End of August Events
Yes, Edmonton, summer is winding down. But, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of great stuff going on to lift your spirits. (And pretty good weather recently too.)
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.
Weekend Events
If you happen to look at Gallagher Park and wonder what the heck all those people are up to, it’s cool, it’s Folk Fest.
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.
Heritage Weekend
This is it Edmonton, the long weekend we’ve been waiting for all month. (I said long weekend, not log.)
It’s also one of those peaks of festivals that mark our summer. Here’s what I mean:
Heritage Festival (It is the Heritage Day weekend… Also, you can’t drive your car to Hawrelak for all of the fun.)
DRAW (drawing. obvs.)
Capital Ex (Woot!)
Taste of Edmonton (Deep fried deliciousness – alright, mostly deep fried.)
Food Day Canada, where restaurants create entirely Canadian-sourced meals (with Culina Mill Creek, Culina Muttart, Culina Highlands – now the Highlands Kitchen, D’Lish, The Marc, )
Yeah!
In sports…the Eskimos are home tonight to the Toronto Argonauts and the Capitals play host to the Lake County Fielders. The Fielders are having all kinds of off-field troubles this season.
On a more serious note, there will be a vigil for a Fort McMurray woman missing for the last year.
Wicked continues to play at the Jube.
Edmonton comedian Jon Mick records a live comedy album, at Wunderbar. You can not only enjoy a night of fine Edmonton comedy (and comedians) but listen for your laughter on his recording. And if you want you can help him pay for the album by throwing him a few bucks. Pretty solid night.
In music, it’s a pretty solid weekend. Sister Gray is playing New City Legion tonight with Cygents, The Frolics, and Very Dangerous Animals…Luke Doucet and the White Falcon is with Michael Rault, at the Starlite Room…Capital Ex has plenty of music, including Ace of Bass Sunday night…Taste of Edmonton also has lots of live music…
On Saturday, there are two great afternoon shows on Whyte Avenue, with Tyler Butler and F&M at the Black Dog for Hair of the Dog, and The Provincial Archive at The Empress with Montreal’s Charlotte Cornfield…
Saturday night…Toy Singers have a farewell show, with Old Uglians Jessica Jalbert, Liam Trimble, and Sugarglider at the Haven Social Club…across the city, The ARTery’s got the Beehive Bonanza Mini Market and Show, with Rocktimus Crime, Service:Fair, and Jom Comyn…
Sunday night sees a long weekend showcase at the Pawn Shop, with Matt Machete ready to blow things up…On the holiday Monday, Jeff Morris kicks off his tour at the Black Dog…
Now, to get this party started, let me present to you the new album from our pals The Fight. (The whole album is embedded here, just flip through the tracks. Oh, and buy it if you dig it.)
See you Tuesday!
p.s. Speaking of The Fight, Jom Comyn, Service:Fair, Jessica Jalbert, Liam Trimble, The Provincial Archive, Tyler Butler, and Sugarglider, this Sunday night is likely the last time you’ll be able to catch the edmontonian presents on ShawTV (channel 10 on Shaw cable), so tune in at 9pm and be able to tell your space-grandkids you saw it on an actual television set.
Rainy July Weekend
This guy is always ready to party.
I know it’s raining. A lot. But, there’s some sun in the weekend forecast, and not everything that’s happening is outdoors, so we can still have fun this weekend. Come on, it’ll be fun!
We’ve got plenty of festivals on. Rain or shine, they’ll be going all weekend (well, most of them, so watch for venue changes and cancellations if the rain never stops).
Our annual summer exhibition, Capital Ex, begins today. So, get your cotton candy on.
A Taste of Edmonton is in Churchill Square. (As it always coincides with Capital Ex, which is a one-stop LRT ride away). Get your eat on from lots of Edmonton restaurants. Or take your food home and deep fry it. Anything goes!
The Freewill Shakespeare Festival winds down for another summer, in Hawrelak Park. Of course, there’s the Edmonton Indy and Race Week Edmonton events (most of the events are downtown, the race is at the City Centre Airport).
On Sunday, Fork Fest begins part 2 of its summer run. Time to get your local eat on.
In arts…Year of the Rabbit wraps up this weekend. It’s a combination of visual arts and a play, at the Catalyst Theatre. Wicked is also playing in Edmonton. There’s burlesque at The ARTery tomorrow night, with the River City Review. This is also the weekend for Edmonton: The Musical.
