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.
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.
The Fringiest Events
Of course it’s the Fringe!
The 29th annual Edmonton International Fringe Festival is all the arts pages will be talking about for the next week. There’s also lots of stuff happening around Old Strathcona that doesn’t take place in a theatre or on a stage. This is the big one, Edmonton.
Morgan had a good point, don’t just try to see the 5-star shows. Ask people what’s good, what’s interesting, what they think you might like. You can always poke around Twitter, and try #yegfringe, for just such questions and inquiries.
Hawrelak Park is busy again this weekend, with the Celtic Festival. BluesFest is next weekend (in Hawrelak Park)…so get warmed up at Rusty Reed’s with Dave Babcock and the Night Keepers
EastwoodFest is Saturday, in the Eastwood neighbourhood. (118 Avenue, 85-87 Streets.)
Churchill Square, which the City has been trying to fill with more events and happenings, in between festivals, has the Latin Festival this weekend. Cha-cha-cha.
There’s Tomoto Fare too. That’s about tomatoes.
West of the city, it’s the Stony Plain Cowboy Gathering Society get-together. You can expect cowboy art, culture, poetry, and music.
Lots of new movies are out this weekend, like Eat, Pray, Love and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Gregg’s got your lowdown.
In music…N.N. plays an EP release show at the Starlite Room tonight, with Van Gohost and I.E.D. Sunday night at the Starlite Room it’s Fran Healy from Travis.
Falklands are at Wunderbar Friday night.
The Black Dog has some Hair of the Dog Saturday afternoon.
Over at Lyve on Whyte, Friday is Soul Train (with Crowded City Skyline and Hot Hand Phenomenon), Saturday it’s Rocky Mountain Rebel Music (with Brash Tax and The Party Martyrs).
Eddie Shorts has The Frolics Friday and Gaye Delorme Saturday.
Cirque du Soleil is in Edmonton, with Alegria.
In sports…The Prairie Football Conference (PFC) kicks off this weekend. 
Edmonton’s got two teams in that league. The Edmonton Wildcats are coming off a season in which they were western champs, and fell in the Canadian junior football championship. The Edmonton Huskies stunk it up last year, winning no games, and are looking for redemption in 2010. Those games are Saturday and Sunday, at Clarke Park.
From ShareEdmonton: FC Edmonton is hosting the Spokane Spiders (that means we could see Edmonton on all the Spokane affiliates! I hope Ana Cabrera talks about Edmonton.)
Whew!
An Edmonton football star
We talked about prairie football a lot last summer and fall. Edmonton had one really good team and one really bad team. Right now, we’ll talk about the really good team.
Make us proud, Jerit. (Photo: Edmonton Wildcats)
The Edmonton Wildcats played for the national junior football title in the fall, but didn’t come home with the crown.
The season done, there’s one Wildcat still playing.
Receiver (and Prairie Football Conference and Canadian rookie of the year) Jerit Lambert is going to play for the World Team of America. He’ll be joined by two other Canadian Junior Football League stars (Ottawa Sooners punter Tyler Crapigna and St. Leonard Cougars defensive back Mike Dubuisson). There are 31 of Canada’s best under-20 footballers on the team.
That team will face USA Football‘s junior squad as part of the NFL’s Pro Bowl festivities January 30th. The game is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but you can watch it on the NFL Network, 10am our time. (Check your local listings or call your cable/satellite provider.)
Lambert had a good year, making 28 catches for 457 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also returned kicks 550 yards, with one kickoff run back for a touchdown and one punt taken in for a score.
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) had 100 players to choose from, so Lambert certainly must have impressed. The Team World roster will have 43 players from eight countries and four continents.
Busy, busy, busy
Let’s all peel our eyes from the clock for a just a few minutes. 5pm will be here soon enough.
This is going to be one busy weekend, Edmonton.
There is, of course, the opening of the all new Kingsway Mall. Sunday at that mall and others heralds the arrival of Santa.
Speaking of holiday cheer, the City of Edmonton will light up its giant Christmas tree at Churchill square Saturday.
There are a couple of new venues opening so you can get your drink-on. There’s a new club, called Plush, opening in the old piano bar on south Calgary Trail. Hmm, that’s on the way to South Edmonton Common where another new bar is opening.
If you’re looking for music, this is a good weekend for it. The Arkells are playing here Saturday night, while Dinosaur Jr. does the Starlite thing tonight, and, also Saturday, there’s a one-day music festival happening.
