Old Strathcona Peace Camp Raises Awareness of Edmonton’s Unhoused
Camps set up by members of Edmonton’s “unhoused” population are a familiar sight in the inner city and River Valley. More and larger encampments are appearing, a visible testament to a lack of safe, affordable shelter and supports. The latest such community is the Peace Camp, a group of about 20 tents that set up […]
Multi-hyphenate Edmonton talent on the doorstep of Hollywood
At least one thing is true to real life in the developing sitcom Casanova. It’s “The List” – of every person the main character Cassie had sex with, male or female, doesn’t really matter. “She’s modelled after a version of myself, and earlier 20s version of myself” says filmmaker Mac Watson, who’s worked her way […]
TRUE STORY: This is Not the First Time Don Cherry Has Been Fired!
Here’s a hint to anyone aspiring to land a career somewhere in the public forum. Never preface any point with “you people.” It surfaced last Saturday on a Sportsnet Coach’s Corner segment where Don Cherry took aim at immigrants who apparently refused to wear poppies to commemorate Canada’s war dead. After a fierce social media […]
GRETA IN EDMONTON: Counter protest? What counter protest?
When news broke that Greta Thunberg was coming to Alberta, and to Edmonton, social media exploded. On the one side were people excited that the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist superstar would be taking her message to the Oil Capital of Canada. On the other side were those who felt that Greta and her peers are […]
Student Climate Strike draws counter-protest – FROM INSIDE THE BUILDING!
There have been few protests in Edmonton as large and lively as the Student Climate Strike on Sept. 27. More than 4,000 people, the majority of which were students who skipped school, converged on the Alberta Legislature to demand action on climate change – only to be faced with a sign in a window of […]
FRINGE 2019 HAT LINE: Street performers deserve our applause – and our money
So that’s it for the 2019 Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival. One more day. We’ve seen the 250 plays, give or take a play, gossiped about two different yet strangely related scandals (long story), and sampled fare from least three different curry stands. Now can we give a little love to our underrated and often poorly-treated […]
Green light for cannabis at the folk fest
Within today’s announcement for Hozier, Ani DiFranco, Brandi Carlile, Bruce Cockburn and other acts we already knew were coming to the 40th annual Edmonton Folk Music Festival was a big green light for marijuana. Oh, yeah, cannabis is legal now. Almost forgot. Producer Terry Wickham addressed the issue at the annual media launch, where there […]
HAPPY 420: Legal cannabis is a rip-off!
As a lifelong toker who, like most area stoners, was elated when weed became legal in Canada – and then partook with great disappointment – I can keep silent no longer. Sorry, but I’m done. I gave it a good try. Obeyed the law. Bought the legal cannabis. But I’m sick of it. My high […]
THEATRE PEOPLE: Darrin Hagen: ‘The man I am is because of the woman I was’
There was no Gay-Straight Alliance at Darrin Hagen’s high school in Rocky Mountain House in the late ‘70s – but there was a drama club. He was the only boy in the group. “It was no problem to find an all girl play and cast me in drag,” Hagen says. “Nobody seemed to mind – […]
REVIEW: Michelle Obama thrills Edmonton fans with familiar inspirations
The numbers are in! Michelle Obama is the coolest First Lady in American history – a fact she made plain before a crowd of thousands of women in Rogers Place on Friday night. Biggest book tour ever. Certainly Eleanor Roosevelt is in the running for coolest wife of an American president. So is Abigail Fillmore. […]
WHO NAMED THE BAND: King of Foxes fierce and fragile
Olivia Street decided to come up with a band name rather than use her own as a way to “protect the art” – and also to avoid the stigma of the singer-songwriter. It’s there. Sorry about that. King of Foxes is a good band name. It works on many levels. “Fox” is slang for a […]
