Explore Edmonton
Today’s event selection is not really one you could accomplish (in its entirety) in one evening, or even one full day.
You may remember me talking about the Edmonton Community Challenge (put on by the Next Gen committee and Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues) back in June.
Our scrappy little team from Strathcona Centre placed a respectable fifth, notable due to our handful of active members. While we were darn proud to have collected the most food for the Edmonton Food Bank in the sculpture challenge (King Edward School gets a lot of the credit) I think it’s safe to say the core of our team had the most fun in the city-wide photo scavenger hunt.
By checking Flickr, I would say the other top teams also had a blast with this.
We had to run all over Edmonton, taking photos of ourselves in front of historically significant buildings, on bridges, shopping in all of the Business Revitalization Zones (BRZ), spending time in our favourite parks and local haunts, high-fiving councillors, and hitting up each branch of the Edmonton Public Library.
I learned that Edmonton has WAY more bridges than one could get to in a day, or even a week. Especially if you start counting footbridges. The libraries are spread out, and it took many hours to get to all of them (the EPL Go at the University of Alberta is also the cutest little library).
Somehow we completed every task on the photo scavenger hunt, even getting to the whale at West Edmonton Mall before it was removed for the opening of Victoria’s Secret. (There may be an item or two you can’t do right now.)
Living in one of the city’s oldest, most vibrant, neighbourhoods sure helped too. Strathcona has plenty of historically recognized buildings, it’s a BRZ right now, has any type of business needed for the photo challenge, a library branch, giant trees, and plenty of people to start a parade.
Prior to this challenge, I had never been to a bottle depot. I feel more like an Edmontonian now.
So today I offer you a chance to explore Edmonton like you probably haven’t before. Take a scan through the scavenger hunt from the Edmonton Community Challenge and choose a few items to track down, or try, before the summer is out.
I bet, just like I discovered how historically significant my work neighbourhood is, you find out a few things about Edmonton you didn’t know.
(It’s a lot of fun to see how many U of A bunnies you can get into one picture. Those suckers are fast.)
Let me know if you do any of these, or have photos of them already. You can always toss them into our Flickr pool too.
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Keep in mind you should play safe and not break any laws. Also “team” is you.
Here’s what you could do: (more…)
We heard your SOS
(Update: I’ve added a video story, and slightly altered the wording of this post from it’s first version Monday.)
We’re glad we did hear that SOS.
SOS Fest rocked Whyte Avenue this weekend. 150+ bands and musicians…20+ venues…wow.
We were talking about it for three days at a special “on assignment” blog.
I really enjoyed Dead Ghosts, out of Vancouver. They were probably my favourite band of the festival. The Joe tried to tear Wunderbar apart with his set, as part of an Old Ugly showcase. Cadence Weapon blew the roof off the Pawn Shop. And The Sherry-Lee Wisor trio kicked things off for me, setting the bar quite high.
I also uploaded a lot of my photos to my Flickr account, and added them to the edmontonian Flickr pool.
Plus, a few of my interviews from the weekend are now playing at our YouTube channel. (The story on the festival – embedded above – is also at our YouTube now.)
There are more photos, videos, links, reviews, and thoughts at our SOS Fest blog.
We’ll always take your own stories, experiences, photos and videos.
Check Twitter for more comments and updates from people who went to the shows, and played, this weekend.
That's Gregg Beever buying a CD from SOS performer Carrie Hryniw. At Funky Pickle, of all places.
Take this, it’s free
Mornin’ Edmonton. 
If you want a free hat. (That free hat, over there, to the right.) Then you should toss us a photo from the Edmonton International Jazz Festival.
I’ll accept any of your jazzy photos though, since this is all about jazz appreciation.
Slide it into our Flickr group (which sounds just a little dirty) and that hat is yours.
Then we just have to figure out how to get the hat onto your head.
Jazz hat (or More free Edmonton stuff)
Hey gang, remember when we went on and on about our first year and I mentioned how we had neglected our Flickr pool?
Well it’s time to make that right.
We’d like to start filling our pool with pictures. I’ll do my best to upload photos on my end, and if you’ve got photos of Edmonton stuff you’d like to add please do. I’d love to feature your photos of the city, events and people in our daily Headlines.
