I Heart Edmonton

St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse goes above and beyond his duties, sparing plenty of his free time to make St. Albert one of the best places to live in Canada... BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I T'S easy to see that Nolan Crouse loves his city. It's written all over his Facebook page, which seems to be crowded with statuses congratulating local high school grads, and of folks thanking him for making an appearance at any number of events, or posts alerting residents of recent criminal activity...an infrequency, btw, in the city of St. Albert . St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse was named Coach of the Year by Hockey Alberta (1990), the Slave Lake Region (1991), and Alberta Major Bantam (1996 and 1999).  There's even photographs of things such as graffiti, in which Crouse proposes "let's find ways to rid ourselves of graffiti and report all this garbage." Clearly, Crouse is dedicated to making St. Albert a great place to live, work, or simply visit. In fact, that's his

Edmontonians will have no shortage of things to do this summer, and we're here to help guide you through the countless concerts, festivals, and other events for the season (June 20-August 31)... -June- "Opera al Fresco!" is on Friday, June 22.  ♥ 10 writers will each have just 5 minutes to garner your approval at June's instalment of the Edmonton Story Slam on Wednesday, June 20 (7:30PM), at the Haven Social Club (15120-Stony Plain Road). It's a free event, but there's a suggested donation of $5. ♥ Canadian comic & actor Russell Peters will take over Rexall Place on Thursday, June 21 (7:30PM), as part of his "Notorious 2012 World Tour." Tickets for the show are available at Ticketmaster.ca. ♥ Space is limited for the 2012 " Summertime Music at Muttart " event on Thursday, June 21 (6-9PM), featuring various musicians performing at the tranquil & subdued Muttart Conservatory. Tickets are $11.75 (adult). ♥ Cafe H

Zerbin's "New Earth" (2011) BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I T was only last year that Zerbin , led by namesake Jason Zerbin , garnered our full attention and immediate approval when local radio began spinning a song destined for national obsession. Zerbin's "New Earth"--conjured up, inked out, and laid down within a ridiculous span of just 30 hours--easily became one of the tracks I hoped to hear while listening to Sonic on the way to work every morning. In the end I buckled down and spent the 99 cents on iTunes. Edmonton's own Zerbin is made up of Jason Zerbin, Peter Mol, Nick West, Derek Gust, Jeremy Dehek, and Andrew Hochalter. And soon I had to know more about this band, conceived right here in our own backyard. Turns out it was only in 2010 that they launched a prophetic alt-rock debut LP, Of Fools and Gold , 14 tracks that have since earned them various awards and accolades, Top 40 airplay, and even appearances in Degrassi , America's Next Top M

With more than 16 decades of experience, the New York City-based Kiehl's finally takes up residence at Canada's largest shopping centre BY EMIL TIEDEMANN T HESE days guys just aren't as reluctant to admit that they use products to exfoliate, embellish, and enhance their skin or whatever is left of their mane. Well, some guys. But that's not to say that they... we ...are all that crazy about dealing with stuffy salesfolk pestering us in stuck-up decors. Established in 1851, Kiehl's has finally opened a branch in our West Edmonton Mall.  But in case you were unaware, there's an alternative, where women and men alike can feel at ease browsing for everything from skin cream & hand lotion to hair gel & lip balm. Last Wednesday ( May 30 ) ' I Heart Edmonton ' was invited to the pre-grand opening of the new West Edmonton Mall location of Kiehl's (pronounced 'keels' ), a cosmetics brand retailer that specializes in premium skin,