Pretty solid music weekend, so you can stay dry. The New Music West conference and festival is in Edmonton, and will have plenty of shows around the city. The Frolics, The Burning Sands, and Hook ‘Em Revue are at Wunderbar…Kenny Shields and Streetheart are at the Century Casino…Warning to Avoid, GBM, and rhodes play at New City Legion…Manraygun is at The Empress…
The Taste of Edmonton and Race Week Edmonton festivals also have their share of music.
And there’s the Sasquatch Sweet Sixteen Festival, at Rangeton, Alberta. Bring the rubber boots!
The Campus Community Garden is planning a second shot at an open house. They are certainly hoping for a sunny Saturday.
In sports…the Edmonton Capitals are home to the Chico Outlaws this weekend…and the Edmonton Prospects are home to Medicine Hat, at John Fry Park…there’s also the Kokanee Edmonton Canada Cup in Kinsmen Park, so expect a muddy good time on mountain bikes!
If you’re into local government and transit, you could also check out the Downtown LRT connector workshop happening Sunday afternoon.
A night of fine Edmonton music
As we’ve talked about before, Thursday can be a great night for live music in Edmonton.
Tonight is one of those nights.
Over at Wunderbar, you’ve got a fantastic early show. Double-fantastic since you won’t be all groggy tomorrow at work. Cadence Weapon, fresh off his two-year stint as Edmonton’s Poet Laureate, is playing fresh material at the little bar that is big. He’ll be with Mitchmatic and Ghibli, so, yeah, it’s a huge show.
Down the street (the street being Whyte Avenue) at the Pawn Shop tonight you’ll be able to find Black Mastiff, Hale Hale, The Get Down, and Misha and The Spanks playing as part of the New Music West festival and conference. That conference runs through the weekend.
For something a little different, there’s Edmonton: The Musical up on 118 Avenue. Live bands, theatre, fundraising for local arts groups; it’s pretty much a perfect package of Edmonton arts.
There will probably also be music, if only as accompaniment, to Latitude 53′s Thursday night patio party too.
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.
#MackAttack Headlines
Happy Twitter Birthday to Edmonton’s first tweeter, Mack Male! Five years I go I wasn’t even on Facebook.
Now on with the news!
We were talking yesterday about a push to lock up your car.
All that rain slowed down road construction. Thanks a lot, rain.
My guess is that plan B to find $100-million for the downtown arena involves a whole lot of busking by Mayor Mandel. Meanwhile…at our current arena…new seats may or may not happen…
David Staples makes a good point in his latest column in favour of government money for a downtown arena. The Alberta government shouldn’t put so much money into horse racing. (I’m pretty sure that was his point, anyway.)
Ethan Allen is moving downtown. Wait. After a downtown arena is built, right?
No more downtown arena after the jump. I promise. (more…)
Live Music Weekend
It looks like a dandy weekend for live music in Edmonton, so let’s start there.
Tonight you’ve got a Christan Hansen & The Autistics all ages show at The ARTery with Paperplanes and Dragonboats, so that’ll be good. The Blame-Its, The Afterbeat, and Wildrose Orchestra, are at New City Legion…Over at Wunderbar you can hear Teen Daze with Oh No Yoko and Sugarglider…Craig Cardiff is at the Haven Social Club with David Blair and Erica Viegas… The Open Sky Music Festival isn’t until the end of August, but Souljah Fyah and Jeff Morris are getting things going this weekend
Saturday night is no less good, with The Weber Brothers, Chris Carmichael, and Lyra Brown at the Haven Social Club…Xplosionation, The Party Martyrs, and All The King’s Men, at Brixx… The Weekend Kids, Old Wives, and Freshman Years at Wunderbar…and The Consonance, Noisy Colours, whiskey wagon, all over at New City Legion.
Sunday (yeah, we’re still going on just music) there’s the Whyte Avenue Street Sale (which means the street will be closed to traffic between 105 and 103 Streets) and SOS Fest playing music on two stages all day long…Sunday night ends the weekend with a giant kick to the face of awesome with The Joe and Doug Hoyer kicking off their national tour at Wunderbar, with Mikey Maybe.
Whew.
We also have a bunch of festivals and the such.
Down in Hawrelak Park you can catch two of Shakespeare’s finest plays during the Freewill Shakespeare Festival. Heading into the Indy we’ve got Race Week Edmonton (which lasts longer than a week). The Edmonton International Street Performers Festival is on at Churchill Square. The Edmonton & Northern Alberta Historic Festival also begins this weekend (which can get you into some cool old buildings).
