As for our headline…when the alliteration shoe fits…

This weekend sees the end of another year of fringing. But, fret not, the 29th Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival lives on in our hearts.

Oh, and in these holdover plays.

Hope this smoke clears out because there are a few outdoor movies this weekend. Finding Nemo (another F!) is playing tonight at the Valley Zoo. (Oops! It was last night. Thanks for the heads up, Mike.)

Movies on the Square is back too, with Diary of a Wimpy Kid tonight, and Fantastic Mr. Fox Saturday night. Stony Plain has an outdoor movie too.

It’s Free Cookie Friday at Luzarra. Get over to Whyte Avenue and buy a coffee so you can get a cookie. That caffeine and sugar will only help you start the weekend better.

The tune-ups are done and the Prairie Football Conference is into the real stuff this weekend. The second-best team in the country, the Edmonton Wildcats, begin their season home to the Regina Thunder. Sunday at Clarke Park (beside Commonwealth Stadium).

The winless Edmonton Huskies also begin the regular season this weekend. They’ll take anything they can get after going 0-8 last season. They host the Calgary Colts Saturday night at Clarke.

This is actually quite a decent level of football if you can’t bear to watch the Eskimos embarrass themselves anymore. Tickets are also reasonably priced.

Another non-Eskimos option is the Edmonton Capitals. Tonight’s game is also chock full of diabetes info, courtesy of the Canadian Diabetes Association. (The Capitals are ALSO showing a movie outside, after their Saturday game. It’s The Rookie.)

DEDfest is back to scare the crap out of you, and generally make you squirm.

DEDfest may get you thinking about Hallowe’en, which may get you thinking about fall, which may get you thinking about farmers harvesting their crops, which leads me to mention the Corn Maze is open.

Let’s dip into the ShareEdmonton calendar for some fun.

Clearer air would also help the participants in the Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival, happening at Louise McKinney Park.

As mentioned earlier this week, Saturday is the Canadian Derby at Northlands. It’ll be all fancy hats, fast horses and…bikini girls…

Hawrelak Park’s got the blues. Dun, dun, dun da, dun…The Edmonton’s Labatt Blues Festival…Dun, dun, dun da, dun…

Don’t forget you can always seek shelter from the smoke in a nice, cool movie theatre. Gregg can tell you what’s likely worth your money.

And on Monday, we’ll be celebrating our first year alongside another one-year-old, The Unknown Studio. Come on out to Wunderbar, throw us a toonie, enjoy some fine beer, and hear life-affirming passages from celebrity autobiographies. Party pants not required.

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While messing up the Finding Nemo showtime I also forgot to mention The ARTery’s kick-ass weekend. The Get Down is playing Friday night (there’s still time, it’s still good) and Saturday is an artists’ garage sale/pancake breakfast/bbq/block party. Told you it was kick-ass.

I’m likely never going to get another chance at a headline like that, so I’m taking it.

I don’t tend to see a lot of fringe plays when the big festival is on, and so far I’ve got one in this week. But even with just a cupcake, and the one night, I’m enjoying the 29th Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival.

First of all, after learning what is in Taco in a Bag I learned, last night, that it costs $7.50.

What is wrong with you that you would pay that kind of money for Doritos and taco fixings? I could understand if it was $2 or something so cheap it was the best deal on the grounds. But that seems a little steep for something that’s fairly guaranteed to haunt you for the next few hours.

So, as I mentioned, I went to see a midnight showing of Game Face. It’s getting solid reviews, I know people involved in it, and it involves a woodchuck mascot. That’s a darn good mix of reasons to see it.

I won’t go into great detail, since we’ve learned only a chosen few should ever dare review a sacred theatre production, but I will tell you to see this play.

The actors in it are great (and all have laugh-out loud lines), there’s quite a bit of scene changing and production (which must be tougher to throw together for a Fringe play), and I want Scott C. Bourgeois and Morgan Smith (she also acts as the angriest lady ever) to write another play for next year’s Fringe, so I can see that.

That's Alex, running away from the drunk guy.

While trying to guess at the thought process of those enjoying Taco in a Bag, I caught some of the street performing. It’s actually one of my favourite parts of the Fringe.

After catching Alex Clark doing his thing near the Gateway Boulevard entrance, I highly recommend you try to see him perform. Funny and skilled, he seems to be enjoying the hell out of his gig. (Thanks to Brittney for the link.)