Wyrd Fest is coming to you from the weird mind of Aaron Levin, a former CJSR music director. Wyrd Fest will see 18 bands (a lot of them local) play on two stages at the Cosmopolitan Music Society, 8624 Gateway Boulevard. Levin says the idea is inspired by other indie music festival, like Calgary’s Sled Island or Pop Montreal.
You’ll want to hit up Blackbird Myoozik on Whyte Avenue for tickets.
If that’s not your speed, maybe watching ladies on wheels smack each other around is your thing. The E-Ville Roller Derby girls will be taking on Vancouver’s Terminal City Roller Girls at the Kingsway Hangar, 11410 Kingsway Avenue. It’s also E-Ville’s 3rd birthday!
The Canadian Finals Rodeo are on. That means Rexall smells like poop.
Let’s contrast that with Exposure: Edmonton’s Queer Arts and Culture Festival.
And, while it’s not happening in Edmonton, the Prairie Football Conference champs are looking for a national title. Yes, the Edmonton Wildcats are looking to make us all even prouder, Saturday.
The ‘cats finished the season with a record of 6-2, beat the Calgary Colts and Saskatoon Hilltops for the Prairie title, then beat the Ottawa Sooners to move onto the Canadian Junior Football League championship.
The Wildcats put on offensive clinics throughout the season, and will probably find themselves in a shootout against the Vancouver Island Raiders.
The Raiders outscored their opponents 5-1 this year so they’ve got the weapons to go up against the ‘cats.
Edmonton is not only looking for a 4th national title, they’re looking for a little revenge. The Raiders beat the Wildcats for the Canadian championship back in 2006.
Whew. That’ll do.
Go for the Intergold
We’ve tried to keep up with the Prairie Football Conference (PFC) as best we can this season. The one thing to know is that Edmonton has one good team and one bad one. The Huskies didn’t win once. The Edmonton Wildcats, however, are the prairie champions.
This weekend the Wildcats take on the Ontario champs, the Ottawa Sooners. The winner of this “Intergold Cup” game will take on the winner of the B.C. Football Conference for the national title.
The ‘cats have won 3 national championships, and were last playing for the big win in 2006. It’s been a lot longer since they brought home the Canadian title though. That last one came in 1983, against the Ottawa Sooners. (Could that be a good sign of at least an Intergold win?)
The Wildcats went 6-2 in the regular season, outscoring opponents 324-163 (though, they just shellacked the Huskies). In the playoffs they beat the Calgary Colts here in Edmonton, then went Saskatoon to beat the Hilltops for the Prairie title.
They’ve got some of the best receivers in the country, and the PFC rookie of the year, Jerit Lambert, is one of them.
Ottawa’s got a solid defense, allowing the second-fewest points in the nation, and will be tougher to put points up against, so it could be quite the battle on the field.
Your 2009 Edmonton Wildcats.
Wildcats win!
Remember the other day, when I was talking about playoff football in Edmonton?
Well…the Edmonton Wildcats used their wily defence to claim victory over the Calgary Colts. Linebacker Matt Lalande set a PFC record with two, count ‘em two, interceptions run in for touchdowns.
That means Edmonton, second-best after the regular season, will face the top team in the Prairie Football Conference.
Watch for an Edmonton-Saskatoon Hilltops showdown next weekend (in Saskatchewan) for Prairie supremecacy.
A win next weekend means a chance at the national title.
Huck it, chuck it, football!
Those poor, poor, Huskies.
They didn’t win a game all season. Thankfully, for Edmonton, the Wildcats did alright and will be in the Prairie Football Conference (PFC) playoffs.
The Huskies even had a chance to win their one game of the season at home, against their Edmonton rivals. Instead, the Huskies got thumped (again) 46-7. There’s always next year.
While the Huskies will be waiting for next summer after losing all eight games, the Wildcats take second place in the PFC with a record of six wins and two losses. They’ll be hosting a battle of Alberta this coming weekend (Sunday, October 11) as the Calgary Colts come up the highway for a semi-final showdown.
The other playoff game sees a battle of Saskatchewan with the Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder squaring off. Regina was the top team in the league, going 7-1 for 14 points.
After that it’s the league championship (October 18), and the Prairie winner then heads to the national junior football playoffs.
Get out to Clarke Park this weekend and cheer on your Edmonton Wildcats!