For the dogs, and dog lovers, you can head up to 118 Avenue on Sunday for Avenue Goes to the Dogs, put on by the Eastwood Community League.
If all of that great Edmonton music and festivals isn’t enough…
Cirque du Soleil’s “Dralion” is at Rexall Place. There’s a Campus Community Garden Open House, Saturday 11-2, at the U of A’s campus community garden. The Edmonton Eskimos will fight, fight, fight on at home to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Oh, and if you’re not doing anything at about 9pm on Sunday you can watch the last episode of our ShawTV series, the edmontonian presents, on Shaw cable channel 10. (It’ll be on YoutTube, Livestream, and iTunes shortly after.)
Local man becomes puppet, jams with aliens
Through the miracle of social networking today, we have uncovered a treasure trove of videos by Edmonton filmmaker Simon Glassman, amongst which is the above puppet video for Doug Hoyer’s killer track “Lakes of Mars” (which Doug also very generously allowed us to use for our own diabolical YouTube purposes).
Simon’s website features a lot of great content – videos he and his crew have done for a bunch of great Edmonton bands – including the above puppet masterpiece from Doug Hoyer and another one of our favorite local bands Cygnets and “Felt Up,” a series of videos that re-enact the most awkward or embarrassing moments of interviewees with puppets.
PUPPETS.
What I’m saying, friends, is go to simonglassman.com and kiss your productivity goodbye for the day. Also, don’t miss Doug Hoyer and The Joe (along with Mikey Maybe) as they kick off their big Canadian tour this weekend at Wunderbar. (via The Joe)
Canada Day Events (and the rest of the weekend too)
Ah, the Canada Day long weekend in Edmonton. If you’re anything like me you started off by sleeping in, then dug into your traditional July 1 breakfast of back bacon+maple syrup poutine. Delicious.
And now that you’re energized by meat, fries, and gravy-syrup you need to get out and celebrate this fine country we call home.
Edmonton does Canada Day pretty damn well. You can catch the Silly Summer Parade on Whyte Avenue at lunch, then head just about anywhere for more red and white festivities; City Hall, the Alberta Legislature, Mill Woods (which has a huge party), attractions like Fort Edmonton Park (where they call it Dominion Day), the Muttart Conservatory, and Valley Zoo, and the Edmonton Garrison.
Don’t forget about fireworks! The big show is downtown in the river valley. Mill Woods also fills the sky with spectacular-ness.
The World’s Longest Flag Football Game also begins today, at noon. You can help them out, play, volunteer, cheer, and donate to the Stollery.
Speaking of sports…the Edmonton Capitals have the Maui Na Koa Ikaika in town.
Don’t think the festivals stop for a holiday. The Works Art and Design Festival continues at Churchill Square and around downtown. The musical lineup at Churchill Square continues to be amazing.
Speaking of amazing music…we’ve got this thing called the Edmonton International Jazz Festival. Yeah, that’s gonna have a great lineup too. (And is a good time to check out jazz if you’re not a regular at the Yardbird Suite.)
A new festival just began this weekend too. (New as in it just started, it’s not new to Edmonton.) The Freewill Shakespeare Festival is on in the Hawrelak Park Amphitheater. This summer you can see Othello and Twelfth Night.
Great show Saturday night at Wunderbar, with Shotgun Jimmie, Liam Trimble, and The Mitts. There’s also a big Slave Lake fire fundraising show this weekend up in Widewater (which is on Lesser Slave Lake).
Also this weekend, Edmonton is hosting the 2011 Canadian Ismaili Games. Neat.
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.
Rapz
If you only see one Edmonton hip-hop or rap show this month, make it tonight at Wunderbar.
The Old Ugly Recording Co.’s The Joe, Mikey Maybe, Mitchmatic, and Teddy Holtby are going to play the same bill. All of them! I predict a busier than usual Wednesday night at Edmonton’s premiere beer location.
Old Ugly rap has been one of my gateways to the hip-hop world. I wasn’t a fan of the genre a couple of years ago (mostly through a lack of listening), but through this website I’ve been exposed to a lot (A LOT) of new music and Old Ugly rappers like The Joe have been blowing my mind grapes since.
I’m not kidding. Get there. Be there.
Are you there yet?
Let The Festivals Begin
This is when summer really gets going, Edmonton, when there are festivals – plural – to talk about.
