The Flying Canoe Festival

The Flying Canoe Festival last weekend at Millcreek Ravine and La Cite Francophone was AMAZING! It was seriously so awesome that I went both nights! In fact, I am kicking myself for not knowing about this festival sooner in my Edmonton life. 

 As the website states, the Flying Canoe festival is a creative and interactive cultural event designed to celebrate local history and everything that is great about a long winter’s night. It is inspired by the legend of The Flying Canoe and French Canadian, First Nations and Métis traditions. This event celebrates Edmonton's beautiful Mill Creek Ravine and I definitely agree that the gorgeous landscape is on display and makes the festival feel like an outdoor adventure! As well, the lanterns from Dylan Toymaker are mindbogglingly beautiful! I want one of his lanterns so bad! In fact, when walking from the school to the ravine, individual houses even had lanterns up, which they had made at a workshop a week earlier! Talk about community spirit!!!

One other cool thing about the festival is that there are story tellers throughout the spaces, and not only do you learn about the legend of the Flying Canoe, but you can see people in canoes, and evil wolves with red eyes, stalking the canoes! The energy was electric, and even though the weather was freezing cold, if you dressed warm and stayed active, it was totally worth it! 

I also really appreciated the celebration of First Nations and Métis culture. The tepees and drumming circles were amazing, and I enjoyed not only the hauntingly beautiful singing, but the free tea and bannock too! 

My pictures of the event did not turn out, but luckily I have tons of good ones from my amazing friend Trae Duh! Thanks girlfriend! 

Here are pictures taken at the school, which was lit up wonderfully, with constantly changing colors! 

Wee! Slides! 

La Cite Francophone had live DJs outside! And so many awesome colors! 

These lanterns lit the pathway to the Millcreek ravine!  

The flying canoes! 

First Nations Camp

Millcreek Ravine, in all of its natural glory, and illuminated by Dylan Toymaker's gorgeous lanterns!

Father Winter! 

We also flew a canoe! 

The next night I attended with Chad and his son, and so we had another amazing night, this time with more children's activities.

Some of Chad's awesome shots are below. As you can see, lots of kids being kids and jumping in snow!

 Community lanterns!

Free horse drawn wagon rides! 

Why can't city parks always look like this?

Some good ole' fashioned dancing fun! 

Cool illuminated dresses! 

While this year's event is over - in the future, make sure to hit up this festival filled with lights, music, winter magic and more.

Art Gallery of Alberta

After the Chinese New Years Festival, Chad and I headed to the Art Gallery of Alberta to check out some new exhibitions. I was amazed at how much things had changed since we were last there, probably about 7 months earlier when they had "The Indian Group of Seven." And, in fact, I think many of the exhibitions have changed since we were there only a couple weeks ago! Turnover is great! That means you can visit more often and never get bored :)

By far the most stunning and fantastical exhibit was The Vessel by David Altmedj. I'm pretty sure that hanging and assembling the strings would have taken the patience of a saint and a ton of time! I loved the molded body parts including hands and noses, and there were lots of stones and gems too. The way the body transformed into a moving swan was quite stunning. The exhibit was huge too! It took up an entire room, and so pictures can't really capture the entire scene. The piece looked very different depending on the angle. 

When I studied the exhibit, I could actually see what the artist was talking about in terms of energy:

“What inspired The Vessel was a movement. The movement of something that retracts a little, to gain energy just before throwing itself forward. Like a wave that draws back and swells with water and energy, and is about to crash; or the movement of an arm that is about to throw an object.” 

Photos by Chad Baba

The artwork below was interactive and collaborative. Visitors were allowed to move the strings and add new ones, to create an original mural inspired by the Vessel. 

 

Sadly, I did not capture the names of all of the exhibits and artists, but Chad did capture some wonderful photos. This sculpture has amazing angles:

The painting below is from Edmonton artist Paul Freeman, who is the artistic director at the Nina Haggerty. I loved the vibrant and vivid colors! The piece really popped! 

I also found a "self portrait." When I saw the painting below, it totally reminded me of myself. The blond hair and corn husk body! Even red wine stained teeth! A true Redcliff girl! Thank you Patrick Cruz for discovering my essence.  