So…to encourage some photos, how about I offer you a prize?
How about, for the low, low price of a photo you can have a fantastic Edmonton International Jazz Festival hat? Sounds like a deal to me.
Upload a photo of you at the jazz festival or from any of the jazz fest events or shows to our Flickr pool and I’ll throw your name into the hat (literally) for a chance at the hat.
Thanks to Eri for the hat.
Sounds like a challenge
We found a perfectly good hacky sack while out cleaning. I'm not good at hacky sacking.
I’ve been mentioning something called the Edmonton Community Challenge, so I figure I should explain that in a little more detail.
How about right now, does that work for you? Good.
The Edmonton Community Challenge is a collaboration of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL) and the city’s Next Gen Committee. The EFCL is the group that looks over all of the city’s 150 community leagues, leading them, guiding them, helping them out. Next Gen is a committee made up of 18-40-year olds, with the aim of attracting and retaining young, creative people in Edmonton.
They’ve teamed up, and secured $15,000 from Boardwalk Rental Communities and Telus, to get the city’s community leagues competing. Also part of the team are The Works Art and Design Festival, Capital City Cleanup, Bikeology Festival, Edmonton Bicycle Commuters, and Youth Emergency Shelter Society
The $15,000 prize, to be awarded July 1, will be for a capital project. Looking at some of the bio information from the leagues you can see where that would go. Some are talking parks, others playgrounds, and some (like my own team from Strathcona Centre) would use the money at their community hall.
There were also prizes handed out at the kick-off breakfast, and somebody is going to win an iPad, also July 1. AN iPAD!
It’s a great idea from the NextGen/EFCL braintrust. They had another good idea last year, teaming up to connect younger people (18-40) with their community league. It was a great mixer and probably helped people even realize we had community leagues. If you don’t know which league is yours, check here.
A morning event is only as good as its pancakes.
The challenge is the best part though. There are plenty of ways to get community leagues to compete for money. You could have them submit applications, write pitches, etc… but this is all about community spirit.
The events include the pancake breakfast (Points just for eating pancakes!), a neighbourhood cleanup, collecting food for the Edmonton Food Bank, collecting recyclable bottles and cans to be turned into cash for the Youth Emergency Shelter Society, tuning up and donating bikes, attending the Bikeology Festival, building a canned good sculpture, and, the best of all, a photo scavenger hunt.
Our teammate, Gord, is high-fiving Councillor Don Iveson because high-fiving every councillor is part of the scavenger hunt.
More than 400 people, from 21 neighbourhoods, will be competing in some or all of those events. We’ll be the ones snapping photos of ourselves outside of libraries and pleading with you to let us take your bike in for a tune-up.
If you want to see what people cleaned up, or what kinds of scavenger hunt items we’re seeking, you can search “yegchallenge” on Flickr.
Already, I’ve been having a great time. I’ve met neighbours, and community-minded people, and I’m experiencing aspects of Edmonton I may not have. I mentioned that I kicked around the Norwood and Sprucewood neighbourhoods, during Heart of the City on the weekend, and it was because of this contest.
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I went back in time to clean up Whyte Avenue. Actually, that's just Eric, our team's leading cleaner.
I also got up early Saturday, which doesn’t always happen. And I helped clean up a couple blocks of Whyte Avenue. I like things tidy but I’m not normally the guy out cleaning up, not even during Capital City Clean Up events.
So I think it means the plan is working.
Also, I’ll take your canned goods, old bikes, and bottles and cans.
Symphony Under the Sky
I have never considered myself smart or cultured enough to enjoy something as high end as the symphony. I envision any attempt I make to go to the symphony as being received about as well as Julia Roberts shopping for clothes in Pretty Woman.
“I’m sorry, Samsonow, We have nothing for you here. Please leave.”
But this weekend, there’s an event that may change my mind.
First off, “Symphony under the Sky” is in Hawrelak Park. So tuxedos and evening gowns (or whatever people wear to such events) are out. It’s a park, the weather is supposed to be decent (it better be, Classen!) and the atmosphere is casual. Interested? You’re interested. (more…)