In festivals…Dreamspeakers continues through Saturday night…the International Children’s Festival is on in St. Albert…on Sunday, the Highlands neighbourhood has a street festival…Opera Nuova presents the Vocal Arts Festival…NextFest runs through next week…
Community league members will be out all weekend trying to earn their neighbourhood some much-needed money in the Edmonton Community Challenge.
On the political side…Saturday is the Slut Walk and Sunday is a rally against public money going to a new downtown arena.
In music…this weekend, Heart of the City fills Giovanni Caboto Park with music, music, music. Musicians and bands that live in the “heart of the city” will be playing this annual festival. 2011′s got another great lineup. NextFest also has plenty of young, up and coming, and new musicians playing all around the city.
There are a few Slave Lake fire benefit shows…at the Rendevous Pub…at the City Centre Church…and at The ARTery (with Tanner Gordon among those on the bill)…
Friday…The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s got Late Night 1900s (with conductor Bill Eddins). Always a good time. Winnipeg’s The Details play the Haven Social Club with Michou…the Wild Rose Orchestra is at Wunderbar, with Zero Cool…
Saturday…Feast or Famine is at Wunderbar with The Old Sins, and the Weekend Kids (and more!…The Details are still at the Haven Social Club, but with Fish & Bird, and Kaley Bird…100 Mile House is at The Empress…No Witness has a CD release at the Starlite Room, with Shelbi and Soundscape…Ol’ Smashy (formerly the F.D. Jones Soap Co.) is at Filthy McNasty’s…and the ESO’s got Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony…
On Sunday…Supertramp is at Rexall Place. SUPERTRAMP!
In sports…the Edmonton Energy play a couple more games against the Oregon Waves…and the Edmonton Capitals are home to the Calgary Vipers. Saturday night’s baseball game is followed by movies at Telus Field. And Saturday is the “Fresh Meat Frolic,” with the Oil City Derby Girls, at the Grindhouse (14420 – 112 Street).
And on Saturday…it’s Bugs and Brunch – a fundraiser for YESS, hosted by Expressionz Cafe and the Vintage VW Association.
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.
Weekend Eventing
The good times continue! To get ready for this weekend you can ready all three previous installments of events today – Angela’s Events, Brazilian Money, Tim Gilbertson – and then jump in here. Needless to say, it’s gonna be a good weekend.
The Edmonton Poetry Festival is finishing with a flurry.
FC Edmonton plays its first official home game of the season (the game against Toronto FC wasn’t part of the NASL schedule).
boygroove finishes “playing” the Catalyst Theatre. It’s a play about a boy band. Speaking of plays…Chris Craddock’s new one-man show “Public Speaking,” is killing at the Roxy…Brad Fraser, a native Edmontonian now living across the pond, has his play “True Love Lies” on at the Citadel – though he won’t be here to see it.
Still on the stage…Riverdance is at the Jubilee Auditorium…and Into the Woods, from ELOPE Musical Theatre, is at the Timms Centre for the Arts…Little Women, the broadway musical, is at the Citadel’s MacLab Theatre.
Slow Food folks will be at Eat Alberta this weekend. I hope they can finish their meals by the time our show is on Sunday night.
I’m kidding, of course. Slow Food’s got lots to teach us about enjoying what we eat, knowing about where the food is coming from, and exploring the social aspects of eating. And the Eat Alberta conference is about our “local food heroes.”
There’s derby at the “Grindhouse” (14420 112 Street) with the Oil City Derby Girls’ Tank’Er Girls taking on BC’s Raggedy Rollers, at 7pm.
Outside of Tim Gilbertson there are plenty of other great shows this weekend. Hale Hale is at Brixx with an early show tonight…Sherry Lee Wisor is playing Hair of the Dog at the Black Dog Saturday afternoon…and The Pixies are in Edmonton, playing the Shaw Conference Centre on Sunday night.
And, as the poster in this post may have already informed you of, Wunderbar is celebrating one glorious year with owners Craig, Chris, and Levi. They have a whole Sunday of good music, starting at 2pm, with Edmonton bands and artists such as The Joe, Mitchmatic, Scenic Route to Alaska, Miek Headache, Caity Fisher, Fire Next Time, and more, more, more! I may have to stop by and toast a great year of fantastic beer and live music.
