue at lunch, then head just about anywhere for more red and white festivities; City Hall, the Alberta Legislature, Mill Woods (which has a huge party), attractions like Fort Edmonton Park (where they call it Dominion Day), the Muttart Conservatory, and Valley Zoo, and the Edmonton Garrison.
Don’t forget about fireworks! The big show is downtown in the river valley. Mill Woods also fills the sky with spectacular-ness.
The World’s Longest Flag Football Game also begins today, at noon. You can help them out, play, volunteer, cheer, and donate to the Stollery.
Speaking of sports…the Edmonton Capitals have the Maui Na Koa Ikaika in town.
Don’t think the festivals stop for a holiday. The Works Art and Design Festival continues at Churchill Square and around downtown. The musical lineup at Churchill Square continues to be amazing.
Speaking of amazing music…we’ve got this thing called the Edmonton International Jazz Festival. Yeah, that’s gonna have a great lineup too. (And is a good time to check out jazz if you’re not a regular at the Yardbird Suite.)
A new festival just began this weekend too. (New as in it just started, it’s not new to Edmonton.) The Freewill Shakespeare Festival is on in the Hawrelak Park Amphitheater. This summer you can see Othello and Twelfth Night.
Great show Saturday night at Wunderbar, with Shotgun Jimmie, Liam Trimble, and The Mitts. There’s also a big Slave Lake fire fundraising show this weekend up in Widewater (which is on Lesser Slave Lake).
Also this weekend, Edmonton is hosting the 2011 Canadian Ismaili Games. Neat.
Mixing It Up At The Market
By Pam Brierley
It is a balmy Wednesday evening in YEG and despite the subtle threat of thundershowers off in the distance, shoppers are streaming in and out of the parking lot of Lillian Osborne High School. Some are laden with bulging cloth shopping bags while others have loaded their child’s stroller. The parking lot across the street is full and a line-up of cars inch their way along Leger Road seeking a spot. By all accounts, the new Southwest Farmers’ Market is a hit.
A crowd has gathered around Diana Neubauer’s booth, Mixes ‘R Us, eagerly listening to her hawk her line of mixes and tasting her vegetarian chili and channa masala. Diana’s bright blue eyes dance as she chats up each new customer. She laughs easily putting them at ease immediately. Her hands and arms are well-muscled suggesting a life of physical work. She moves with efficiency. Not a motion is wasted. (more…)
The Jazz Works: Perfect Time(s) to Explore
Two of Edmonton’s larger, and more familiar, arts festivals are on right now.
The Works has takeover Churchill Square with art, music, and right-brain thinking (which is the creative, more intuitive side of the brain).
You’ll also find plenty of art installations and showcases throughout the downtown, everywhere from building lobbies, to hotels and restaurants.
The Works is Edmonton’s annual summer arts festival. It’s a great way to explore some art, maybe dipping your toe into things before you make the leap to galleries. (Latitude 53 also has the Visualeyez festival in September which is more experimental, edgy, and performance art.)
*****
The Edmonton International Jazz Festival is Edmonton’s yearly celebration of jazz. Obviously.
Every summer, jazz musicians from around the world will come and play the Yardbird Suite (Edmonton’s historic jazz club), the Winspear Centre, bars, clubs, and parks. You’d be hard-pressed to make it through the end of June without bumping into some jazz.
Like The Works being an easy way to explore art, the Jazz Festival is a simple way to listen to music you may not normally jump at. Festival passes, and show tickets, aren’t all that expensive and a festival provides a more relaxed atmosphere where newbies can mix with the longtime afficionados.
Food-Filled Events
It's gonna be like this, times 100.
Today you can eat some BBQ and chat with local producers and farmers at Wild Earth Foods’ Open Air Market, 2-8pm. You can also get some street food at What the Truck?!, 4-8pm. I hope to see you at one, or both, of these.
I am going to eat so much today…
Sticking with food…Saturday is market day! There’s the City Market (downtown), Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market (Whyte Avenue area), and St. Albert Farmers’ Market. On Sunday it’s the Callingwood Farmers’ Market (southwest Edmonton).
More food!!
