Festival Saturday (and the rest of the weekend too)
Summer officially arrives in Edmonton next week, which probably explains why this weekend is so jammed with festivals.
Friday and Saturday there’s the Utopia Music Festival, which kicks off summer in Hawrelak Park.
On Saturday we’ve got Bikeology (in Beaver Hills House Park), and the whole month of June is actually Bike Month, Park(ed) is back on the streets, taking up parking spaces (on 102 Avenue), Rock The Square (at Churchill Square), Africa Connect (at the Edmonton Expo Centre), and the Hope Street Festival (105 Avenue and 100 Street). 107 Avenue also has Safe Streets and a Night Market on Saturday (afternoon and evening).
Improvaganza 2011 is just getting warmed up (and will even have social media improv on Monday). Opera Nuova’s Vocal Arts Festival and the Edmonton Pride Festival are both continuing too.
For you, young and engaged folks, tonight is Pecha Kucha 10: Designing Downtown (which you can watch through the Edmonton Journal’s livestream), and Next Gen’s back at it on Sunday with the DIYalogue. We’re happy to be one of the groups chatting about cultural start-ups and entrepreneurship.
On a more serious note, there’s a picnic in Giovanni Caboto Park to remember murder victim Nina Courtepatte, and others lost to violence.
Watch It!’s got a BOOMBUS on Whyte Avenue today (4-8pm) and it’ll be downtown, on Jasper Avenue, Saturday morning. Keep your eyes open for this rolling watch and street party.
Over at La Cite Francophone you can catch a production of Little Shop of Horrors.
In music…Radio for Help plays the Pawn Shop tonight…Joe Nolan has a CD release at the Haven Social Club…Sidney York plays Brixx Saturday night, with Kaley Bird…The Collective West and Jeff Morris are at The ARTery…Wunderbar’s got a Weird Canada and Scion show…And Zero Cool’s at DV8 with Down the Hatch…
You can always catch a movie, which is likely to be a summer blockbuster right now.
Farmer’s markets abound on the weekend, downtown, in Old Strathcona, St. Albert, and in Callingwood.
The Edmonton Capitals are hosting the Chico Outlaws down at Telus Field.
Melted Events
We did not forget about events. We were just, uh, distracted thinking about which ones we’d most like to do this weekend.
Winter Light keeps the good (winter) times going with MELTDOWN! It’s a winter arts party at the Jubilee Auditorium.
Awww...
The World’s Longest Hockey Game goes this weekend, and it just so happens to be a fundraiser for the Cross Cancer Institute.
Tailz is having a Valentine’s pet wash for HART (Humane Animal Rescue Team). I bet Sally is already there, waiting for cute puppies to arrive.
You might be able to Skate, Rattle & Roll Saturday at City Hall. But if this warm weather continues, it doesn’t look promising.
You might want to bring your great, tech, ideas to Startup Weekend.
In sports news…the Edmonton Rush are home to the Washington Stealth tonight. Then the Edmonton Oilers are home Saturday to the Ottawa Senators and Sunday to the Anaheim Ducks.
In music news…a couple of bands that helped us out with music for our election show are going to blow up Wunderbar tonight. It’s Van Gohst’s album release and they’ve got help from N.N. (who safely made it back from Japan Music Week at the end of 2010) and The Blame Its.
There’s a crazy good show at the Myer Horowitz Theatre: The Provincial Archive, Wool on Wolves, and The Deep Dark Woods. Wow. Wow, wow, wow.
Over at The ARTery, tonight is Rockin’ Robin’s Rockin’ Sockhop, with Kaley Bird, Sidney York, and Beekeeper.
On The Rocks has something called Seven String Sunday, with Shane Philip and Jeff Morris this Sunday.
Our friends over at S.I.R.E.N.S. have a Bouquet of Blues for your Valentine’s weekend. It’s a great bluesy show with Bruce Conte, Amos Garrett, and Jimmy Guiboche and the Fender Benders.
Speaking of Valentine’s, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s got Love Will Keep Us Together.
You could always go to the movies. Though, Gregg says you’re better off renting this month.
Thursday Night is alright!
It’s looking like a nice little Thursday here in Edmonton.
Ice on Whyte begins today. The annual festival of ice sculptures lives in the cold, embraces the cold, needs the cold. So, this weather isn’t slowing it down one bit.
Ingrid Gatin is playing Brixx tonight. With our old SOS Fest friend Kaley Bird. (Ingrid is sticking around Edmonton for a show tomorrow night at The Carrot.) I received word of this show from Gatin’s PR agency, but the thing that caught my eye was the fact that she’s hopping on the train when she leaves Edmonton. She’ll then play shows ON a train as she heads to Winnipeg. I think you CKUA-listenin’ folks are going to dig her. Her music is eclectic, jazzy-pop.
And for those of you who need a dose of fine cinema, tonight’s a Turkey Shoot kind of night. Turkey Shoot aims its zings and sarcasm at the great 1980 “film” Xanadu. It’s half-price admission for anyone with rainbow suspenders and a mirror ball.
Troubadour Tuesday
After a night of good times and good cake, I’m looking for something a little more low-key this evening.
Sounds like Brixx has just the thing.
They call it Troubadour Tuesdays, and tonight’s guitar-wielding singer is our old SOSFest friend Kaley Bird.
Alright, we don’t actually know Kaley that well. But she was one of the organizers of Edmonton’s newest music festival, and we like her. So there.
Ooh, and tacos are on special tonight too.
p.s. Speaking of SOSFest, the 2011 version is set, so mark you calendars and update your borkberries.
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.
