September 8 Edmonton Headlines
Good Thursday morning to you, Edmonton.
It’s nice to see that taking the LRT is such a good option that you can’t get a parking spot at Century Park station. More transit please!
An Old Strathcona parking lot looks to lose just over half of its parking spots. Tie that into some transit tweaks, including bus lanes on 99 Street, and I think you’d be just fine.
Is Edmonton forgetting its fallen soldiers? Or is this weekend, the anniversary of the 9-11 attacks on the U.S. just taking people to other events?
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Guys, I keep telling you, if we’re going to talk about important issues our government department is working on you send the e-mails to JordanFan789@hotmail.com.
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In the “Does not bode well for the future of the oilsands” category; Nobel Peace Prize winners are lining up in protest of the Keystone XL pipeline which would take oil from Alberta to the Texas coast.
If you want more, and stable, funding for education in Alberta, the opposition Liberals and NDP have ways for you to voice that opinion.
Meanwhile…in the crowded classrooms…more students enrolled in Edmonton schools, which means both the Public and Catholic boards can hire a few extra teachers…
Alberta is going to offer more surgeries to obese people to combat the many health problems associated with being so overweight. Also, some more food and exercise education in schools.
A judge in Calgary says the war on drugs is one that cannot be won, so our best hope is to keep casualties to a minimum.
While smoking is down across the country, more Albertans are taking up the habit, especially teens.
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(And FC Edmonton is headed to the playoffs in their first year.)
seinsess: Rumors (or, not Just the Tip anymore)
We have made fun of a lot of terrible signs here. Some of them were bad choices, some had spelling errors, others were just worth laughing at.
And, occasionally, we also praised good signs. Clever signs. Genius signs.
Signs like the one in this post that signal a bar named Just The Tip couldn’t fly, even in Edmonton’s most famous bar district.
p.s. I totally had a drink there this summer, because of the hilariousness. We were the only people in the bar.
p.p.s. Rumors is a “retro lounge.”
p.p.p.s. Bring back the Wooly Bully!
Yelping East Whyte
I won’t pass up an opportunity to talk about East Whyte. Yelp is currently holding a promotion called Passport to East Whyte Ave. which gets you plenty of deals and discounts on “the other side of the tracks.”
For a lot of people Whyte Avenue is a hot spot of shopping and nightlife that runs between Gateway Boulevard and 107 Street, maybe to 109 Street. But if you head east, past Gateway Boulevard, you’ll find a whole other pocket of Old Strathcona.
With beer and live music pub Wunderbar, Flirt Cupcakes (their original location), The Paint Spot, The Traveling Tickle Trunk, Hardcore Bikes, and the new Red Pony Consignment offering specials, it’s worth printing off the PDF passport, or dialing it up on your cellphone. While you’re exploring the quieter side of Whyte, check out two of the best sushi houses in the city; Furusato and Maki Maki, enjoy a pint on the patio of The Empress, pick up some baked goodies at Empress Bakery, grab European foods and snacks at K&K Foodliner, eat Indian at Daawat and Narayannis, and check out Roots for healthy and organic items.
Speaking of Roots, the grocery store turned specialty store is about to move into the main floor of a spectacular new building at the corner of Whyte and 102 Street (which you can see pictured in this story), called Roots on Whyte. It may be my new favourite building.
Langano Skies will be re-opening soon, so you can enjoy the best Ethiopian food in Edmonton again.
Go on, cross the tracks, you know you want to.
August 16 Edmonton Headlines
(This is not the spill site, but just another road crew fixing up the city.)
There goes the neighbourhood: Old Strathcona is getting a strip club.
I think we may be seeing the official passing of the torch from Whyte Avenue to 124 Street as the place to go for boutique shops. Although the strip club may have hand-roasted coffee and gourmet food, so I guess we should just see how this plays out…
Before I get accused of being all NIMBY on X Bar (that’s its name) I will note that this bar location falls outside of my neighbourhood (East Whyte) and my community league (Strathcona Centre). I just don’t understand how this fits into the idea that Old Strathcona should have some heritage appeal. It’s got designation as a historical neighbourhood, there are still plenty of great boutique shops and restaurants, it’s home to the Fringe and year-round theatres. I know there are plenty of bars but that seemed to be settling down, moving toward more pubs and gastro-pubs, and away from cheap shots.
The City appeared to make an attempt to reign in the number of bars it was going to license in the area, it designated Whyte Avenue itself as a venue to help keep a lid on problems, there’s been a team of City, police, and liquor licensing staff working with bar owners, and Jasper Avenue’s giant bars have shifted some partying from the southside. Jasper neighbours and businesses are trying to learn from the mistakes of Whyte Avenue of a few years ago.