To the festivals! Opera Nuova’s Vocal Arts Festival wraps up this weekend. Alberta Dance Alliance’s feats Festival of Dance has begun! The Works is on, in Churchill Square and around downtown Edmonton. The Edmonton International Jazz Festival is also on now. Improvaganza is still making with the funny. June isn’t done yet, so Bike Month continues too.
Holy cow we have a lot of festivals!
Fans of the TV show Firefly (and the movie Serenity, I presume) are fundraising at Can’t Stop the Serenity.
Perhaps a movie is in order this weekend? I hear there are plenty of great sci-fi options.
For the family…the John Janzen Nature Centre is open again. I guess this could also be for nature-lovers. Saturday, you can head on down to Rundle Park for Paddlefest.
It’s a great music weekend in Edmonton. The Works is packing Churchill Square with fantastic acts like Doug Hoyer, The Fight, and The Joe. The Edmonton Jazz Festival is, of course, all about music, from homegrown talent like Krystle Dos Santos to International artists like Trombone Shorty (Troy Andrews). The Apresnos are at Haven Social Club tonight…
(Totally forgot to try and embed an Apresnos song, so check them out completely here.)
Saturday’s Hair of the Dog (at The Black Dog) features Jessica Jalbert. Get on board with Jessica Jalbert now, Edmonton. Edmonton music blogger New Music Michael is having a birthday party with with One Way State, kickupafuss, and Honheehonhee, at New City.
Sunday, The Sadies and The Sheepdogs play the Pawn Shop.
It’s a good sports weekend in Edmonton too. The Edmonton Eskimos are home to the Calgary Stampeders in pre-season action. FC Edmonton hosts the Montreal Impact. The Edmonton Capitals are home to the Yuma Scoropians. And the Edmonton Energy have the Albany Legends in town. That’s a lot of guys giving 110% and leaving it all out on the floor/field/diamond.
Food Friday
I am hereby declaring this Friday – June 24, 2011 – Food Friday in Edmonton, Alberta.
Now I should tell you why. 
(more…)
White Out
You may have noticed posters around Edmonton with people from local news, media, sports, and the Mayor all wearing white. This is part of a campaign to “White Out Domestic Violence.” It’s a partnership between the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters and Edmonton City Centre mall.
Through the month of June the mall has been making counselors available (including this afternoon), and you can drop off clothing for women’s shelters. Thursday night, however, is likely the biggest night of the month.
Thursday is “White Night,” on the pedway bridge that crosses over 101 Street. White Night will include a cocktail party and fashion show. (more…)
Huck It. Chuck It. FOOTBALL!
Surely, the one thing that unites us as a species (besides our thumbs), is the desire to document that we were here! We were in the world! Remember us when we’re gone! AVENGE ME!
Anyway, people do this in any number of ways - growing long, gross curly fingernails; making cheeseburgers so big, they need to be flipped with snow shovels. And now, some members of Edmonton’s Flag Football Association aspire to do it with the longest running flag football game in history. EVER.
The event, happening the Canada Day long weekend, was dreamed up by flag footballers, Kail Schofield, Michael Dugan and Michael MacFynn.
“It came up over coffee one day, between me and Dugan,” says Kail. “We had seen that the world’s longest hockey game was going on. We thought to ourselves, what would be a good way to promote our sport?’
Organizer Kail Schofield, who insisted we use this picture
The obvious answer: by playing it for two days straight! (more…)
Festival Saturday (and the rest of the weekend too)
Summer officially arrives in Edmonton next week, which probably explains why this weekend is so jammed with festivals.
Friday and Saturday there’s the Utopia Music Festival, which kicks off summer in Hawrelak Park.
On Saturday we’ve got Bikeology (in Beaver Hills House Park), and the whole month of June is actually Bike Month, Park(ed) is back on the streets, taking up parking spaces (on 102 Avenue), Rock The Square (at Churchill Square), Africa Connect (at the Edmonton Expo Centre), and the Hope Street Festival (105 Avenue and 100 Street). 107 Avenue also has Safe Streets and a Night Market on Saturday (afternoon and evening).
Improvaganza 2011 is just getting warmed up (and will even have social media improv on Monday). Opera Nuova’s Vocal Arts Festival and the Edmonton Pride Festival are both continuing too.
