Edmonton weekend fun
When the big hand gets to 5 we all get 2 days off.
That clock is slowly ticking toward the weekend. We are so close now.
But wait, do you even know what you’re going to do this weekend?
We’ve mentioned talking about doing things differently at ChangeCamp, enjoying some non-pretentious and award-winning jazz, heading North of Nowhere, and spooking and grossing yourself out at DEDfest.
But there’s more.
First, there’s more on the dead side, with a zombie walk and then a zombie prom at New City.
And on the Hallowe’en side there’s the Scarecrow Festival at Northlands.
There’s a really interesting event happening Saturday night, called a Timeraiser. Basically, you bid on auction items but you’re also bidding with your own volunteer hours. Neat.
Over on Stony Plain Road they’re doing Store Front Cinema.
Also Saturday, Delhi 2 Dublin bring their electronica world beats to the Starlite Room.
You could also look for “A New Perspective” at this photography show.
The Edmonton Model Railroad Association is throwing its doors open to the public this weekend.
The Pilgrims Hospice is holding their annual “Voices for Hospice” benefit concert too.
Hey, Chad VanGaalen is playing the Myer Horowitz Sunday. You needed to know this.
Sunday also sees the Pop Culture Fair over at the Mayfield Inn Trade Centre.
And on Monday, author Hal Niedzviecki is over at the University of Alberta talking about our peep culture.
SO MUCH TO DO!
Edmonton Events (mostly) not involving turkeys
Perhaps we will come out of this long weeked in one season, and not two.
The temptation here is to only list events that are totally Thanksgiving and turkey-related, or boycott the flightless bird. I’ll do what I can to find a middle ground.
First, we’ve already been over The Fashion Event, all the big football games, a grand opening, and a unique way to enjoy turkey dinner while gambling, but there’s more.
You could head to The Starlite Room tonight for The Adrian Belew Power Trio.
Tomorrow night at The Starlite it’s Shout Out Out Out Out.
Maybe you’re feeling in a revolutionary mood. The Artery has a Che Party for the Ernesto Che Guevera Festival. Plus, this weekend is the 2nd birthday of The Artery, and they’re having a party for that Sunday night.
The Gas Pump (only your favourite bar, and ours) is hosting an Oktoberfest, Saturday. It runs 3-8pm and helps out the Edmonton Food Bank. Did I mention this was at THE GAS PUMP!
Saturday night sees the secretaries releasing a CD. That means lots of music at The Pawn Shop from those rockin’ executive assistants and also The Get Down, DJ Lady ZZ Top and Paul Couts and Cowls.
The Edmonton Kennel Club is filling Northlands Hall A with all the cute dogs you can handle.
There’s an Oilers game Saturday night, with the Montreal Canadiens in town.
And don’t forget that Jay-Z plays Rexall Place Tuesday night.
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!
Weekend Party Time
Bye, summer.
Just because the sun is setting on the week, Edmonton, doesn’t mean the fun is over. Heck, the weekend is the fun part.
I’ve said it before but this weekend looks super-busy and jammed with goodness.
As usual, there’s no preference or order to this stuff. It’s just stuff that’s going on. You can always let me know if there’s something cool happening and I can include it.
Campus chaos is probably going to rock some student faces off tonight. There’s a high probability, anyway.
Edmonton Chante is all about francophone music and artists. It’s mostly in Whyte Avenue venues, but pops downtown too. Check it out already.
The Edmonton International Film Festival begins this fair evening with opening night movies and a gala.
Metro Cinema is also showing local filmmakers this weekend.
Art by Chris Reid
Manitoba artist Chris Reid is rocking Latitude 53 with angry toast (right). And other wonders.
Sunday is the City of Edmonton’s free admission day. Free. ‘Nuff said.
Do you like potatoes? There’s this little thing called The Great Potato Giveaway. I hope you can lift 50 pounds of potatoes.
You what is pretty fun, and will probably be the big deal of late ’09 and 2010? Roller derby. Get on that bandwagon tonight with the E-Ville girls.
The revitalization of 118th Avenue continues with a weekend of family arts fun, between 92 and 94 Streets.
Time for the weekend
So let’s find you something to do, shall we.
Now, this is by no means a definitive list of stuff going on in Edmonton over the next few days. Heck, there are plenty of events, big and small, that I’m going to miss. This is just the stuff that seems cool, seems to be talked about, or happens to catch my eye as I’m writing.
Mostly, I’m trying to find stuff I’d like to do.
