That would be because I never get to mention lunchtime performances of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO). Today, that changes!

At lunch (doors at the Winspear open at 11:30) you can hear organ duets (on Canada’s largest concert organ), from Duo Majoya (Marnie Giesbrecht and Joachim Segger). Update: The ESO is sponsoring this performance, not a part of it.

Tickets are free and can (still?) be picked up at ATB locations in the downtown. (City Centre, ATB Place, Oliver Square).

Keep your eyes on the ESO and Winspear, since they do this free music at lunch thing every so often. It’s a more nutritious option than a hot dog.

(Of course that thing about the hot dog isn’t true. You still need to eat.)

Ready?

Show me…jazz hands!

I really, sincerely hope one of you is vigorously shaking your hands right now. That would totally make my day.

But it is in fact time for the Edmonton International Jazz Festival. See, I was going somewhere with all of this.

OK, so the festival officially begins tomorrow but they’ve got one of those pre-festival concerts, just like Folk Fest, with Chick Corea tonight. That’s this evening at The Winspear.

Other Jazz highlights include Nikki Yanofsky (she of the Olympic “I Believe” song), Jazz in the Park (which is free, and at Louise McKinney Park), and lots of performances at the Yardbird Suite and MacLab Theatre. Hey, you can even pick up a $99 pass to get in to any show at the Yardbird and MacLab (subject to some seat availability at the performance). And there are a lot of people playing between now and July 4. Even Kid Koala is playing.

Wait? Kid Koala?

And I thought Sally was teaching me everything I needed to know about jazz. Sally, you never told me Kid Koala could play turntables at a jazz festival!

So, anyway…the jazz fest is on. Enjoy.

We are so lucky.

I believe I may have hinted in the Headlines this morning that I will be watching the Lost series finale this Sunday. Hey, even if you haven’t been a Lostie, there’s still enough time to grab the DVDs and watch enough key episodes to get in on the fun. Otherwise, good luck avoiding everything about the show while you spend weeks trying to catch up after the show ends.

I wonder if its DVD sales will be awful for a few years, until it’s been wiped pretty clear of pop culture?

Anyway…

You have to ride the streetcar at least once each summer.

It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a great weekend, weather-wise, so maybe you’ll ust hit the movie theatre. It’s totally a good couch weekend too.

If you are looking for some of your first taste of BBQ, maybe hit school board candidate Michael Janz’s campaign kick-off party, Saturday afternoon. It’s right by the McKernan-Belgravia LRT station.

Henry Rollins is at the Winspear tonight. Let Sally know how that goes.

Fort Edmonton Park opens its 2010 season this long weekend. Too bad they didn’t have time to put in the log flumes and historically accurate laser tag.

I’ve learned, through the power of the Internet, that Saturday is the International Day of Biodiversity. So, head on over to the courtyard behind the Stanley A. Milner library and learn about plants, bugs and stuff.

Victoria Day weekend means the High Level Bridge streetcar starts running!

Public Enemy playing the Edmonton Event Centre Sunday night. We should have ordered an edmontonian clock for Flavor. It really is a weekend of hip hop, since you’ve also got Hip Hop in the Park (Louise McKinney, that is) Saturday afternoon. Hip Hop in the Dark goes tonight.

The Uncas rock the Pawn Shop Saturday.

And thanks to our good friends at ShareEdmonton I can remember to mention that the Edmonton Energy are home tonight for IBL action.

No matter what you’re getting up to, if you’re leaving the house remember that there are LRT closures this weekend. The train won’t be running between Churchill and Clareview stations.

Of course, some of you may be heading down the highway to the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. Say “Hi” to Spock for us.

It’s cool and rainy, so maybe something inside is just right for this weekend. How about something with lots of beer?

Also inside is the Edmonton Opera’s season-ending show, “Otelleo.” It’s Shakespeare’s Othello, but Opera-style.

Los Lonely Boys are over at the Winspear. But if that’s not your speed, how about a DJ set from TV’s Degrassi’s Caitlin and Spike?!

Now, let’s see what ShareEdmonton has to say about this weekend.

Of course, the Edmonton Poetry Festival is on. Poetry doesn’t have to be boring, check out some of the events they’ve got going. (I’m a terrible poet.)

Over at the Edmonton Expo Centre (at Northlands) you’ve got the Edmonton Ink Festival: The Tattoo & Body Modification Show.

I was talking about this in the Headlines this morning; the Edmonton Public Library is trying out an MP3 Experiment at Churchill Square. You download the audio file, head to the square, then everyone starts listening at the same time. I bet it tells you to do some wacky stuff that will appear odd to passersby. The EPL follows that up with an audience participation viewing of The Princess Bride.

Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Now prepare to die. (That I typed this from memory is impressive. Or the opposite of that.)

Saturday is Astronomy Day! Celebrate at the Telus World of Science with, uh, astronomy.

And if you like transit (And who doesn’t?) then you’ll already know the Edmonton Transit Service is hosting a Community Fair at Southgate and Century Park LRT stations. Those stations also officially open to the public. Finally, I have a reason (and a way) to get down to Century Park.

Transit nerds unite!

Just worry about the weekend. Don't look at Tuesday.

The weather is hot and sunny, Conan O’Brien is here, NHL playoffs are on TV, and the Edmonton Rush are home tonight (7pm) and trying to secure some Rexall Place playoff action for the spring.

I’m always a sucker to mention Winnipeg bands coming through town. Nathan is one such band that is worthy of your ears.

Buddy Guy, the dude who calls Eric Clapton in that cell phone commercial, is playing the Jubilee.

I’m grooving to some We Are Wolves as I tell you they’re playing the Pawn Shop. What did we do before YouTube?

Ghostkeeper is at Brixx. The Old Wives are at New City.

And there’s more!

You won’t believe all the good stuff ShareEdmonton has for you.

It’s time for the Edmonton Women’s Show. Which I predict will, predictably, have some soap opera star in attendance. Yup.

Saturday offers the rare treat of seeing inside the Edmonton Law Courts, cells, courtrooms, and more. Without a summons to appear.

The Winspear Centre will be pop-y with A Chorus of Hits.

And Edmonton celebrates Earth Day this Sunday, April 18. It’s not in Hawrelak this year, it’s at the City Centre Airport. Fort Edmonton Park. (I have no idea why I thought this was at City Centre Airport. This is my bad, not ShareEdmonton’s.)

I’m already tired.

p.s. If you didn’t see it already, Nikki “I Believe” Yanofsky is returning to the Edmonton International Jazz Festival this June.