Wunderbar’s got great shows tonight and Saturday too, with Fist City, Krang, and The Group Sound tonight, The Dyeing Merchants, Doug Hoyer, Service: Fair, and Ghost Cousin Saturday.
Oh, and if you’re not doing anything Sunday night at 9pm (and again at 9:30) I hear a certain website is debuting a show called the edmontonian presents on ShawTV (channel 10 for you Shaw subscribers, but it will be online shortly after).
Vote it up
Just days before the federal election, we’ve got a few other places you can make your voice heard.
SEE Magazine’s Best of Edmonton is done tomorrow at midnight, so you don’t have much time left to choose the best of everything about Edmonton.
They’ve even got a blog category this year, which means they’ve covered just about everything. (We’re honoured to be nominated along with such fine gentlemen bloggers as Dave, David, Ken and Mack.)
We want you to vote with your heart, but if you’re looking for write-in candidates we have a few to recommend:
Vote for Wunderbar for best beer and best bar (they have so many beers, and so much local brew!)
Vote for Luzzara for best coffeehouse
Vote “Chad and Colin from CJSR’s Makin’ Whoopee” as best radio personality (because they are awesomesauce)
Also vote:
CJSR as best station because they play more Edmonton music than anyone (CKUA is also good times)
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Vue Weekly’s Golden Fork Awards are happening right now too. So you can head over there to let the rest of us know the best places to eat.
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A friend of the edmontonian, A.O.K., is trying to win a music video. So, vote for Omar.
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You can also nominate people under the age of 40 you think are pretty cool, or doing pretty cool stuff in Edmonton, at Avenue’s Top 40 Under 40.
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After all of that, also remember to vote in the federal election on Monday, May 2.
Monday Requires Comedy
Why, yes, that is a turtle eating mashed potatoes.
The week is only beginning, so we can all use a few chuckles to get through this. (Even if the Easter Bunny is making this a short work week for us all.)
So, you might want to mosey on over to Wunderbar this evening (say about 8pm) for a night of laughter from some Edmonton funnymen funny men funny guys comedians.
A lovely lineup of hilarity awaits you at the “Delicatessen of Jokes and General Funnery,” including Jon Mick, and Highwire Films’ Arlen Konopacki and Mike Robertson. And Wunderbar is home to Whyte Avenue’s finest beer selection.
If that combination doesn’t cure your case of the Mondays, well, it’ll be Tuesday soon enough.
This Week’s Events
Hey gang, as mentioned earlier today, we’re busy, busy, busy with the new TV show and will take just a little step back from the website this week. We’re still around, stuff will still get posted, but you might just have to occasionally leave a message at the tone.
So, in case I don’t get to it on a regular basis, here’s some exciting and fun stuff going down in Edmonton this week:
The Citadel Theatre has two plays on right now. The Three Musketeers (in the MacLab theatre) and Rick: The Rick Hansen Story (in the Shoctor Theatre). Also in theatre, Pervert is running at the Varscona Theatre.
The Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts is tonight.
Wednesday you can check out what some of Edmonton’s software smartypants are up to at DemoCamp 14, at the U of A…Ryan McMahon and the Company Damn, and Doug Hoyer, play the Haven Social Club…Big John Bates is at New City…And Wednesday is also Awareness to Down There-ness Day (for the Underwear Affair), so expect to see some underwear.
Thursday, Old Ugly’s Concert Series continues at Leva (CJSR is also a sponsor) with DoT (Phil Holtby) releasing his first album, Miss Teviak…and F&M play Accent European Lounge with Jenie Thai…
Friday…Weird Canada Presents: DUZHEKNEW + Cousins + Service:Fair + The Group Sounds, at Wunderbar…Latitude 53′s new exhibits – Noxious Sector’s “Of Brains and Magnets” and Jinzhe Cui’s “When Dreams Lighten the Reality” – begin their stay at the artspace…and check YEG Live for more concert listings.
The NHL playoffs begin this week, so expect some extra mid-week company at your local sportsbar. (Yes, Oilers fans, there is hockey beyond April. I know it’s getting hard to remember that.)
Donate to CKUA. The Alberta-wide radio network is in the middle of its spring fund drive, so keep Alberta radio Albertan (and indie, and eclectic).
Vote for CJSR’s Chad and Colin – hosts of the Tuesday morning show “Makin’ Whoopee” – as best local radio personality(ies) in SEE Magazine’s annual Best of Edmonton. Also vote for Wunderbar and Luzzara wherever you can because they’re great Whyte Avenue businesses that didn’t make the SEE cut.