I noticed the Elephant & Castle on Whyte Avenue (near 103 Street) is offering 15% off to anyone showing up in pirate garb tomorrow night. That would be because it’s Talk Like a Pirate Day. This works out well if you’ve already got your pirate costume for Hallowe’en.
Why not congratulate Edmonton Symphony Orchestra conductor Bill Eddins on his contract extension by checking out some film scores?
Speaking of the arts, it’s Alberta Arts Days all weekend. That means plenty of artistic ventures, shows, open houses, discounts and more.
Northern Light Theatre kicks off its season with Victoria Martin: Math Team Queen. (I was on a math team once…)
Buffy Sainte-Marie is playing in Sherwood Park tonight.
Over at the Jube, there’s a Leonard Cohen tribute; The Tower of Song.
Mojave is swinging through town and playing Eddie Shorts Saturday night.
We’ve also received word that the City Centre Cinema is offering a movie, popcorn and pop for $10 Saturday. (This could be a good chance to check out Matt Damon’s moustache.)
The Visualeyez performance art festival is winding down.
And if you like mixed-martial arts, The Fight Club presents TFC 8: Salvation at the Shaw Conference Centre tonight.
Plus, it looks like it will just be nice weather, so that’ll be fun too.
Hot stuff (to do)
This nearly ended up being the hot dog report.
I don’t think it’s out of line to say this shiznit is bananas. Are you kidding me it’s going to be sunny and 26 degrees? Yowza!
With that kind of heat the Mill Creek Pool will be open about the latest its ever been open.
We’ve already talked about the Community League membership kick-off happening Saturday.
Speaking of free hot dogs…the Bonnie Doon Community League is dishing them out to celebrate their new playground…and the St. Albert Steel have them before the AJHL season kicks off tonight. Which reminds me, the AJHL season kicks off tonight.
Hot dogs aside, if you like improv (and you do) you may want to check out Die-Nasty’s 50-hour marathon at the Varscona Theatre. There are prime-time, non-prime-time and full weekend passes available.
The Eskimos host the Stampeders in a rematch of the Labour Day Classic (drubbing).
Your elderly aunt’s favourite artist is playing the Shaw Conference Centre.
Meanwhile, Keane plays Somewhere Only We Know.
The Odds play River Cree’s Live lounge. Huh.
The Alberta Provincial Racewalk Championship is tomorrow in Hawrelak Park. Seriously.
That should give you a starting point. Have a good weekend!
GO LONG!
My attempt at mixing our pending long weekend and football catch phrases aside, we do have a three-day weekend ahead of us. That means lots of stuff to do in the city we call Edmonton.
We wrote about it this morning, but it’s worth mentioning again; the Sobey’s Symphony Under the Sky happens Friday, Saturday, Sunday AND Monday. Every day has different concerts. That’s a lot of symphony! (Follow all the action on Twitter if you’re not going to be in Hawrelak Park.)
Did you miss the big Blues Festival in Hawrelak? Well, blues fans, you are in luck. The Beaumont Blues Festival is on this weekend. I had no idea Edmonton was such a hotbed of blues before coming here.
Our Weird Canada friends are presenting The Wicked Awesomes!’s LP release party at Bonnie Doon Bowling Lanes. They sell it best: “Music and bowling.”
He will be 18 ’til he dies, questioning if he’s ever really loved a woman. Bryan Adams plays Telus Field TONIGHT.
The Shaw Conference Centre is hosting the Metropolis Electronic Music Festival. Not usually my scene, but I recognize MSTRKRFT as a big deal.
British rock-blues group Band of Skulls plays Brixx Saturday night. Could be a good time indeed.
Speaking of music, radio station Sonic 102.9 and The Union present SONiC Boom; a modern rock festival up at Northlands with such guests as Franz Ferdinand, Metric, Billy Talent and Edmonton’s own The Wet Secrets. Get your rock on.
The Citadel Theatre begins its season this weekend. Its first show is The Drowsey Chaperone.
The Labour Day long weekend also means summer is coming to a close. Have you tried to get lost in the Corn Maze yet? For the long weekend, you can save $1 off the admission price with a donation for the Edmonton Food Bank.
I DO like to party
If only CJSR could tell me what to do...
I think it’s a universal truth that, no matter where you live, if you’re living in the city (or town, or village) you grew up in, there’s never anything to do.
Even in major metropolitan areas (such as, say, Edmonton) you’ll find people who tell you they’ve got nothing to do, there’s nothing to do, this place is boring.