I guess I’m more upset with a giant bar than I am it being a strip club. It just sends me a signal the City of Edmonton cares more about money from business licenses and property taxes than building and maintaining neighbourhoods that work and make sense. Sure, that means a little government intervention, but every single decision, rule, bylaw, and law from government is intervention in the free market and public choice.
Keep your clothes on, there’s more Edmonton news ahead. (more…)
Shut Your Mouth, It’s Art Crawl
While Whyte Avenue’s Art Walk has nothing to do with the TV comedy Bob’s Burgers, they do have streets of art in common.
Yes, today through Sunday you can find artist after artist all around Whyte Avenue and Old Strathcona. More than 200 artists will be selling their paintings, drawings, photos, sketches, and anything else they can fit onto the sidewalk. It’s always a busy weekend, and remember to bring cash.
It’s a Handmade Mafia weekend, so get yourself over to the Strathcona Baptist Church for plenty o’ fun. (It ties into the Art Walk too.)
If you’re into rabbits you’re going to want to check out the Year of the Rabbit and Hare Band Cabaret at the Catalyst Theatre. Even if you’re not a fan of rabbits, the stone and canvas art from Jason Carter and a play by Bridget Ryan may be just the ticket.
In other festival news…
The Freewill Shakespeare Festival continues in Hawrelak Park, with Othello and Twelfth Night. The Edmonton International Street Performers Festival is in Churchill Square, with some late night madness this weekend to close things out. The Edmonton and Northern Alberta Historical Festival wraps up this weekend too. That seems so timely with all the history and heritage in the news this week.
Race Week Edmonton officially begins on Monday, but the annual Soap Box Derby is Sunday on Victoria Park Hill. Also in racing this weekend, the Sourdough River Festival (and raft race), in Terwillegar Park.
In live music…
The Grapes of Wrath play two shows at the Haven Social Club tonight…Samantha Schultz will wow you with her guitar skills at the Blue Chair Cafe tomorrow evening…Ghost Cousin releases a new album Saturday night at Wunderbar…and our old pals Boy and Gurl come up from Calgary for a show at On The Rocks Sunday…
On Sunday, a new Fork Fest begins. Get your eat on!
The Eskimos, FC Edmonton, and Capitals are all home for games this weekend.
Food Friday
I am hereby declaring this Friday – June 24, 2011 – Food Friday in Edmonton, Alberta.
Now I should tell you why. 
(more…)
May Days
Don’t let your seasonal allergies get you down, Edmonton. There’s plenty to do out there! (Ignore that if I am the only one suffering from season allergies.)
There’s some great music around Edmonton this weekend. Tonight…Old Man Luedecke is at the Blue Chair Cafe…Cameron Carpenter plays the organ with the ESO…Jeremy Fisher at Haven Social Club…Carrie Day at The Carrot… and Freshman Years at Wunderbar…
Saturday…Raygun Cowboys are at the Starlite Room…The Provincial Archive plays at the Provincial Archives (they play the Pawn Shop on Thursday, before heading out to play more Canadian archives, libraries, and concert venues)…The Sumner Brothers are at the Haven Social Club…One Way State plays Filthy McNasty’s…
In theatre…Chris Craddock’s one-man play “Public Speaking,” finishes its run at the Roxy…”True Love Lies,” is at the Citadel, as is the musical version of “Little Women.”
Writers are learning about publishing in the digital world this weekend, at the “At The Edge of Print” conference.
HIV Edmonton has a fundraiser called Artists for Life, at the Catalyst Theatre.
The summer blockbusters have begun! There’s also the Reel Waste Film Festival.
Bouncing of Reel Waste, there’s a Reuse Fair in my neighbourhood; at the Strathcona Centre Community Hall. And the City’s Big Bin Events begin this weekend. So dump that couch.
Biff! Saturday is Free Comic Book Day. Bam! Sunday is the Pop Culture Fair. Pow!
You can find six different “Jane’s Walks” in three different Edmonton neighbourhoods this weekend. The walks are named for urbanist Jane Jacobs, and are about exploring and talking about what makes neighbourhoods tick.
And if you’re into basic cable you can watch episode 2 of the edmontonian presents this Sunday at 9pm (again at 9:30) on ShawTV (channel 10 on Shaw cable). We’re also in iTunes.
Spring Fashion
Photo: Amanda Diaz (thanks to Mode Models and Ponytails & Horseshoes too)
Spring is, technically, in the air, Edmonton. And spring means new fashions.You may have noticed we were getting into the mood earlier this week.
It’s not just time to (hopefully) dump winter garb for spring fashions (of which I can tell you very little, since my fashion knowledge is comprised of not very much) but time for Fashion with a capital F. In fact, it’s fashion with a capital W, C, F, and W, which spells Western Canada Fashion Week. (Spelling is also something I know little about.)
