The Labour Day weekend.

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.

Yes, Edmonton, summer is winding down.

On the festival circuit this weekend, there’s DEDfest, In/stall/ed, East Meets West, and Open Sky.

DEDfest is Edmonton’s annual horror film fest. In/stall/ed is is a unique performance and visual art display, happening in the McCauley neighbourhoods in parking spaces. Yeah, public art baby! Latitude 53 is running this, and there will be 17 performances and installations on Saturday. East Meets West continues up in Little Italy and the McCauley neighbourhood, and there’s Mercury Opera performing Madame Butterfly in Giovanni Caboto Park. The Open Sky Music Festival is packing Hawrelak Park with bands and bands and musicians and more musicians.

If you’re into walking, the Highlands neighbourhood is kicking off their walking map this weekend. These maps are great ways to get to know an Edmonton neighbourhood.

I haven’t heard a whole lot about MEAET but it sounds like a cool idea. A bunch of people get together, have some food, enjoy themselves, then vote on who to give some money to for a project.

You can also Show What You Grow, at Fort Edmonton Park.

In music, there’s the earlier mentioned Open Sky Music Festival, with plenty of bands and artists down in Hawrelak Park…Wunderbar’s got Fire Next Time tonight and The Joe and Doug Hoyer triumphantly returning to Edmonton (after a national tour) on Saturday night. Also on Saturday, Hale Hale, Southroot, and Zero Something play the Starlite Room. Back to Friday night, Warped Tourers Inner City Elegance are at Expressionz Cafe. Now back to Saturday (surely I should have done this in chronological order) there’s live music at Ricky’s in Mill Woods (with Consilience and Tyson Skakun).

Oh, and if you walk by CKUA on Jasper Avenue tonight and it seems like something cool is going on it’s because they’re celebrating their amazing record library and have a live performance from 100 Mile House.

Down in the river valley, the Edmonton Capitals host the Calgary Vipers through the weekend.

And over at Clarke Stadium (beside Commonwealth) the Edmonton Huskies are home to Saskatoon Hilltops in Prairie Football.

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.

But that’s not the only festival in Edmonton this weekend. Heck no! It’s also Cariwest, so expect Jasper Avenue to be flooded with colour for the parade tomorrow, and then party all day at Churchill Square.

It also happens to be Animethon weekend.

And today is International Beer Day! So, drink some beer.

Now, outside of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival there’s still music to be had.

You can’t much more opposite folk than metal. The Starlite Room and Brixx are hosting Metal Fest 2011 tonight. Down at Hawrelak Park tonight you can help raise money for the Canadian Liver Foundation at a concert with Sister Gray and The Apresnos. Also tonight…The Secretaries, Hellfire Special, Throttle, and Nature are at the Pawn Shop…Over at Wunderbar, you can help Hang Loose raise money for a “Solidarity Rock” trip to Cuba. They’re playing with with Service:Fair and The Frolics.

Tomorrow night at Wunderbar it’s Field + Stream, Extra Happy Ghost, and Lab Coast…Dragonette is at the Edmonton Events Centre, with Dirty Radio…and The Weekend Kids, with Old Sins, Liv, and The National Security Council are all at Brixx.

This weekend also officially opens the Garneau Theatre as the new home of Metro Cinema. (For non-Metro movies, Gregg’s got some thoughts.)

FC Edmonton is home to the Puerto Rico Islands Saturday night, at Foote Field.

And a reminder: The LRT does not stop at Coliseum station this weekend, but still runs Clareview to Century Park.

There is a fist joke here. But I'm taking the high road.

Good morning Edmonton. All caught up after the long weekend, are we?

Canada Post’s strike and lockout can be blamed for delaying at least one hearing at City Hall. Though, the councillors and staff who put the matter over should be thanked for doing so, since they probably could have gone ahead.

MacEwan’s got a neat summer program. They run a “get ready for post-secondary school” week for aboriginal students making the transition to college and university.

More bike lanes! (And paths. And connections.)

Edmonton’s Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and Boys & Girls Club are all the same organization now.

The U of A’s first chair of Islamic Studies has died while overseas.

An Edmonton school, and a Beaumont one, is off to England for some Shakespeare.

Triathletes heading down to Hawrelak Park this weekend might not be swimming in bird poop. Well, not as much bird poop.

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For the public healthcare supporters (which is most of us, I presume) you can’t get a better example of private healthcare than a bunch of seniors being evicted.

The province’s top cancer doctor (top as in head the head of administration) is retiring after four decades in medicine.

Yeah, an oil spill would probably hurt support of an oil pipeline. Speaking of spills…Alberta’s got a nice big role in the ones that happened on federally-regulated lines…

A new deal between the federal government and the provinces should bring more than $150-million to Alberta to build affordable housing.

While a couple of the Progressive Conservative leadership candidates (Alison Redford and Gary Mar) are stacking up the money, Doug Horner is showing off his Tory MLA supporters.

If you don’t want to get hit by lightning, stay out of Thorsby.

Long weekend…driving blitz…lots of tickets… You’d think that since it’s always the same story on long weekends police would just enforce the rules of the road in full-force all of the time. Instead of every couple of weekends.

There’s a shortlist for the team to build the new Royal Alberta Museum.

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Edmonton’s got some serious tacos going on now.