For you, young and engaged folks, tonight is Pecha Kucha 10: Designing Downtown (which you can watch through the Edmonton Journal’s livestream), and Next Gen’s back at it on Sunday with the DIYalogue. We’re happy to be one of the groups chatting about cultural start-ups and entrepreneurship.
On a more serious note, there’s a picnic in Giovanni Caboto Park to remember murder victim Nina Courtepatte, and others lost to violence.
Watch It!’s got a BOOMBUS on Whyte Avenue today (4-8pm) and it’ll be downtown, on Jasper Avenue, Saturday morning. Keep your eyes open for this rolling watch and street party.
Over at La Cite Francophone you can catch a production of Little Shop of Horrors.
In music…Radio for Help plays the Pawn Shop tonight…Joe Nolan has a CD release at the Haven Social Club…Sidney York plays Brixx Saturday night, with Kaley Bird…The Collective West and Jeff Morris are at The ARTery…Wunderbar’s got a Weird Canada and Scion show…And Zero Cool’s at DV8 with Down the Hatch…
You can always catch a movie, which is likely to be a summer blockbuster right now.
Farmer’s markets abound on the weekend, downtown, in Old Strathcona, St. Albert, and in Callingwood.
The Edmonton Capitals are hosting the Chico Outlaws down at Telus Field.
Words with Friends
You like words don’t you? And you like beer, right? And other people?
Then is there an event for you, tonight!
Words with Friends (known as #yegwords on Twitter) is happening Thursday night at Bohemia (which is a cool little arts bar in the Oliver area). Put on by Wufniks magazine’s Jason Lee Norman and poet Kasia Gawluk it will be an evening of words, drinks, new and old friends, and more words (these may come in the way of poetry and short stories).
Head on out if you’re looking for some words. Or wordy-friends. Or beer.
You know, it feels like Edmonton’s starting to embrace its writing scene.
This event says that to me. The monthly Story Slam gaining more attention says that (the latest one happening last night at the Haven Social Club. And our pals at the Unknown Studio have been recording Story Slam for their podcast. The Edmonton Public Library’s newest Writer in Residence, Marty Chan, has an ongoing presence online and around the city, which will raise the profile of writing in general.
If we’re not careful we’re going to start churning out more award-winning writers in Edmonton.
Rapz
If you only see one Edmonton hip-hop or rap show this month, make it tonight at Wunderbar.
The Old Ugly Recording Co.’s The Joe, Mikey Maybe, Mitchmatic, and Teddy Holtby are going to play the same bill. All of them! I predict a busier than usual Wednesday night at Edmonton’s premiere beer location.
Old Ugly rap has been one of my gateways to the hip-hop world. I wasn’t a fan of the genre a couple of years ago (mostly through a lack of listening), but through this website I’ve been exposed to a lot (A LOT) of new music and Old Ugly rappers like The Joe have been blowing my mind grapes since.
I’m not kidding. Get there. Be there.
Are you there yet?
Lunch Gets the Square
Photo: Paul Poulsen
(I already apologize for my weak Hollywood Squares attempt in the headline.)
We’re coming up on lunchtime here in Edmonton, so I think it’s the perfect time to mention that Churchill Square will be “Live at Lunch” this week. (Which will be lots of fun when it’s sunny.)
Today, there are supposed to be puppets and plays (for the kids).
Wednesday you can learn about sustainable food options and solar power, while listening to Canadian Idol finalist (and Edmontonian) Martin Kerr.
Thursday is when it gets crazy, with Zumba, storytime for grown-ups, stand-up paddleboarding in the City Hall fountain, and chess. Friday will be mix of activities for all ages, with more puppets, Snakes’n'Ladders in the Square.
There’s also wifi in Churchill Square, and should be food trucks (plus Three Bananas has great pizzas and coffee). Get out there and enjoy your public square, Edmonton!
The Summer Party Begins
We are one week away from actual, proper summer, but the fun is in full swing this weekend. There is so much fun that I am going to break it down into sections.