Weekending
It’s a weekend of engagement, city shaping, and thought provocation here in Edmonton.
Thinkers will be at MacEwan’s city centre campus for CityCamp Edmonton, which is a day of talking about local government and community groups. Planners will be at the latest open house on the Alley of Light. And skeptics will be questioning everything at LogiCon 2011, put on by our local Skeptics.
If activism if more your things, and you want to dance, I suggest Dance Dance Revolution, a fundraiser for G20 defendants, at the ARTery.
It’s the last Oilers home game of the season tonight. Which means the merciful end is near, Oilers fans. Oh, and it’s the last time Paul Lorieau will sing the anthem at an Oilers game. Also at Rexall Place this weekend, the Edmonton Rush are home to the Colorado Mammoth.
Anyone interested in short fiction should be at the Stanley A. Milner Library tomorrow for Dzanc Day 2011. We’re the only Canadian site for this day of writing workshops. At the Milner branch on Sunday, youth spoken word workshops continue, for the Edmonton Poetry Festival 2011, with Cadence Weapon.
The quiet before the summer blockbusters is on at your nearest movie theatre.
In fashion…The Fashion Event continues through Saturday. Get some fashion! My Filosophy is hosting its Second Annual Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation Red Carpet Event, at Latitude 53. Surely there will be ladies of high-fasion at the Bossy Mama Annual Spring Brunch, this Sunday.
Around the concert halls…Harry Manx and David Lindley are at the Winspear for The Winspear Presents series of folk and world artists. The Edmonton Recital Society gala concert is at the Muttart Hall at Alberta College. How about a little Bach to get you ready for the Easter season?
There’s some burlesque at the Haven Social Club.
Matt Machete is at bohemia tomorrow night. This guy rocks. There’s a Fundraiser for Walk for the Cure at Wunderbar, with Brash Tax, Miek Headache, Nick Watt and more; which means good music, great beer, and a good cause. Old Ugly’s Liam Trimble has a new album out and he’s kicking it off Sunday at The Pourhouse.
Of course there are LRT delays. Gah!
I know a certain local website which is working on a TV show that is always looking for your videos…
And next week is National Volunteer Week. Thanks for all the volunteering you do, Edmonton!
Update: I totally forgot about the back alley burgers. Tonight. Behind Hundred. 9:30-ish.
A Smashing Weekend
This weekend in Edmonton will be punctuated by a federal election and Earth Hour.
While you may start seeing election signs popping up, if the Conservative minority is brought down by the opposition parties, you will get at least a one-hour reprieve from attack ads during Saturday’s Earth Hour. The City of Edmonton will get into the darkness of things with a power-saving party at Churchill Square.
It’s a big roller derby Saturday in Edmonton (fitting, since the federal election could get ugly). You’ve got the E-Ville Roller Derby in Xanaduel and the Oil City Derby Girls All Stars taking on All Stars from Saskatoon. E-Ville plays at the Hangar on Kingsway and Oil City is at the Grindhouse.
The big Edmonton music event this weekend is the 2011 Edmonton Music Awards, at Haven Social Club. It’s a two night affair, Sunday and Monday, with plenty of live performances from plenty of local musicians and bands.
Also in music…Tonight, Sonic Band of the Month, The Red Threat, is playing at the Pawn Shop…You can also saunter over to Metro Cinema for “Edmonton Tonight,” a live talk show of sorts…Tonight and tomorrow, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (fresh off announcing their 60th season performances) and messzo-soprano Anita Krause, and Da Camera Singers, present Durufle’s Requiem…Tomorrow, why not head over to Wunderbar for B.A. Johnson (and The Moby Dicks and The Mitts) at Wunderbar? Why not indeed.
Western Canada Fashion Week continues over on Whyte Fashion Avenue.
Maybe you want to check out a movie. Good idea. (I hear Hobo with a Shotgun comes out this weekend…)
The Edmonton Rush and Edmonton Oilers are both at Rexall Place this weekend.
What Big Plans You Have
It’s weekend o’clock, Edmonton!
This shall be a good weekend. As it is written so shall it come to pass.