And he handled a drunk, dancing, walk-through (who wouldn’t leave) and an over-the-top excited participant hilariously.

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So, I give my night at the Fringe  4.0 stars out of 5.

(It would have been 4.5, but I deducted points for Taco in a Bag.)

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By the way, here are some other recommendations from Fringees:

Ladyvision

Happy Whackin’ Jim McCrackin

The Fairy Catcher’s Companion (At the Kids Fringe)

Call Me a Liar

Apocalypse Kow (Outdoor stages.)

I bet some of these fine people would be more than happy if you wrote about their play.

You ever have one of those days where you’re all ready to do something and can’t help but be distracted? That’s where I am this morning.

I wanted to write about something news-related, and I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually, but my mind keeps coming back to the social media Fringe fiasco. (Which, I guess, is sort of news-related.

If you haven’t heard (you’re clearly not on Twitter or trawling Edmonton Internet for Fringe info), a local food blogger – and lovely person – also writes about theatre. She especially enjoys enjoyed Teatro La Quindicina.

Well, it sounds like at least one member, high-ranking at that, of the theatre group could care less about her enjoyment of their plays, her money, and her online reviews of their work.

Some may say this is what a reviewer has coming; vitriol from the reviewed.

I don’t quite agree.

Sharon Yeo is blogging out of passion and interest, she’s not being paid by a newsroom to review anything. She can take her money wherever she pleases. She can write about what she pleases.

People can certainly take issue with what she said, pointing out why she may be incorrect about a certain actor, the set, or something in the play, but to simply attack her (and then Mack, checking on authenticity of the comment) is no better than being a comment troll.

I’ve taken my share of angry newsroom phone calls, I’ve even had people upset with something I’ve written or said (here, and previously). To a small degree I’ll admit it can come with the territory of “media.” But it better be justified criticism, or you end up looking like a crank.

This, however, just sounds like a local business (regardless of arts grants, theatres need people in the seats) that doesn’t understand there’s not one or two “proper” places for reviews anymore.

The conversation that Sharon would have with people at the coffee shop or restaurant can now be taken to the Internet via blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and more.

Of course, what’s not understood by Jeff Haslam, the angry actor, is that he needs this conversation to put people in his theatre. Outside of the Fringe you’re pretty much stuck with theatre reviews and previews in the Journal, SEE and Vue. Newsrooms are stretched thin. They’re not talking about you on a regular basis. But people online can. They are.

Why not embrace the growing online conversation, like the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra or Art Gallery of Alberta does, by inviting some bloggers to talk about their events? Or, invitation aside, at least not attacking someone who would talk about what they’ve been up to, what they’ve seen.

That’s why I say this only is sort of newsy. This is more about the conversation shift that’s continually occurring.

from the Edmonton Journal:

Public debate should not be a mudslinging free-for-all (Where’s the fun in that?)

Airport lobby group keeps donors under wraps

Gov’t backs off on price of warranty (Remember earlier this week when it seemed like the government was kowtowing to some in the housing industry, well, now it’s just a little more obvious.)

Liberal report critical of oilsands development

Eco groups back First Nations call to protect boreal caribou

BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 available for Playstation3 in January

from the Edmonton Sun:

Motorcycle noise bylaw working, claim police

Bedbugs horror in Edmonton (I’m sorry, but the landlord can’t shirk responsibility on tenants bringing in used furniture. That’s a risk, and cost, of being in the business or providing homes.)

Massive train derailment near Fort Saskatchewan

Monster on way out (Anybody ever eat at The Motoraunt?)

from The Canadian Press:

‘Rethink Alberta’ group brings anti-oilsands billboards, ads to UK

President’s Choice Chocolate Chunk Cookies recalled, may contain metal pieces

from CBC Edmonton:

Viral meningitis cases rise in Edmonton

from CTV Edmonton:

New bill to make clear true cost of credit cards

Vigil aimed at raising awareness of abuse faced by people with disabilities

And I think everyone had the crashed CF-18 pilot who vows to fly again.

Of course, that headline is reference to the fact I plan to see the Fringe play “Game Face” tonight.

I know a couple of people involved in this one (Isn’t that how we end up at a lot of Fringe plays?) and it will be my first play of this year’s Fringe.

Although, I did venture over to the Fringe grounds for a cupcake from Big City Cupcakes last night. (They’re opening in Kingsway soon.) But that hardly counts as culture.

What have you seen at this, the 29th annual, Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival?

Any recommendations? Any stinkers?

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!