The artist featured above and below had an enormous exhibit, which took up two huge walls and reminded me of how I used to decorate as a teenager when I covered every single inch of space in my room. I LOVED it! I am obsessed with all of the colors, and there was so much to see in each individual painting! I created a collage using some of my fave pics in the piece, and assembled it below:

Right now admission to the art gallery is less than ten bucks as there are some exhibition closures on the first floor. It's truly a nice place to visit while downtown. In addition, the art galley is always hosting cool events, such as yoga and art classes for kids. Not to mention - even the architecture of the art gallery is amazing! Appreciate art folks, it's there to be admired! 

The Year of the Fire Cock!

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!

This was my first year getting out to Chinatown and celebrating the New Year first-hand! And - in case you don't know -  2017 is the Year of the Rooster! The "Fire" Rooster in fact! And I sure did see lots of sparks :)

What I did not know about the Chinese New Year is that firecrackers are EVERYWHERE! I was imagining a parade in my head, but instead, I was able to see dragons and lions dancing around and performing rituals, and tons of firecrackers being set off in front of all of the wonderful businesses.

I was amazed at the noise! It was so exciting!!! 

                          Photo credits: Chad Baba

Not only were firecrackers being lit on long strings all over the place (often with balloons and confetti attached for extra pop and crackle), but participants were able to light little ones too! 

Here I am, about to blast-off my first firecracker! 

It's amazing how loud and scary they can be! And when the hit your shins - they hurt! 

But totally worth it! 

Chad's celebratory dance after lighting a whole strong of firecrackers! 

We were lucky enough to see a dragon dance! 

And there were lions too! They would enter the stores to bring good luck, and jump for lettuce! 

See the lettuce hanging above!

I had to use Wikipedia to find out the reason why the lions jump for lettuce!

During the Chinese New Year, lion dance troupes from the Chinese martial art schools or Chinese guild and associations will visit the houses and shops of the Chinese community to perform the traditional custom of "cai qing" (採青), literally meaning "plucking the greens", whereby the lion plucks the auspicious green vegetables like lettuce either hung on a pole or placed on a table in front of the premises. The "greens" (qing) is tied together with a "red envelope" containing money and may also include auspicious fruit like oranges. In Chinese cǎi (採, pluck) also sounds like cài (菜, meaning vegetable) and cái (财, meaning fortune). The "lion" will dance and approach the "green" and "red envelope" like a curious cat, to "eat the green" and "spit" it out but keep the "red envelope" which is the reward for the lion troupe. The lion dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune to the business.

In the old days, the lettuce was hung 5 to 6 metres above ground and only a well-trained martial artist could reach the money while dancing with a heavy lion head. These events became a public challenge. A large sum of money was rewarded, and the audience expected a good show. Sometimes, if lions from multiple martial arts schools approached the lettuce at the same time, the lions are supposed to fight to decide a winner. The lions had to fight with stylistic lion moves instead of chaotic street fighting styles. The audience would judge the quality of the martial art schools according to how the lions fought. Since the schools' reputation were at stake, the fights were usually fierce but civilized. The winner lion would then use creative methods and martial art skills to reach the high-hanging reward.

It was very cool to see the lions jump up for the lettuce, and then throw the leaves around! 

I encourage everyone to check out the Chinese New Year festivities at some point! They are a "BLAST!" 

And make sure to eat some dumplings and noodles afterward, as we did! You know, for luck! The dumplings at Urban China were outstanding! 

Million Dollar Quartet will Make you Miss the Tunes of the 50's!

I was very lucky to attend the AMAZING production of Million Dollar Quartet at the Citadel on Wednesday night. I thought it was going to be good, but it exceeded all expectations. It was exactly what I needed after all of the US election drama - pure entertainment and damn good music. And I'll tell ya - all of those actors could sing. So what's the premise of Million Dollar Quartet? According to the Director's Notes, the show has a simple premise: on December 4, 1956, before they were forever to become icons of American music, these "boys" - Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley - shared some time together, in Sam Phillips' soon to be iconic Sun Records studio. 

Can you imagine? All of that talent in one studio! It is truly amazing to hear hit after hit and realize the depth of the talent these "boys" had, and how skilled Sam Phillips was to be able to detect and hone that talent. And let's not forget, there was also a kick-ass performance by a "girl" too. Vanessa Sears played Dyanne, Elvis' girlfriend at the time, and wowzers - that girl can wail! This show will make you yearn for the music of the past! I recognized and could sing along with almost every song. Some of the hits included: Blue Suede Shoes, Real Wild Child, Folsom Prison Blues, Fever, That's All Right, I Walk the Line, Great Balls of Fire, and See You Later Alligator. In total, 23 songs were covered - all hip-shaking soul-stirring epic tunes! The music was good in the 50's, and I swear it sounds even better today.

