I Heart Edmonton

William Hawrelak Park By Emil Tiedemann More than 10,000 people paid their respects to William Hawrelak (1915-75) as his body lay in city council chambers, after the former Edmonton mayor suffered a heart attack and passed away on November 7, 1975.  Locals skating on the man-made lake at Hawrelak during winter.  As Edmonton’s longest-running mayor in history (1951-59, 1963-65, and 1974-75), Hawrelak and his council were able to construct some of Edmonton’s most treasured landmarks in an era of prosperity for the city, including Fort Edmonton Park, the Edmonton Valley Zoo, Stanley A. Milner Library, Borden Park, the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the Riverside Golf Course, Groat Bridge, Edmonton’s section of the Yellowhead Trail, and the Mayfair Park, which would later be renamed William Hawrelak Park .  The park has become one of the city’s most beloved destinations among the extensive green belt that wraps the city, at 68 hectares of green space with a five-hect...

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra By Emil Tiedemann Although the Edmonton Orchestra Society had existed with more than a dozen players as early as 1913, it wasn’t until November 15, 1920 that the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra officially premiered at the Pantages Theatre on Jasper Avenue, A. Weaver Winston at the helm.  Just 12 years later, in 1932, the orchestra suspended operations, and Edmonton went without its ESO for two full decades. Finally, on Halloween of 1952, the sounds of the symphony were restored in Edmonton, as the ESO registered as a not-for-profit organization and returned to the stage for the first time in 20 years, on November 30, 1952, under the conduction of Edmonton-born Lee Hepner .  It took another two decades before the ESO fully transitioned into a professional orchestra, in 1971, and the following year they teamed up with English rockers Procol Harum for a live album recorded at the Northern Jubilee Auditorium , the ESO’s home for 40 years (1957...

Some of the latest happenings in Edmonton (EIFF, EIA, CCMA...) BY EMIL TIEDEMANN " E VERY Night Is Opening Night!" That is the slogan for the 24th annual Edmonton International Film Festival , which will take over Edmonton City Centre mall Friday, September 24 to Saturday, October 2 . The 9-day fest will kick off with Opening Night Film Score: A Hockey Musical (Sept. 24) and will tread on with dozens of other features and shorts from across Canada and abroad to our very own backyard. Another returning favourite will be the 6th annual 24/One Challenge , in which filmmakers will have just one full day to put together their own movie, and the top 10 films will premiere at EIFF on Oct. 2, the final day of the festival. Tickets for EIFF 2010 are available at the Empire Theatres box office in City Centre, or at Tix On the Square . Each individual film (or Short Film Package) will cost $13.75, though there are various multi-show passes to choose from as well, including the all-a...