Around the live music venues this weekend it’s going to be a good time. Tonight you’ve got audio audio/rocketry celebrating 5 years together with a 3rd album, and show at the Pawn Shop…90s brit-rockers rhodes are at Haven Social Club with Treelines, Warning to Avoid, and The Fight…over at the Wild Earth Bakery you can listen to Jenie Thai…The Old Wives and Kemo Treats are going to try and bust through the roof of New City (which would scare the hell out of everyone at Hudsons)…
Saturday begins with Doug Hoyer at the Black Dog for Hair of the Dog…Sister Gray is at Expressionz Cafe…The AwesomeHots have a new album, and they’ll release that at Wunderbar…at The ARTery Saturday you can catch Daniel Moir, with Scenic Route to Alaska…And FOREIGNER IS HERE!
Sunday’s got a great show at the Haven Social Club, with Romi Mayes playing with the with Give ‘em Hell Boys, Jake Ian, and The Haymakers.
For music that’s not in a club or bar, Ben Vereen is “Steppin’ Out” with the ESO, in Robbins Pops shows tonight and Saturday.
In theatre…The Citadel Theatre’s got Hunchback, a Catalyst Theatre production of the Victor Hugo novel…and at the actual Catalyst Theatre “Shatter,” about the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion, wraps its run…Dog is over at the Roxy Theatre…
While the headline of this post alludes to Little Red Riding Hood, that is in no way an endorsement of seeing the sexualized thriller in theatres about the same. Gregg can let you know what’s worth seeing.
On Sunday, Levar Burton will be here. Oh, he’s got a reason to be here. It’s the Edmonton Collectible Toy and Comic Show.
You can catch the playoff-bound Oil Kings and lottery selection-bound Oilers in Edmonton this weekend too.
Weekend
Let’s begin this look at the weekend with theatre, shall we?
Just a heads up, though, LRT service will be disrupted north of Churchill on Saturday and Sunday.
The Citadel Theatre’s got Hunchback on now. It’s a new imagining of the Victor Hugo novel, not the Disney movie, from the minds of Catalyst Theatre. Speaking of Catalyst…over at the actual theatre, until March 19, is “Shatter,” about the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion.
Also until March 19, MacEwan’s Theatre Arts and Theatre Production programs present “Company,” their final performance of the school year.
The Brian Webb Dance Company presents Toronto Dance Theatre’s Pteros Tactics this weekend.
The E-Ville Roller Derby and Northern Lights Theatre are teaming up for an exhibition match/fundraiser.
There are a few shows around town…Kieran’s Art Trading Post is at Bohemia tonight…tomorrow is the Edmonton’s coin show and sale…and It’s Mom, Pop & Tots Fair weekend.
It’s another great live music weekend in Edmonton…
The Edmonton Show IV goes at Avenue Theatre tonight. It’s got music, dance, arts, and more.
Also tonight…Mark Berbue is at the Pawn Shop, with Ayla Brook and Old Ugly’s Doug Hoyer. (Speaking of Old Ugly…Jessica Jalbert is at Wunderbar Saturday night)… The Accident Will releases a CD at DV8, with DeSousa Drive and Bad Acid…The ARTery’s got Prairie Nights…Haven Social Club’s got a CD release from Christine Fellows, who will play with Shotgun Jimmie…and the Jimmy Swift Band is at the Starlite Room…
Saturday afternoon, Hair of the Dog has Samara Von Rad, which is a rad name. Saturday night Weird Canada (Canada’s best music website) presents a show at The ARTery that will likely blow your mind.
Gregg’s got the lowdown on movies actually worth seeing.
The City Market begins its run of Saturdays at City Hall, as preparation for it usual summer selling on 104 Street.
Oh, and Sunday night, Lucky 13 is hosting Carlton himself, Alfonso Ribeiro.
Have a lovely weekend, Edmonton.
Tuesday Night Music Club
It’s a Tuesday night in Edmonton, and there’s plenty of great, live music to keep you from the cold.
You can always head over to Brixx for Troubadour Tuesdays, tonight with Ashley Sacha.
Upstairs from Brixx, you’ve got Yann Tiersen and Breathe Owl Breathe at The Starlite Room. (Update: Winter has claimed the tour bus, canceling Tiersen’s appearance. Check with the Starlite about the rest of the show.)
Wunderbar’s got some Old Ugly for you on this frigid Tuesday. Tyler Butler, Two Bicycles, and Andy Shauf will keep you warm.
Oh, and the Myer Horowitz has a show with some guys you’ve probably never heard of; Jim Bryson and The Weakerthans.
What’s that?
You have heard of them? And they’re really good? I had no idea.
Wait. I had an idea.