The performers were all strong. Each managed to capture the essence of their character. Christopher Fordinal plays Elvis and has killer moves, Greg Gale plays Johnny Cash and has that deep voice and similar mannerisms, Kale Penny plays Carl Perkins and sounded amazing both vocally and on guitar, and well, my fave performer of the night was Christo Graham as Jerry Lee Lewis. His mastery of the piano was top-notch, as was his acting (he got to play the cocky new kid in town and provided lots of humour to the show). And as previously stated, Vanessa Sears as Dyanne was a force to be reckoned with and had major charisma and a voice that easily rivaled "the boys." I dare you not to melt when you hear her rendition of "Fever."

I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention the awesome performance put on by Ryan Parker who played Sam Phillips. He was extremely charismatic with his booming voice and engaging smile. He was a lovable character who truly appreciated good music and fostering the talents of his "boys." Heck, even the back-up musicians were wonderful, with Nelson Collins-Lee playing the drummer and Paul Cournoyer playing the bass (he has an entertaining scene at the end where he plays his base while laying down on it!). 

The set was made to look just like the Sun Records Studio, and I enjoyed the little details such as the "recording" light coming on whenever they played a new track. It truly looked like a 50's studio and that added to the authenticity of the show. The dress was on point as well, although I must admit - I think I prefer the music of the 50's to the fashion :)

Huge shout out to Ted Dykstra as well, for directing such an excellent production. I only became familiar with his work with last year's Evangeline, and with this follow-up, I am pretty sure everything he touches turns to musical gold. 

Edmontonians - if you love the tunes of the 50's, hurry hard and score tickets. They are holding over the show and tickets have been released for Nov 17, 18 and 19! 

How can you miss out on this goodness?

Photo Credit: David Cooper Photography

If you are an Albertan, you better visit the Mountains!

I feel the need to give special recognition to the mountains in this blog post. I was just in Banff from Oct 12-16, and it was an amazing time. I was also in Banff in April, and in Jasper in November. The nice thing about living in Edmonton is that it is reasonable and affordable to take three mountain trips in a year, as all you really need is a long weekend. I am a deal-hunter, so I tend to use Groupon, Travelzoo or Hotwire to try and score good deals. I've never been disappointed with any of my accommodations, and most have been around the $125 night price point, which I feel is super-reasonable for the views and ambiance! My fave so far was the Banff Park Lodge, which had a wonderful Travelzoo deal. Our view was the Bow River and the mountains, and we just loved our room! 

Don't get me wrong, if I was rich I would definitely splurge on the Fairmont Banff Springs from time to time, but the thing I've realized is that one can walk around the Fairmonts, indulge in a cocktail in the lounge, and almost have the "Fairmont Experience" but for much less. I always love looking in the art galleries in the Fairmonts, and seeing the mostly Canadian artists. 

I also like to go on a day hiking adventure every time I go to the mountains, whether it is Maligne Canyon in Jasper (so beautiful in winter when the icicles hang off of it), or the Bow River in Banff. Heck, I just realized there were hoodoos in the mountains on my last trip to Banff. I grew up a southern Alberta girl and was under the impression hoodoos only existed in the badlands. Wrong!

I often hear that people in Alberta don't go to the mountains as often as they want... maybe because Banff and Jasper are so close and it seems like one can go anytime. My plea to you all is - get out there, go! The mountains are magical! When you are there, you can't help but be happy and feel awestruck. You can literally get there in less than half a day from most parts of Alberta, and once there - you are in world class tourist spot, filled with fresh air and beauty! Skiing and snowboarding season is just around the corner, if that's what floats your boat. I personally tend to eat, drink and walk around, ha, but that's the beauty - there is something there for everyone!

Get your Canada Park Pass while you can - it will be good for an extra year since 2017 is free for the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation! 

Can you spot the mountain hoodoos in Banff?

The Bow River in Banff - two views

Jasper's Maligne Canyon

Mountain critters

On the grounds of the Jasper Park Lodge, and in their art gallery!

Bronze by Camie, below

Wish I knew the two artists below, but I do not.