Festivals
Edmonton’s Pride Festival kicks off with the Pride Awards, and parties tonight, and the parade through downtown Edmonton tomorrow. The Pride Parade ends up at Churchill Square for the rest of the afternoon.
Festivals for the old – Creative Age – and young – NextFest – continue this weekend. NextFest’s got, among so many things, a great show at the Avenue Theatre tonight.
Opera Nuova’s Vocal Arts Festival continues until Jun 26. Talking ’bout singin’.
Saturday and Sunday, there are 4 plays in the Sprouts 2011 New Play Festival for Kids, from Concrete Theatre, at the Stanley A. Milner Library.
Bike Month continues, uh, all month, with a bike repair-a-thon this weekend.
Saturday on 104 Street is more than the farmers’ market, with the Al Fresco block party. Take that, cars!
Music
Tonight…Sharks, Mockingbird Wish Me Luck, The Fight, and Owls By Nature are all at the Pawn Shop.
Saturday night, Gurf Morlix plays the Haven Social Club in a tribute to Blaze Foley.
Did I mention NextFest’s great lineup?
Arts
It’s a Handmade Mafia weekend!
DEDfest’s got a screening of Dead Alive at Metro Cinema this evening.
Sports
The Edmonton Energy are playing basketball, the Edmonton Capitals are out on Telus Field, and FC Edmonton is kicking around Foote Field.
Miscellaneous
Movies are always a good time. We are in for a sci-fi summer.
Saturday is river valley day! This is the 14th year celebrating the Edmonton region’s glorious river valley and its parks. Edmonton’s event is at Rundle Park. There are pancakes.
There’s a Pre-TEDx party tonight at Suede Lounge, with the (sold out) event happening tomorrow. (You can watch a live webcast of the event tomorrow at the TEDx Edmonton site.
Mount Pleasant Cemetery is throwing its gates wide open to everyone on Saturday. This is as much about Edmonton’s history and land use (with 2 new cemetery plans in the works) as it is morbid curiousity.
You can take your car to an Edmonton CARSTAR location Saturday and have it washed for a good cause, as part of the national “Soaps It Up” fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis.
Get Creative
One of Edmonton’s newer festivals is not all about trying to attract “the kids.”
In fact, the Creative Age Festival is completely about Edmonton’s boomers, retirees, and seniors.
Creative Age isn’t just for folks to check out events, but also provide the art and entertainment for the next week, because it “encourages seniors to become more involved in the arts—drama, music, visual arts, literary arts and dance.”
If you don’t happen to be “old enough” to really get full enjoyment out of Creative Age, you may know someone who is a little older. Point them in the direction of this unique Edmonton celebration.
It’s also awesome that Creative Age is running at the same time as NextFest. You’ve got Edmonton seniors celebrating the arts, or discovering talents in their older years, and NextFest showing off young stars and the creative youth of the city.
Month of the Bike
Every June in Edmonton is Bike Month. That means the humble bicycle is celebrated as recreation, sport, and transportation vessel. It’s the transportation one that is often forgotten in car-loving cities like Edmonton.
This weekend there’s a 24-hour bike repair-a-thon, in case you need some tune-ups. It begins on Saturday at noon, at the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters’ headquarters (10047 – 80 Avenue).
The big event of the month will happen Saturday, June 18. Bikeology will take over Beaver Hills House Park (Jasper and 105 Street) with bikes, bikes, and more bikes. Plus music, smoothies, and fun. (June 18 will also be “Park(ed)” in downtown Edmonton, so drivers are best to avoid the downtown unless they are walking or on people-powered wheeled vehicles.)
Bike Month is a whole month of events though, with breakfasts, mocktails, movies, and information nights.
Breakfasts are as follows:
- June 10 – Bike to Work Breakfast – 7-9 a.m. – Da Capo Cafe
- June 17 – Bike to Work Breakfast – 7-9 a.m. – Ezio Faraone Park
- June 24 – BIke to Work Breakfast – 7-9am – Sugar Bowl
Mockails are always at the north-side of the High Level Bridge, in Ezio Faraone Park – Wednesday June 8, 15, 22, 29 – 4-6 p.m.