Yes, one of our favourite events is back for its biannual extravaganza. (more…)
SOS Fest returns
Edmonton’s three four day music festival is back in Old Strathcona this summer, and they’ve begun looking for musicians.
If you’re a singer, or in a band you can apply to play SOS Fest right at their website.
I’m pretty excited that Old Strathcona will again be full of live music. Last summer’s festival was a blast and I can only hope this year is even better.
I guess it’s time to dust off the edmontonian’s SOS Fest Tumblr and get it ready for another weekend of live, (mostly) local music. Beware the Tumbeasts!
Your favourite place = train ride
You love Edmonton. And you think there are some pretty sweet places to visit in this city. So tell the world (or, at least Canada) about your favourite places and get into a draw for some Via train action.
Great Places in Canada is a contest put on by the Canadian Institute of Planners (which sounds pretty legit), which aims to find all the most-loved cities, towns, landmarks, and public spaces (like parks) in this great country.
Edmonton’s already well-represented with the University of Alberta, 
Candy Cane Lane, our 1-year-old Art Gallery of Alberta, Ada Boulevard (often used in TV movies), Old Strathcona, the Muttart Conservatory, and Whyte Avenue. Anyone who nominates a place is entered into the draw.
Oh, and there will be judging of the favourite places, so get voting.
I’m also curious as to your favourite places, Edmonton or otherwise. So drop me a comment and tell me what’s cool.
Happy Birthday, Homeless Eddie
By Amanda Bennett
It was at least-25 outside as I set out to find out how some of our homeless cope with this extreme cold. My heels dug into the snow on the icy sidewalk and I blew clouds of white breath as I made my way down the side streets. My hair hung down in half-frozen icicles on either side of my face and my double layered coat crinkled as the frost attempted to inch its icy fingers in…According to the label, I was prepared for the ascent to Everest and up to -65!
Opposite the church…
The last time I had been to the step outside the church it was fall, and several men had gathered out there to enjoy the last warm temperatures before the winter chill. Tonight it was barren. All that remained was a sign telling people to gather up their belongings or the items would be tossed into the neighbouring dumpster.
Next to the Library…
I saw a young woman hugging the wall by the library who asked me for some money for something hot and she looked so very forlorn and cold. I thought she was not so very old and felt her desperation as we spoke a little. She likes that the library lets her stay for awhile to warm up. She likes to see the posters in the children’s section and sometimes takes advantage of community programs in the area, to get a bowl of soup and a hot coffee. “Jackie” bid me a good night and hoped that it would warm up soon.
At the gas pumps… I met Eddie. (more…)
Not more snow! Headlines
Just take the bus until the snow melts.
It’s cold and we’re expecting a little more snow. Now THIS is winter in Edmonton.
Don’t forget to check the Long John Index. Yes, we should be wearing a pair today. And yes, there are plows out there.
The snowstorm didn’t stop the Deep Freeze festival (makes sense, with a name like that). Winter Light will continue in Edmonton, with other outdoor events like the Silver Skate at Hawrelak Park and Ice on Whyte.
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The Edmonton Journal has taken a look at school attendance. More specifically, attendance of schools by students who live in the school’s neighbourhoods. The local aspect may play a role in keeping schools open. There’s a map here that indicates which schools have higher numbers of students who could walk to school.
An Edmonton police officer is on desk duty after allegations of an assault on a prisoner in police cells.
Last week we were talking about a couple of local businesses that were closing in West Edmonton Mall. Today we’ve got the Gap closing in City Centre Mall.
You can start tossing your Christmas trees today. Interestingly, we just took down our fake tree.
Outside of Edmonton… (more…)
Not Lyve anymore
This is Edmonton's One Way State rocking Lyve on Whyte back in October.
The first indication I had that something was up at Lyve on Whyte was when The Joe (Joe Gurba) was talking about moving his album release. It was going to be at Lyve on Whyte in January. Now it’s at the Haven Social Club.
Then, last night I saw the sign outside of Lyve say it was “closed for business.” Yup, Lyve on Whyte is no more.
Today we hear the owners pulled the plug because they just weren’t packing in the people needed to keep things afloat. Has Jasper Avenue siphoned off too much of the drinking and partying business? (If you’re keeping score, that’s two of the larger bars in Old Strathcona to close in a week.)
I hope this doesn’t kill the live music vibe Whyte Avenue has quietly been building on since SOS Fest. Edmonton needs live music venues!
July 2010 - November 2010
Update: I totally forgot that Savoy closed at the start of the month too.