Ignite Festival 2015 - A Lesson in How to Hold a Conference

My last post about the 2016 Launch Party made me want to travel back in time for a little bit and write about the Ignite Edmonton Festival. I know it was over a year ago, but it remains to this day the best damn festival/conference/event or whatever you want to call it, in terms of organization, inspiration and beauty. Ignite was held Sept 9-10, 2015 and it brought together entrepreneurs, thought leaders, creative types, and change-makers from across Edmonton. Edmonton Economic Development put it on, and they did a mighty fine job! 

There were main stage sessions with some big names like Nir Eyal who talked about how to "hook" people on a product, and Jane McGonigal who talked about the importance of games. There were also lots of workshops on everything from community building to crowdfunding, and it was super cool to listen to people like Andrew Ference and Karen Unland, who both work hard to make Edmonton a better place. 

Before it was called Ignite, the same festival existed as E-town, and it was super cool as well, with lots of interesting speakers (my life was changed by listening to Peter Diamandis talk about the future and abundance) and dynamic musicians. The E-Town version of the event had live music in the evening (Barenaked Ladies one year and Raine Maida and Chantal Kreviazuk the next), while the Ignite version had networking and drinks instead. Although I love a live musical performance, the networking was actually better, as I made tons of connections, including meeting my boyfriend. It's too hard to talk to strangers with a band playing, and so some drinks and lounge music is better suited to encouraging people to meet one another.

The sad news is that this event has ended, likely due to the economic downturn. I do hope that organizers realize how valuable and wonderful it was. Heck, even the "break out rooms" were carefully designed by locals, and the results were fabulous. Take a look at these gems, and you will see the Shaw Conference Centre looking the best I've ever seen it!

I truly hope that if the economy picks up, this fabulous conference re-IGNITEs itself, as it was my fave festival and I've learned so much from it. I still follow Peter Diamandis, Tom Peters, Bruce Croxon, and Chris Hadfield (they even had Canada's most famous astronaut here!) on Twitter. I think thought stimulating and inspiring conferences with an inter-disciplinary twist are exactly what Edmonton needs. I never really expressed my gratitude for these three events, and then they were gone. So while it's a bit late - I just want to say, "I love you E-town and Ignite." Thanks EEDC!

Entrepreneurs are Cool. So is Launch Party and Startup Edmonton.

I am a public servant who has a secure job and I work best when I have a defined task. Despite that, or maybe because of that, I've always been obsessed with entrepreneurs and innovation. Once Startup Edmonton hit town, working alongside the Edmonton Economic Development Incorporation, tons of super fun entrepreneurial events have hit Etown. One of these is Launch Party, which takes place during Startup Week (which was Oct 19-23 this year). I was lucky that Chad and I managed to attend this event for the second year, and it was even bigger and better than last time. It was held high up in the Epcor Tower, with amazing views of City Hall and downtown Edmonton:

Launch Party describes itself as "a party designed to celebrate and showcase rockstar entrepreneurs in our community." All of the entrepreneurs launching their businesses get to have a space where they demo their products or ideas, and they also get a few minutes to present to the entire crowd and explain their business innovation. Launch Party alumni include: Mover, Granify, Yardstick, LoginRadius, Poppy Barley, Jobber, Mailout Interactive, and Showbie.

This year there were seven local companies that launched their products, and all of them fill a much-needed niche. For instance, I had already read about Taproot Edmonton, but it was cool to hear about it first-hand. It's a new way to do journalism, where paying members can actually suggest the stories they want to read about. The old model of journalism appears to be collapsing, especially when you consider the massive layoffs at the Journal and elsewhere this year. I think it's brilliant local entrepreneurs are trying to innovate in this realm. 

Some of the more fun and interactive businesses involved games and virtual reality experiences. RunGunJumpGun was a super simple but tricky game that I was able to pick up in only minutes. I could see myself playing this on my cell on the bus! 

vrCAVE was my fave new business though, as it was the first time I got to experience virtual reality!!! They created a Hospital of Horror for Halloween, and attendees were able to play a few minutes for free. It was so cool! Two people play at once and can interact with each other. I actually felt like I was in a different world, and I could move chairs and interact with objects. I can't wait to see what else they do with this technology!

Other great launches included TradePros, Run-WithIT, FilmReel by Fava, and Dealcloser. You can read about them all using the recap link from Launch Party.