The First Crazy Weekend of Summer
Get ready for a busy weekend, Edmonton. (And the festivals are just getting started too.)
The 10th Royal Bison Craft Fair is at the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre. This one’s gonna be good, with Culina serving up food, and more craftsters than you can shake a knitted-stick at.
Not too far from the Royal Bison, it’s the first East Whyte Street Party. The block party, including Eva Sweet Waffles!, is on 100 Street, between Whyte Avenue and 81st Ave. Businesses up and down Whyte (between 99 Street and the tracks) will have specials and deals for you too. We’ll see you there!
A few blocks away from that…the City of Edmonton is talking food and agriculture policy, outside of the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market.
Sticking with the City…Saturday sees the 3rd annual ETS Community Fair at West Edmonton Mall. And Big Bin Events continue, so you can get rid of all of your old couches.
The Edmonton Energy are in action tonight, playing the USA All-Stars. (The Edmonton Energy are our IBL basketball team.)
In music…Hale Hale, Raptors, and Randy Graves are playing the Pawn Shop tonight with Andrew W.K. So you know it’ll be a party. Anvil is at the Starlite Room. Rusty Reed’s and the Sherbrooke Community League are putting on the “Blossom into the Blues” festival this weekend. Opera Nuova’s Vocal Arts Festival is on right now too. On Sunday…Timbre Timbre at the Avenue Theatre
On Saturday watch out for people running around Edmonton in the City Chase (kind of an Amazing Race style event) and then on Sunday, you’ll see folks running and biking in the Subway Coronation Triathlon – which brings with it road closures.
On the political side of things…the Alberta Party’s got Big Idea Night to kick-off its leadership convention this weekend…and there will be a rally at the Alberta Legislature Sunday, to pressure the provincial government into funding education and avoiding hundreds of teaching cuts this fall…
SEE Magazine might be disappearing, but Merge is back. They re-launch with a party tonight.
You can still catch new one-act plays from local playwrights at the Walterdale.
There are always movies to be watched.
On Sunday, buy some baked goods to help the Slave Lake fire victims. Never before has gorging yourself on brownies been so helpful.
You can wash down all those brownies and cupcakes with beers. Zombeers.
Grey Cup Events
Good luck to Saskatchewan and Montreal. They're going to have a much tougher time winning a drink from the Grey Cup than I did, playing Madden.
Clearly the Grey Cup Festival brings with it plenty to do in Edmonton this weekend.
There’s Huddle Town at Churchill Square (with fun for the family, live music, waffles, and a zip line), and the Grey Cup parade on Saturday. Don’t forget to watch the game on Sunday.
We had such an amazing lineup of shows in Edmonton last night, that I want to get right to all the great music you can hear this weekend.
The aforementioned Grey Cup shenanigans boast a Canadian lineup that includes: Matthew Good, Big Sugar, Ian Thornley, Chris Wynters, Jaydee Bixby, Fozzy (wrestler Chris Jericho’s band), Emerson Drive, My Sister Ocean, Bif Naked, and Trooper. Bif and Trooper than play again Sunday at Commonwealth’s tailgate party.
Not connected to the Grey Cup, Wool on Wolves is playing the Pawn Shop with Ayla Brook…Rufus Wainwright is at the Jubilee…Wil and Leeroy Stagger are still at the Haven Social Club…Amos Garrett is at Rusty Reed’s House of Blues…the Frosted Tipz have a good chance of wrecking The ARTery with rock…A.O.K is releasing a new album and children’s book (I’m not kidding)…Alan Frew (of Glass Tiger) is in Sherwood Park…and Streetheart is at the Century Casino (that one is also an inside joke to Sally)… We can’t go, because it’s sold out, but Bedouin Soundclash and Michael Rault have a show at the Starlite Room.
As was pointed out in the comments, The Edmonton Show III is this weekend. And yes, there’s music at that too. Man, so much great music!
In somewhat related musical notes, Hard Core Logo continues at the Roxy Theatre, and Permanent Records opens up near Hub Cigar, just off Whyte Avenue.
In another music note, you’re using YEGLive as your online live, local music hub, right? You probably should be.
November is still Shop Local Month. So, shop local. Movies are good times.
It’s a crafty weekend with both the Royal Bison Craft Fair and Make It Edmonton! happening. The Royal Bison is at Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre, Make It! is over at the Alberta Aviation Museum.
And there’s A Night of Performance Poetry tonight, with, new Edmontonian, Jem Rolls. You might remember him from such productions as the Fringe Festival.
Make it happen this weekend, Edmonton.
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!
What to do, what to do…
After what felt like an exceptionally busy weekend, seven days ago, this weekend appears a little tamer.
There's going to be so much art here.
But there’s still plenty of good stuff around. And don’t you even think this signals a slowdown. The Capital Ex, Indy, Heritage Days, Taste of Edmonton, Fringe run is going to test your festival abilities.
As Sally brought to our attention earlier today, ArtWalk takes over Whyte Avenue this weekend. And a little rain isn’t going to stop the art.
Rain also hasn’t stopped the Street Performers Festival, wrapping up this weekend.
Angela reminded us that FAVA is partying today.
In music…Lily Fawn and her Lullaby band are at at The ARTery.
SOS Fest participants Wool on Wolves are playing Brixx, Saturday night. Jazz is at Wunderbar. It’ll be like you didn’t even miss them last weekend.
Blue Oyster Cult‘s at the Century Casino, Saturday night. Peter Frampton is tenting it up at River Cree.
The Pawn Shop is holding an undiscovered singing competition. Don’t forget about the Party Tent. (How could you though?) And Edmonton has a new blues bar. Rusty Reed’s opens with Big Dave McLean.
Gregg will probably be seeing Inception this weekend. It’s one of this month’s more anticipated films.
In sports…the Capitals play ball. (That means fireworks Friday night.)
