I Heart Edmonton

The groundbreaking E-town Fringe Fest turns 30, and invites all y'all to come celebrate with the world's most outskirted stage junkies... BY EMIL TIEDEMANN The 30th annual Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival will take over Old Strathcona from August 11th to the 21st! I REMEMBER when I turned 30. It wasn't anything I had exactly been looking forward to, or would even consider celebrating. Kind've a shitty mess, really. But I'm over it now...ish. So, I know exactly how the 2011 Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival feels, as it approaches the big 3-0. But the mood'll be somewhat--or drastically--less sombre than that of my self-depricating pity party...and this I'm actually looking forward to! From Thursday, August 11th until Sunday the 21st , the 30th annual Edmonton Fringe will take over Old Strathcona , hosting more than 1,200 local, national, and international performances during the 11-day world-renowned celebration. When you think about it, ...

Old Strathcona plays host again, this time to the 15th annual celebration & exhibition of our visual artists BY EMIL TIEDEMANN T HE other weekend (July 9-11) we saw the exuberance of musical talent our city and neighbouring towns have harvested, all converged on Whyte Avenue in Old Strathcona for the very first SOS Fest . Last weekend ( July 16-18 ) it was a visionary affair, but the talent was just as evident. More than 230 canvas sculptors exhibited their paintings and sketches as part of the 15th annual Whyte Avenue Art Walk , a non-juried "outdoor studio and gallery" meant to expose our brightest visual talents, and extend to them the opportunity to raise their profiles and build client lists. Mission accomplished. The event was born out of a communal desire to bring local art to the masses, to allow us not-so-talented beings to chit-chat and mingle with other art enthusiasts and supporters, as well as the actual artists themselves. And what better setting than the h...

Visionary independent musician festival shakes up Old Strathcona, exposing 150 of the most talented artists of our thriving music scene BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I N a town synonymous with a rich festival legacy, virgin events better have the chutzpah to garner any real recognition or relevance to stand out from the crowded surplus of summertime goings-on in Edmonton. By all accounts, the maiden SOS (Sounds of Old Strathcona) Music Festival did just that. Without a hitch, no! But the 3-day Whyte Avenue extravaganza was a definite triumph for its organizers, the artists, the venues, and the thousands of local and not-so-local patrons who took in the 150+ shows from July 9-11 . Last Friday (July 9) was the kickoff of the first-ever SOS Fest, when acts like Captain Tractor , Ann Vriend , Ten Second Epic , Mustard Smile , and Politic Live blistered huddled barrooms and cramped lounges with the best indie music this province has to offer. The following morning (July 10), I arrived on the infamou...

The Internet claims another victim, as low sales leads to the closure of the Megatunes indie record chain BY EMIL TIEDEMANN E VERY Thursday Vue Weekly publishes the twenty albums most popular with customers of the local Megatunes record shop. By the end of the summer season, this tradition will cease. Our province's solitary indie record chain announced earlier this week that it's closing both of its stores, one located on Calgary's 17th Street S.W., and the other here on Whyte Ave. According to Edmonton manager Dave Gawdunyk , the reasoning behind the closure doesn't fall back on the Whyte Avenue branch, which is apparently still "very viable," but rather due to slumping sales in the Calgary store. But, "If you're an independent business," said Gawdunyk, "you need both stores to do well--and in Calgary, there's been a drop-off in sales. It's like one hand clapping, right? You need both to coexist." Megatunes open...

Dozens & dozens of indie acts will merge in Old Strathcona for Edmonton's newest festival, simultaneously highlighting our diverse music scene BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I KNOW what some of you are thinking. Do we really need ANOTHER festival in this city? Well, if that was what you were thinking, then I'm here to tell you: YES! I mean sure, we have the Fringe , Folk Fest , Capital Ex , the EIFF , Street Performers , Heritage days, The Works , Blues Fest , the Dragon Boat Fest , Global Visions , the International Jazz Festival , the White Light , A Taste of Edmonton , NextFest , Symphony Under the Sky , Ice on Whyte , DEDfest , Cubamemucho , Exposure , Creative Age Festival , the North of Nowhere Expo , Chante , the Literary Festival , dEdmonton , Improvaganza , Ink Fest , Original Fare , the Vocal Arts Fest , Summer Solstice , PoFest , the International Children's Festival , Silver Skate , Serca Fest , the Alberta Drama Festival , Dreamspeakers , the Feats Festival of Dance...