Edmonton’s First October Weekend
Weekends are a time for good friends, good times and good cupcakes.
You smell that? That’s the weekend. And dead leaves. But mostly weekend.
Yes, fall arrived to remind us that we are but playthings in Mother Nature’s world. Enjoy the crisp mornings though, since they shall soon turn to frigid beginnings of days that are much too short.
And we can all rejoice, since this weekend is full of awesome.
Apologies for the random order of events. But, hey, it’s Friday and spending an extra minute trudging through possible fun options is way better than work.
Way better.
Let’s start with an event that will likely not be something you can do on a whim (stretching is not always enough, practice helps) the CIBC Run for the Cure, Sunday. Sounds like it will be a chilly start to the race. Cheering squads: bring some mitts.
The Handmade Mafia is back at it, Saturday. Let’s go buy mitts together.
For the outdoorsy among you, Mountain Equipment Co-op is doing a gear swap, Sunday. Bring your old stuff (or stuff from the activity that broke your leg and you hate now) and get some new stuff.
Pure Speculation 2009, is all weekend at the Shaw Conference Centre and Happy Harbour on 124th Street. Science Fiction, comics, fun.
The latest Homeless Connect is Sunday. This is where services and help are provided to the homeless. Things like haircuts too. Seems like a practical idea when I mention haircuts, doesn’t it?
The Edmonton Wildcats take on the Edmonton Huskies in the Prairie Football Conference regular season ender, at Clarke Park. Saturday. 7pm.
Speaking of sports, the University of Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas have another busy weekend.
Oh, and a little thing called the NHL is underway. And fantasy hockey.
The Anarchist Bookfair runs Saturday and Sunday. Which seems very orderly.
Friday night is Pecha Kucha 5. The “chit chat” goes Old School.
Some friends of the website are playing at Wunderbar on Whyte. Come check out Van Funk & the Lebarons, and say Hi.
Also Saturday night, in the party column, CJSR is having its Fundrive wrap party at The Artery. Do it. The catering is going to be excellent.
Kenny Rogers is playing at the River Cree Casino, Sunday. Kenny F’n Rogers.
Saturday, momstown.ca is doing mom and tots stuff at Bonnie Doon.
West Edmonton Mall has roller derby and a dive-in movie. Let’s just hope the kid at the top of the water slide doesn’t hold things up while engrossed in the film. But roller derby down a water slide, that’s something to see. (It’s actually going to be in Phase 4.)
Oh, and something I’ll likely be dragged to, Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D. For two weeks only!
Are you ready for (some) football?
Edmonton Eskimos aside, there’s other football going on.
Seriously.
On Friday, the University of Alberta Golden Bears beat Simon Fraser Clan 28-16. Not bad against the top offence in the Canadian University football. It’s also not a bad way to get win #1 on the season. Saskatchewan comes to town this Friday.
(While we’re talking about the U of A, here’s how all the Bears and Pandas did this weekend.)
There was also some Prairie Football going on at Clarke Park. (My inability to read a schedule means this wasn’t a one month league…)
You know when sports guys say a game was over before it began? (Usually meaning one team is nowhere near as good as the other.) That really was the case between the Edmonton Wildcats and Edmonton Huskies.
We could sit around and pick this game apart, but I’m simply going to say the Wildcats won 72-0. I think that sums things up.
The loss leave the Huskies in last place in the Prairie Football Conference. They’re starting to give me that Detroit Lions feeling…
Both Edmonton teams are on the road this week. The Huskies look for their first win against Saskatoon, the best team in the league (*gulp*), while the Wildcats roll their momentum into Regina. The two Edmonton teams will then finish the season facing each other at Clarke Park, October 3.
High-scoring side notes from the PFC: Scoring 35 points in the first quarter has been done three times in Canadian Junior Football history…This is the second-best shutout for the ‘Cats, since they won a 2003 game 79-0…83-0 is the largest margin of victory in Canadian Junior Football…
Huck it, Chuck it, Football!
Hey sports fans, the Edmonton Examiner has your Junior Football Preview. 
The Wildcats kick their season off at Clarke Park, Saturday night at 7 p.m. against the Calgary Colts (full season schedule here), while the Huskies start off Sunday at 1 p.m. (full season schedule here).
Also, the Wildcats need somebody to man their merch booth at home games; it pays about 40$ per 3-hour game. If you’re interested, more details available here.