Thank goodness CJSR has updated their event listings with some mad calendar skills.
Like any good calendar of fun, it lets you sort through events by date, genre and acts and venues.
Now, if you’re clicking on over you may say to yourself, “Hey, there’s some good stuff here, but I think there could be more.” You’d be right. That’s the neat thing about the new CJSR Event Calendar; you can add events. (It does take a quick registration of name, and e-mail.)
Now, not only can you find stuff to do, you can tell people about fun stuff to do, because you’re a busy person and always hitting the hip events.
It’s the weekend, so let’s party
You need balloons to have a proper party. (Photo: Alain Saffel)
Oh man, this is a good weekend.
There’s the Edmonton Folk Music Festival down in the river valley. Cariwest is downtown. We’ve already told you about some cool art openings and a rock-your-face-off metalfest.
But there’s more! And the weather even looks to be co-operating.
Fort Saskatchewan is playing host to a videogame festival that goes by the name of Fragapalooza. It’s BYOC.
Sunday is Ukrainian Day, which means there will be loads of fun over at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village and likely a few Uke-themed parties around the city. (I know Ceili’s is having one…)
And there’s Latin Fest! Did you know about this?
And the other thing you can do, especially if you’re a child of the 80s, is watch a John Hughes movie or two.
Whatever you do, be careful out there.
p.s. remember that the LRT is not running south of the river after 7pm
Find something to do, already
Long weekend? Yes, please!
Long weekend!
Woooooooooo!
A note: The Great Divide Waterfall won’t be running this long weekend. We’ll get through this together. It’s unknown when it will be running again.
Alright, the big one this weekend is the Servus Heritage Festival. 34 years running and full of culture and tasty food, it’s all at Hawrelak Park. Here’s some transportation info.
Music-wise you’ve got The City Streets playing a “moving” show tonight at the Pawn Shop, and Blink 182 is tonight. The Moody Blues play Sunday, at the Winspear.
I’m going to try and rein in my excitement, but I do need to tell you about a show at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre. It’s because Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks stars…Peter Scolari! Let me repeat. Peter. Scolari. You’re welcome.
Latitude 53 has “Draw,” a marathon of, well, drawing.
The Edmonton Capitals are home this weekend, and for $5 a throw you can help them fight breast cancer and try to set a World Record for pitches thrown.
We told you a little while ago about The Laugh Shop opening a new location on Whyte Avenue. It happens Saturday night.
Don’t forget about farmers’ markets, improv, live music in pretty much every bar, new movies in theatre…and so on.
What to Do: July 24 – 26
Maybe just head out to one of Alberta's great beaches this weekend.
Alright, it’s the weekend!
The scorching hot, middle of summer, good times weekend.
Yes, it’s the final weekend of Capital Ex (and Taste of Edmonton and Walking with Dinosaurs if you’re looking for a super-busy weekend of stuff to do). And there are all those race cars and assorted Indy parties.
But what if that’s not for you?
Try these on for size:
The Hurt Locker opens this weekend and looks really, really good.
The Famines play The Hydeaway with The Wicked Awesomes and The Mitts.
Speaking of music, Social Distortion is playing at Edmonton Event Centre.
River Cree Casino’s Live (cover band bar) has The Almost Hip.
Brian Mason’s pancake breakfast; because free food knows no political ideology (And the NDP has a syrup quota to fulfill).
You can get your dance on at Flamenco for Life, while helping a good cause.
On Sunday, Eskimos great Warren Moon is signing copies of his book “Never Give Up on Your Dream” at the North Town Indigo.
If you’re hungry for local food and new restaurants, check out Fork Fest.
Oh, and remember to Slip, Slop, Slap if you’re heading out into the sun.
Party like it’s 1299
Last week I had mentioned how I inadvertedly bumped into the Edmonton Turkish Festival, as it was just down the street from my home. This week, I totally love Dr. Wilbert McIntyre (Gazebo) Park.
Lords and Ladies, the Class of 1328.
This Saturday it was the Knights of the Northern Realm taking over the park for their annual summer festival of swordplay, potions, a medieval market and dancing.
These guys don’t mess around.
They’ve got 14th century armour and weapons, and they seriously swing that metal. A great moment came when the pairs of fighters had been knocked down (literally) to two. The crowd could focus a little more on the same battle and we all grimaced and let out a surprised “Oh…” when one knight took a flail hard to the chest. It was that moment when we realized there was some reality to the show.
Don’t worry if you missed the medieval fun, you can still get your Hundred Years-groove on throughout the year, as the Knights hold a number of events, including a fall feast.