The EIFF get local moviegoers involved in deciding what may or may not make the cut for this season's line-up BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I T'S a brand new concept for the Edmonton International Film Festival . In fact, I was part of only the second (and most likely this season's last) group of local film buffs who were luckily chosen to pre-screen some of the shorts potentially up for EIFF selection. I say potentially because their candidacy would be partially based on the opinions of us volunteers, who Ebert & Roeper 'd our way through 128 minutes of short films from around the world last week (May 13). Kudos to the EIFF for taking this logical route, allowing its own audience to partake in the selection process for its 2010 season ( Sept. 24-Oct. 2 ). It only makes sense, afterall, to have us help choose what we want to see at this year's 9-day festival, now in its 24th season. What took them so long? So, as I was saying, I eagerly and immediately accepted the invitat...

Local rockers will hit the stage at Wooly Bully's this weekend with special guests Jezibelle What: Empire Assassins & Jezibelle Concert When: Friday, March 12th @ 8:00PM Where: Wooly Bully's Pub (8230-Gateway Blvd.) F ANS of local hard rockers Empire Assassins have been waiting for this for some time now, so I Heart Edmonton is excited to welcome the group back to the stage this Friday night. Guests Jezibelle will also brave the crowd during the Wooly Bully's show on Whyte Ave. , marking Empire's first Edmonton gig since commencing their hiatus from touring and recording last year. Last month they performed their first show of 2010, in Saskatoon, before hitting up Legal, Alberta a couple of weeks later. Kevin Schmidt (vocals, guitar) and Stu Murland (drums) will reunite with Empire's former bassist Trevor DePagie for the gig, though the band is currently in search of a more permanent bass player for future shows. In fact, if you're interested clic...

Whyte Ave. music retailer is a haven for vinyl collectors, CD buyers and/or concertgoers BY EMIL TIEDEMANN A SK anyone in my family or any of my close friends and they'll tell you that music is one of my most preferred past times. So, places like Blackbyrd Myoozik in Old Strathcona are welcoming retreats for folks such as myself when we want to disconnect ourselves from the rest of our net-addicted, TV-hooked, texting civilization for just a moment or two. I finally recieved my record player--as in vinyl for all you iPodders--this past Christmas, and so I was excited to check out one of various Whyte Ave. spots that specialize in selections of this retro format, one that isn't without its charm. Last week I trekked the 30 minutes to the Old Strathcona district and headed right for the Blackbyrd on Whyte & 104th. I had been there a couple of times prior, but this was the first time I had come to specifically sift through their accommodating collection of new and used LPs....

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 ...

Alberta's capital region has won Sociable City Award for providing a safe and active nightlife that's the envy of the rest of the continent BY EMIL TIEDEMANN W ELL, it's official! The RHI ( Responsible Hospitality Institute ) has confirmed what I Heart has been preaching all along...that Edmonton is the most "sociable city" on the continent! The distinction took various critieria into account before it was cast upon our deserving city, which is now recognized for providing the most vibrant and safe nightlife in North America. But the RHI awarded E-town with the honour based on more than just our nightlife, also citing our partnerships between businesses and government, innovative marketing campaigns, proactive compliance education & training, public space entertainment, multi-cultural activities, and serveral city services, such as the Public Safety Compliance Team . 13 of Edmonton's entertainment districts--including Whyte Avenue , 124th Street , West Ed...

In the vicinity of the U of A campus is an Italian-style cafè that wears several hats... BY EMIL TIEDEMANN E VERYTIME I drive by this place it seems to be brimming with specialty coffee drinkers and loyal admirers of simple Italian fare. In fact, when I recently checked out the licensed Cafè Leva for the first time, the only reason my buddy and I were able to get our order "to stay" was because a pair of patrons were just leaving. We pounced on their still-warm seats with our $4 lattès as I stared down the gourmet desserts and pastries behind the '60s-styled glass showcase. Yum! Hidden in a residential area in the Garneau district, somewhere between the U of A and Whyte Ave. , Cafè Leva is a cozy little getaway from busy streetscapes. The quaint departure is "focused on providing traditional Italian-style coffee" to its devoted patrons, and has been since 2001. We found free parking on one of the narrow lanes that criss-cross Leva on the corner of 111th St. (...