Scrambled #yeg
Here are some odds and ends from around this fair city of ours. I like to call this scrambled #yeg, combining one of my favourite foods and Twitter’s Edmonton hashtag.
You can see other fun stuff we’ve found here.
This dentist takes his teeth very seriously.
(Anyone else know where this dental office is?)
When do all of our buses get DVD players, ETS?
If you’re walking down Whyte Avenue take a look down at your feet. That’s where you’ll spot these babies.
Sock on the LRT.
Umm, it’s a sock on the LRT.
And finally…
Featured Edmontonian: Connie John
When I first considered doing a story to inform you all how much I enjoy a trip to Two Rooms Restaurant on Whyte Avenue, I seriously debated just posting a picture of the amazing carrot cake they serve. This would’ve benefited me twofold; 1) I am lazy, and 2) I would’ve had an excuse to down some carrot cake.
But! After a brief conversation with Two Rooms owner Connie John one day over breakfast, I knew I couldn’t just phone it in. Even if it meant bypassing carrot cake for the short term.
Connie is an elegant, charming lady whose passion for food is unmistakable. She is not a career restaurateur; in fact, her resume will probably surprise you. (more…)
A rollicking weekend
You’re in for one of those, Edmonton. And the weather is even
I guess we know which one of us will be watching movies for free.
supposed to be nice. So let’s all remember to take advantage of that.
The Edmonton International Film Festival is underway tonight. There’s an opening night movie and gala, then it’s a week+ of movies, movies, and more movies.
The Old Strathcona Foundation is hosting A Taste of Old Strathcona, tonight at the Arts Barns. It will be food and a silent auction, all the with flair of Edmonton’s funnest neighbourhood.
Speaking of the Old Strathcona neighbourhood…Edmonton Chante is back for another year of the city’s best French music. The shows are free. Free I tells 
ya!
Speaking of music…Falklands is, of course, playing New City. It’s the first show of their national tour. We think they’re great.
The ARTery continues its fundraising Happy Hour Fridays. This month’s charity is Room to Read. Plus, there are rumours of a new nacho treat.
Danny Michel is playing the Arden Theatre. He’s also great. And he’s following up his show tonight with a songwriter’s session with U22.
Chopin 2010 begins this weekend. It’s months of music and events to celebrate the 200th birthday of Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin. (You probably recognize some of his work.)
Speaking of classical music (more…)
Community League Day
As I’ve talked about, Saturday was Community League Day in Edmonton.
91 of the city’s 150+ community leagues held an event on Saturday, in a city-wide party of sorts. There were barbecues, potlucks, sports, games, music, arts, crafts, food, and general neighbourly goodness.
I went to the annual Fall Arts BBQ held by my league, Strathcona Centre. It just so happened our hall tenant, the Edmonton Weavers’ Guild was holding an open house. And our neighbour, King Edward School, was welcoming back 50 years of students.
Needless to say, it was a day for community!
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- The art of the arts BBQ.
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- More of the arts
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- The bbq portion of the arts BBQ.
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- Potluck.
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- That’s determination.
I want to Fringe you like an animal
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:
The Fairy Catcher’s Companion (At the Kids Fringe)
Apocalypse Kow (Outdoor stages.)
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…)
The Fringiest Events
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!
It’s time to Fringe
As I write this, earlier in the week, we are yet to be bombarded with Fringe-related information.
I bet, by the time this event is posted, we’ll already be seeing reviews of plays (probably thanks to performances in other cities, and sneak previews), and everyone will be deciding which plays they’ll be checking out.
Yes, it’s time for the 29th annual Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival. This year’s theme: We’ll show you ours.
Sexy.
The neat thing about living in Old Strathcona is that I don’t even need to pay much attention to when the Fringe actually starts. I know, when the roads start to close, tents and stages start getting set up, and the mini-donut (and other food vendors) start rolling up in front of the farmers’ market.
Thursday night kicks things off with the performer’s parade and a free-for-all where people will be pitching their plays in 5-minute blocks.
Fringe away!
Oh, you’re probably going to want to see what’s playing…
Calling all artists
Wouldn't you like your art to grace a cover, like this?
If you’re artsy with a paintbrush, a pencil, camera or even some crayons, you may want to read on.
The Old Strathcona Business Association (OBSA) has an open call to artists for the cover of their yearly guide to the trendy neighbourhood.
They’re looking for something that captures the spirit of Old Strathcona’s culture, creativity, energy and meeting place-vibes.
(What? Nothing alluding to constant weekend binge drinking?)
Anyway, you can send a digital format of your work over to Stephen Liley, Marketing and Events Manager of the OBSA.
I hope to see your art on the cover of the new magazine.
p.s. Your deadline is January 31, 2010.
