The Pulse: July 8, 2021

While many groups and performers have been taking bookings for outdoor concerts and plays — appearing everywhere from rooftops to backyards to public band shells — the latest lifting of restrictions means that indoor events are now possible too, which opens up options for local art and history buffs.

Along with this week's anticipated opening of the immersive Imagine Van Gogh exhibit at Edmonton Expo Centre, the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) and Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) are also welcoming in-person visitors to a host of new displays.

On at the RAM is the Quilt of Belonging exhibit, a massive collaborative tapestry that showcases 263 blocks over an area of 36 metres, each block representing a nation of Indigenous people in Canada and around the world.

Also showing is Joe Chowaniec's photography in Abandoned Alberta, and set to open on July 14 is Breathe, a diverse collection of hand-crafted masks from makers across the globe, taking shape in a range of mediums like beadwork, embroidery, birch bark etching, quillwork, rug-hooking, metalwork, and glass fusion.

• Environment Canada has issued another heat warning for the Edmonton area. This next period of high temperatures will be milder and more short-lived than last week's heat wave, with temperatures reaching 29 C or warmer for the next three days.
• Sikh leaders are calling on the province to do more to address hate-motivated crimes. While they welcome the province's new security grant, leaders want to see stronger laws and more education on why hate is dangerous. A Sikh temple in Mill Woods has been the target of harassing phone calls and unsolicited deliveries since March.
• On Wednesday, council voted to move ahead with 16 of the 18 recommended actions in the Reimagine Services plan, including privatizing the city's three golf courses. The issue of paid parking at popular city facilities will be revisited next spring as part of a larger public parking policy discussion.
• The Edmonton Police Service's Human-centered Engagement Liaison Partnership (HELP) team moved into a new downtown building on Wednesday. The move puts them under the same roof as several social agencies and health services, in an effort to address the root causes of homelessness.
• After reviewing rider feedback, the city has made more than 40 service adjustments to its new bus routes, which were launched in April. Additional adjustments will come into effect on Aug. 29.
• Parish leaders are forming a committee to rebuild the Catholic church in Morinville that was destroyed by a suspicious fire last week. Though most of the 114-year-old building was destroyed, three bells that hung in the steeple have been salvaged.
• Edmonton Public Schools' superintendent Darrel Robertson has been named the Canadian Superintendent of the Year for 2020.

Every week in the lead up to Edmonton's municipal election on Oct. 18, we're rounding up the news and announcements you need to know to stay informed.

• Columnist Keith Gerein positioned Amarjeet Sohi as a contender for the "most business-friendly candidate." Sohi announced the initial pillars of his economic platform which guarantee a business advocacy office, a fund dedicated to job creation, and revitalization of the city's development services office.
• Tech innovators are invited to a Zoom session with Sohi on July 14 at 10am. The first 100 guests will be admitted to share their feedback on the candidate's intentions for the technology industry.
• Michael Walters and Scott McKeen, city council veterans, offered their predictions for the future of Edmonton's municipal government. COVID-19 recovery, mental health funding, and the opioid crisis were some of the priorities discussed.
• Mayoral candidate Mike Nickel avoided formal reprimand at his third sanction hearing in the past year. Mayor Don Iveson, who filed a complaint in May, described Nickel's behaviour as bullying.
• The Edmonton Gateway Rotary Club is inviting the public to virtual mayoral candidate forums happening on Wednesdays in the lead up to the election. Cheryll Watson is up next on July 21. Those interested in attending should email edmgatewayrotary@gmail.com for the meeting link.
• Transforming Edmonton published a write-up and accompanying YouTube video for Nakota Isga Ward. Leading into the election, the city is featuring articles detailing each ward's Indigenous history and origin.

A list of all of the candidates who have announced they are running in the Edmonton municipal election is available here.

Learn more about Taproot's effort to ground our election coverage in what is important to Edmontonians on our People's Agenda page.

Photo: City of Edmonton

On this day in 1953, the screen at the Sky Vue Drive-In theatre flickered to life for the first time.

The Sky Vue sat on 20 acres of land east of 50th Street, just outside the city limits at the time. The new theatre was thought to be the biggest in Canada, according to the Edmonton Journal. With a single, 64-foot screen, the Sky Vue had a total capacity of 1,100 cars. The paper also notes that a 40-foot snack bar was built to offer drinks, popcorn and cigarettes.

The massive venue was a testament to Edmonton's love of drive-in theatres. The city's first outdoor screen opened in 1949. By 1953, Sky Vue was the fourth to open near the city limits. Continuing into the 1970s, Edmonton likely had more of the theatres than anywhere else in North America, according to history writer Lawrence Herzog.

In November 1975, Sky Vue had its final showing before closing down. That fate was shared by most of Edmonton's drive-ins over the next decade because the city was expanding and soon suburbs took over the land. Edmonton's last theatre, the Twin Drive-in, shut down in 1997.

Despite the avalanche of streaming options available to modern movie enthusiasts, the old drive-in theatres still hold an intoxicating sense of nostalgia. In recent years, Edmonton has seen attempts at drive-in revivals and the COVID-19 pandemic has also led to a return of drive-in events. In the past year, there's been drive-in operas, drive-in graduation ceremonies and drive-in movies. In June, Motor Nights hosted a series of drive-in revival showings over three weekends, while the Stollery Children's Hospital showed a collection of kid's flicks at the Edmonton Expo Centre.

This is based on a clipping found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse — follow @VintageEdmonton for daily ephemera via Twitter.

• The 25th annual Historic Festival & Doors Open Edmonton runs July 4-11.
• The Works Art & Design Festival returns to Churchill Square from July 7-17 in a modified festival that encourages both in-person and online engagement. Interactive art will be installed, with displays at other downtown partner venues. Online programming includes recorded artist talks, studio visits, and calls to create for all ages.
• SNAP Gallery is showing Andrew Testa's over and over, again and again, and Thirst Trap by Haylee Fortin until July 17. Viewing is by appointment only for single household visits.
• Al Fresco on 4th runs 10am-3pm on Saturdays until Sept. 18, and extended restaurant patios will be open on weekends from 10am-5pm.

Photo: Manpreet Singh