Michael Ignatieff gets silly in Edmonton
It's not always the fun kind of fireworks when Liberals come to Alberta.
If you’re not following the federal political scene, you might have missed the fact Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff was in Edmonton this past Tuesday and Wednesday (…er, I think it’s fair to assume not everyone in Edmonton would follow the Liberals…?)
Alex Abboud has a really interesting rundown on Ignatieff’s Tuesday night town hall over at his blog. You should definitely check it out.
In town for Canada Day, Ignatieff was also spotted at the Silly Summer Parade on Whyte Avenue.
We would have had photo evidence for you, but Sally got all hopped up on delicious Two Rooms coffee and kept yelling “IS THAT HIM?!” every time somebody in a glittery clown wig paraded by. Overstimulated, she went down for a nap, and we missed the “silly” Ignatieff photo (if you snapped one, drop us a link to it in the comments).
Happy Canada Day, Edmonton
We don't skimp on the show.
No festival too small
Shopping: Turkish style
The colours and culture of Turkey were on display this weekend.
While on my usual trek to the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market Saturday I stumbled into one of Edmonton’s smaller festivals.
The Edmonton Turkish Festival took over Dr. Wilbert McIntyre Park for the weekend.
Like any good festival celebrating ethnic or geographic heritage, there was food, music, dance, crafts, jewelry and other goods to introduce everyday Edmontonians to Turkish culture.
You got to take the cup and saucer home!
While enjoying my kebab and my Turkish coffee* (I would have chosen a fruit-less and slightly more manly tiny cup had I known you got to take it home) I wondered if Edmonton even had a large Turkish population.
Uh…we do not. According to the 2006 Census just 1,250 people describe themselves as being Edmontonians of Turkish descent. So good for those guys for throwing together a yearly festival!
We’ve got lots of parks, a short summer worth jamming festivals into and lots of proud Edmontonians willing to share their history and delicacies (I’m looking at you, tiny coffee) with us. Just enjoy.
I hope the Edmonton Turkish Festival is back next year. I want a complete set of tiny coffee cups.
Collect the whole set.
*the Turkish Coffee was strong, sweet and just delicious
I want to ride my bicycle
Free tune-ups were just part of the fun.
As mentioned in a weekend update, the Bikeology Festival took over Beaver Hills House Park on Saturday.
The weather couldn’t have been better as hundreds of bicyclists (and surely a casual passerby or two) grabbed themselves free smoothies, got a free tune-up for their ride and just enjoyed the afternoon. There was also an ETS bus parked at the festival, so riders could practice loading their bikes on the front rack.(You can always practice that little trick at Mountain Equipment Co-op on 124 Street too.)
It’s all for bike month.
It’s also about gathering the city’s many different kinds of cyclists in one place. If you check out the flickr pool you’ll see commuting bikes, casual bikes, high-end bikes, bikes that just power blenders (for the free smoothies of course) and other wheeled-rides that reinvent the bicycle as you may know it.
For a winter city there’s certainly a thriving culture of bicyclists. And recently those around City Hall have kicked around the idea of expanding the city’s trail and path system.
If you missed out on the fun, just want to know more about bicycling in Edmonton, or have something to share you can drop your thoughts in a comment.
More at bikeology.ca. You can also follow bikeology on Twitter at twitter.com/@bikeology
Weekend Blip: Bikeology Festival
While I will be (ironically?) taking the High Level Streetcar downtown today I will be stopping by the Bikeology Festival.
It’s all going down at Jasper and 105 Street. It’s been a busy week for that park.
Come out and see that Edmonton’s got a vibrant cycling community. Yes, people even bike in the winter.
Dreamspeakers’ Film Fest
The Dreamspeakers’ Aboriginal Peoples’ Film Festival is on this weekend, running in conjunction with West Edmonton Mall’s Aboriginal Days. Complete event details are available on the Dreamspeakers’ website, including a cool Youth Day initiative (happening tomorrow ) and a full schedule of films.
Edmonton events kick of this morning at 11:30 a.m., with the unveiling of Walk of Honour installment at Beaver Hills House Park (corner of 105 St. and Jasper Ave.)
From the festival website:
The Walk of Honour has been created as a tribute to those Aboriginal artists who have blazed trails in the film industry. It is intended to be a lasting legacy to recognize their efforts and hard work at bringing a new understanding to the varied cultures, traditions, languages and artistic expressions of Aboriginal People in Canada.
The festival runs until June 21st.