If you want to bike to the movies, you can every Monday. Tonight, June 13, 20, and 27 you can catch a flick at Metro Cinema, at 7pm. On Monday, June 27 it will be Edmonton’s The Bike Heist – which we’ve talked about before.
On Saturday, June 25 there’s also a Bike-in Movie (an outdoor screening of The Triplets of Belleville) with music by Patrick Dunn and Jill Pollock at Victoria Park Cricket Pitch (12130 River Road).
One of the “Dialogue Nights” that caught my eye is June 21 (7-9 p.m.) at Credo Cafe (10134 104 Street), about winter cycling – an idea which intrigues and terrifies me.
For the full calendar of events check out Bikeology or the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters.
Let The Festivals Begin
This is when summer really gets going, Edmonton, when there are festivals – plural – to talk about.
In festivals…Dreamspeakers continues through Saturday night…the International Children’s Festival is on in St. Albert…on Sunday, the Highlands neighbourhood has a street festival…Opera Nuova presents the Vocal Arts Festival…NextFest runs through next week…
Community league members will be out all weekend trying to earn their neighbourhood some much-needed money in the Edmonton Community Challenge.
On the political side…Saturday is the Slut Walk and Sunday is a rally against public money going to a new downtown arena.
In music…this weekend, Heart of the City fills Giovanni Caboto Park with music, music, music. Musicians and bands that live in the “heart of the city” will be playing this annual festival. 2011′s got another great lineup. NextFest also has plenty of young, up and coming, and new musicians playing all around the city.
There are a few Slave Lake fire benefit shows…at the Rendevous Pub…at the City Centre Church…and at The ARTery (with Tanner Gordon among those on the bill)…
Friday…The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s got Late Night 1900s (with conductor Bill Eddins). Always a good time. Winnipeg’s The Details play the Haven Social Club with Michou…the Wild Rose Orchestra is at Wunderbar, with Zero Cool…
Saturday…Feast or Famine is at Wunderbar with The Old Sins, and the Weekend Kids (and more!…The Details are still at the Haven Social Club, but with Fish & Bird, and Kaley Bird…100 Mile House is at The Empress…No Witness has a CD release at the Starlite Room, with Shelbi and Soundscape…Ol’ Smashy (formerly the F.D. Jones Soap Co.) is at Filthy McNasty’s…and the ESO’s got Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony…
On Sunday…Supertramp is at Rexall Place. SUPERTRAMP!
In sports…the Edmonton Energy play a couple more games against the Oregon Waves…and the Edmonton Capitals are home to the Calgary Vipers. Saturday night’s baseball game is followed by movies at Telus Field. And Saturday is the “Fresh Meat Frolic,” with the Oil City Derby Girls, at the Grindhouse (14420 – 112 Street).
And on Saturday…it’s Bugs and Brunch – a fundraiser for YESS, hosted by Expressionz Cafe and the Vintage VW Association.
Strange Powers at The ARTery
While the festivals are beginning to roll, I want to note a move/concert/fundraiser happening tonight at The ARTery.
(Quick festival sidebar: Dreamspeakers is on downtown, and NextFest begins today.)
So, our old pals Mike and Arlen – from Highwire Films – are hosting the fundraiser tonight. The money they earn will help them shoot more videos and films this summer.
The evening will include a screening of the documentary “Strange Powers,” about Stephen Merritt and band The Magnetic Fields. The movie starts at 9:30. Popcorn will be available. (It’s a movie, after all.)
Then, Edmonton musicians (with some prominent and recognizable names in there) will perform covers of Magnetic Fields songs. And maybe other songs. I guess they’ll all see how the night goes.
Tickets are $10, and available through The ARTery’s website and YEG Live. Now, THAT’S a Thursday night in Edmonton.
Dreamspeakers
It’s back! Edmonton’s aboriginal film and arts festival, Dreamspeakers, has returned to the downtown for 2011.
We like mentioning Dreamspeakers because Edmonton’s got a lot of festivals (but still no cheese-rolling festival) and smaller ones ones can sometimes be overshadowed.
There will be movie screenings, today through Saturday, at Metro Cinema (in the Citadel Theatre). But there’s also a Walk of Honour luncheon and gala, Youth Day events, and the opening reception (happening in just a few minutes at the Yellowhead Brewery). Here’s the full schedule.
