I Heart Edmonton

Thousands revel in the scorching sun as downtown parade kicks off Edmonton's thriving Pride Week celebrations BY EMIL TIEDEMANN T O kickoff Edmonton's steadily growing Pride Week ( June 11-20 ), the City shut down several downtown streets yesterday (June 12) to allow for the coinciding Pride Parade . The weather was prime as locals filled a stretch of Jasper Avenue for about an hour to take in the drag queen floats, queers in sequined tighty whities, and leather-bound bears ( back off PETA, not that kind of bear! ). This was my inauguration to the (30th) annual Pride Week festivities in Edmonton, so I was at least surprised at how many gay or gay-encouraging locals we have, according to the queen-sized (pun fully intended!) crowd yesterday afternoon. My good friend Amanda suggested I tag along with her to the parade in between errands, and how can you turn down someone so damn pretty?! The colourful and (mostly) sparkling floats--as well as the cast of Rent --began treading d...

Local and international artists share the spotlight within this subtle gallery that aligns 124th Street BY EMIL TIEDEMANN W ITH the brand new Art Gallery of Alberta now open to the enthused public, Edmonton's arts community has leaped forward in a big way. It means that our humble city will be taken seriously when it comes to opportunities to stage global exhibits and that outsider art enthusiasts won't disregard Edmonton as a potential tourist destination. The AGA has at least raised awareness of the arts community in Edmonton, which explains why I found myself strolling down 124th Street last week with my winter coat and my Canon. The strip is well-known among locals as a hub of galleries that showcase mostly local or provincial artists of various mediums. Stretching from the tail end of Jasper Avenue and down to about 111th Ave. is the " Gallery Walk ," a cluster of modest galleries that share 124th with seasoned eateries, upscale boutiques and the 72-year-old R...

The city encourages all to come out, wear red and cheer on our Olympic torchbearers BY EMIL TIEDEMANN What: Edmonton's Olympic Torch Relay When: Wednesday, January 13th (5-7PM) Where: From Hawrelak Park to Churchill Square L AST week the city revealed the highly-anticipated relay route for the soon-to-be-visiting Olympic flame, which will criss-cross Edmonton on January 13th. The 82-year-old flame will travel 14 kilometres over a two-hour relay, and will be carried by 50 torchbearers, starting at Hawrelak Park at 5PM. From there the torch will reach the Butterdome near the University of Alberta (5:14PM), and then it'll hit Whyte Avenue (5:28PM) before trekking across the Walterdale Bridge to the Alberta Legislature (6PM). It will then be carried down Jasper Avenue and to its destination Sir Winston Churchill Square , where Edmonton-born Olympic speed skater Doreen Ryan (1960 & 1964 Winter Olympics) will use it to light up the community cauldron at about 7PM. The ...

We've got it pretty good here, but Edmonton could stand to fix a few kinks... BY EMIL TIEDEMANN A S MUCH as I love this city, I have to admit that she has her problems. None that can't be improved upon though, with the exception of the subsiding mercury...but we should be used to that by now. Most of the issues Edmontonians have with their city are the usual suspects, kinks that most urban centres deal with on a daily basis. Fortunately, for us, none of these problems involve earthquakes, hurricanes, terrorist attacks, unreasonable smog, overcrowding, traffic congestion (in comparison), choking gun violence, rats, flying cockroaches, or Cèline Dion (just kidding...kinda). Nope. We have it pretty good here in Edmonton when we think about what we don't need to worry our pretty little heads off about. But, despite that last statement, there's always room for improvement. I Heart has taken it upon itself to examine some of the "issues" Edmonton faces in 2010 ...

Discount book store offers something that others don't! BY EMIL TIEDEMANN Tucked away just off Jasper Ave. and 103 St. is an alternative to the convenient Wee Book Inn's that are scattered throughout town, called The Book Outlet . There's no adult-only section, or an assortment of CDs, DVDs or magazines, or even one of those long-haired cats roaming the aisles, but the Outlet does offer something that Wee Book's don't, and that's a decent choice of titles in near-perfect condition, at lower prices! According to the friendly gentleman behind the counter, testing his Solitaire skills on the computer, the books that they recieve on a daily basis are immediately discounted by at least 50% from the cover price, and many are lowered even further, to as low as a single loonie! They are able to do so because these are titles unsold by major chain outlets like Chapters and Coles Books. These "remainders" and "returns" are purchased at low costs in ord...