Artists and patrons weather wild storms

Arts organizations are recovering and reorganizing after weekend storms pummelled the region. A violent thunderstorm damaged the works from some artists at the Whyte Avenue Art Walk. Social media posts show crumpled coverings, sodden prints, and artists desperately holding down tents. While Angela Stadlwieser's paintings and prints survived, her tent was destroyed on the first day of the festival, meaning she missed out on her "biggest art event of the year," she said. "Both my pocketbook and my artist's heart will feel the impact of this."

A squall of a storm rolled right through the Freewill Shakespeare Festival and sat on top of the Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park on July 10. The seating area flooded and a tent flew into the audience. The storm delayed the start of Something Rotten! before organizers decided to cancel the performance altogether, though the show did go on for the remaining two days of its run. Not even the indoor venues were safe — Walterdale Theatre was forced to cancel its Friday night show of ONCE due to the storm and a subsequent power outage in the Strathcona neighbourhood; Cocktails at Pam's at the Varscona Theatre was similarly affected. The city temporarily closed the Citadel Theatre and the Orange Hub, alongside other city-owned buildings, but they have since reopened.

TELUS World of Science - Edmonton is not so lucky, however. It remains closed due to significant flooding, and it's been advised to prepare for a reopening in November. And the storms aren't forecast to be done yet — a severe thunderstorm watch was issued for July 15, and hot temperatures and high humidity are a recipe for more storms later this week. KDays, set to kick off on July 17, said it will monitor weather and has signs on the grounds to notify guests of any significant weather changes.