Friday is Youth Day, which includes an actor workshop with one of the stars of Twilight (Tyson Houseman went to school here in Edmonton) and emerging filmmakers’ video contest.
The Walk of Honour, by the way, is in Beaver Hills House Park (Jasper Avenue at 105 Street) so you, like we had, might have passed by it a bunch of times without knowing.
As for movies, there are a half-dozen or more feature-length films and plenty of shorts.
Tuesday Night is a Busy Night
If you’re not already lined up to see the big U2 concert at Commonwealth, there are options for your Tuesday night in Edmonton.
Two of Edmonton’s sports teams are home tonight. The Edmonton Capitals play their home-opener at Telus Field, hosting the Calgary Vipers.
And FC Edmonton is home (at Foote Field) to play FC Tampa.
Comedian Shaun Majumder is at the Winspear Centre tonight. But I mostly wanted to mention that because I already miss Detroit 1-8-7. :(
And the International Children’s Festival, in St. Albert, picks up again in the morning.
It’s a Kid, Kid, Kid, Kid World
The St. Albert’s children’s festival, more accurately called “Tim Hortons presents the International Children’s Festival,” begins tomorrow. So I’m talking about it today.
Our pals Splash ‘n’ Boots are back this year. They actually kick things off Tuesday morning.
And there’s plenty more for the family.
The big draw is a Cirque du Soleil-style performance called Viaggio, by Il Circo. It will, as most acrobatic circus performances should, blow your mind.
You can find classic children’s stories, like Rumpelstiltskin, contemporary stories like Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (does anyone else remember this book?), and new tales like Baobab, a mix of music, puppetry, and live-action which tells the story of an important child being born in drought-laden Africa.
We don’t tend to talk a lot about stuff for kids (though we do get called childish a whole lot) but I always like reminding people about the St. Albert children’s fest, since it’s a big deal and a great time for Edmonton-area families. Oh, and it just so happens to be the 30th year for the festival!
The First Crazy Weekend of Summer
Get ready for a busy weekend, Edmonton. (And the festivals are just getting started too.)
The 10th Royal Bison Craft Fair is at the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre. This one’s gonna be good, with Culina serving up food, and more craftsters than you can shake a knitted-stick at.
Not too far from the Royal Bison, it’s the first East Whyte Street Party. The block party, including Eva Sweet Waffles!, is on 100 Street, between Whyte Avenue and 81st Ave. Businesses up and down Whyte (between 99 Street and the tracks) will have specials and deals for you too. We’ll see you there!
A few blocks away from that…the City of Edmonton is talking food and agriculture policy, outside of the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market.
Sticking with the City…Saturday sees the 3rd annual ETS Community Fair at West Edmonton Mall. And Big Bin Events continue, so you can get rid of all of your old couches.
The Edmonton Energy are in action tonight, playing the USA All-Stars. (The Edmonton Energy are our IBL basketball team.)
In music…Hale Hale, Raptors, and Randy Graves are playing the Pawn Shop tonight with Andrew W.K. So you know it’ll be a party. Anvil is at the Starlite Room. Rusty Reed’s and the Sherbrooke Community League are putting on the “Blossom into the Blues” festival this weekend. Opera Nuova’s Vocal Arts Festival is on right now too. On Sunday…Timbre Timbre at the Avenue Theatre
On Saturday watch out for people running around Edmonton in the City Chase (kind of an Amazing Race style event) and then on Sunday, you’ll see folks running and biking in the Subway Coronation Triathlon – which brings with it road closures.
On the political side of things…the Alberta Party’s got Big Idea Night to kick-off its leadership convention this weekend…and there will be a rally at the Alberta Legislature Sunday, to pressure the provincial government into funding education and avoiding hundreds of teaching cuts this fall…
SEE Magazine might be disappearing, but Merge is back. They re-launch with a party tonight.
You can still catch new one-act plays from local playwrights at the Walterdale.
There are always movies to be watched.
On Sunday, buy some baked goods to help the Slave Lake fire victims. Never before has gorging yourself on brownies been so helpful.
You can wash down all those brownies and cupcakes with beers. Zombeers.
