The Pulse: Aug. 12, 2021

In a year where uncertainty and challenge prevailed for most arts organizations, Edmonton's Fringe Theatre office has been as busy as ever.

Perhaps it's not surprising, considering the scrappy attitude of the festival's beginnings in 1982 which influenced this year's iteration of the event — set to run Aug. 12-22 throughout Old Strathcona and online.

"It's beautiful chaos over here," says Megan Dart, interim executive director with the festival since Adam Mitchell's departure earlier this year. "As crunchy as it's been, we're all doing the thing we love."

The in-person component of Together We Fringe offers live shows in 11 participating venues (down from the 150 venues in 2019), ensuring plenty of elbow room for masked audiences. For the first time, the Freewill Shakespeare Festival will also make an appearance in the program, with two cinched-up, small-cast versions of Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth to delight lovers of the bard.

A new addition to the circuit this year is the pêhonân venue (a.k.a. The Roxy on Gateway), programmed by the Fringe's director of Indigenous strategic planning, Josh Languedoc. Featuring a different Indigenous production each night of the festival, the venue also exists as a welcoming space, outside the standard no-latecomer, must-have-ticket rules.

"With pêhonân, the intention is to soften that a bit," says Languedoc, who will be hosting daytime community conversations in the space as well.

Shows to note include Noah Green and his grandmother in Chubby Cree, Good Medicine with dancer Darrell Joe Brertton, Rebecca Sadwoski's The Sash Maker, an Indigenous cabaret showcase on the closing Saturday, and an already fully-booked showing of LightningCloud's Bear Grease, inspired by the classic musical.

• Harassment based on race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or gender identity will soon be a punishable offence in Edmonton. City council's community and public services committee endorsed amendments to the public places bylaw that, if passed, will authorize peace officers to fine someone $250 for a first offence and $500 for a second. The change comes in the wake of a series of threats and assaults against Muslim women.
• The community and public services committee also endorsed a revised snow and ice control policy that will allow administration to make service level changes without requiring policy updates.
• Act for Edmonton, a grassroots advocacy group, is calling on the city to reinstate the mandatory mask mandate. The group argues that much has changed since the mandate was removed on July 1, including a rise in the Delta variant and the provincial decision to end all pandemic health measures.
• The Edmonton Public School Board has written a letter to the province asking it to bring back the same COVID-19 health protocols that were in place last year. "We're waiting for direction, and the wait is frustrating," said EPSB chair Trisha Estabrooks. "We need clarity… We needed it two weeks ago."
• A new course called Indigenous Peoples and Technoscience at the University of Alberta explores relationships between Indigenous knowledge and Western science. It follows positive response to U of A's free online course, Indigenous Canada, which has seen a spike in enrollment in recent months.
• Alberta Senator Doug Black is retiring as of Oct. 31 which means Alberta will once again have two vacant Senate seats. Municipal election ballots in October will include a Senate vote but the prime minister has the final say on who ultimately gets appointed, Postmedia reports.

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.

• Mayoral candidate Kim Krushell called for her fellow candidates to join her in a "no-candidate-slate pledge." She defines slates as "mayoral candidates combining forces, agendas, and fundraising efforts" with city councillors to push political agendas and confirmed she is not involved in any election slates.
• Mayoral candidate Cheryll Watson released expense reports from her time as vice-president of the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC), now Explore Edmonton. If elected, Watson assured that her affiliated agencies will "have transparent board recruitment processes, report on their expenses publicly and seek feedback from the Edmontonians they serve."
• Dan Johnstone is no longer running for city council in ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi. In a Twitter thread, Johnstone thanked his supporters and asked for understanding as he navigates his next steps.
• Council candidates Ahmed "Knowmadic" Ali and Keren Tang discussed "mobility, local economy and ...campaigning as candidates who are of Somali and Chinese descent" on the most recent episode of the OtherWise podcast. Tang and Ali, the show's hosts for Season 2, will release episodes up until and after the election.

Upcoming forums

• A mayoral forum organized by Edmonton's real estate industry will take place at The Westin Edmonton and online on Sept. 9.
• Ladies Corner Canada Media (LCCM) will host forums featuring candidates from all wards between Aug. 5-19. These sessions plus an additional mayoral forum on Aug. 13 will be presented through moderated Zoom sessions.
• Seniors have the opportunity to share their questions and concerns with Kim Krushell, Michael Oshry, and Amarjeet Sohi at the Mayors' Race Senior Forum on Aug. 19. Questions should be submitted ahead of time to office@edmontonseniorscentre.ca.

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: (Dale Acecron/Instagram)

On this day in 1933, Edmonton police were cracking down on jaywalkers in the city.

Cops focused on catching both pedestrians and motorists violating the Motor Vehicle Act in an attempt to reduce accidents in the city.

Automobiles have been a driving force in the history of Edmonton and how it has grown. The city's first car hit the streets in 1904, when businessman Joseph Henry Morris had a 1903 Model A brought in from Winnipeg. It was the first model built by Ford and could hit a top speed of 72 km/h. However, the eight-horsepower engine wasn't much compared to the cars of today — the story is that Morris' machine couldn't quite make it up McDougall Hill.

Morris' car drew attention whenever he drove it, but it wasn't long before cars were a standard sight in Edmonton. In 1906, the first year cars had to be registered in Alberta, there were 41 drivers. By the end of the First World War, more than 29,000 Edmontonians had a driver's licence. That number only grew through the decades. By the 50s and 60s, city planning was influenced by the presence of cars. The straight, grid street pattern that had been built to favour streetcars and pedestrians gave way to more suburban designs that relied on access to a vehicle. In 2016, city census data showed that 72% of Edmontonians commute via cars.

With so more vehicles on the road, traffic and pedestrian safety is an even bigger issue than it was in 1933. In December 2020, Edmonton adopted its Safe Mobility Strategy to work toward its goal of zero serious traffic-related injuries or deaths. Recently, the city dropped its residential speed limits to 40km/hr as part of the strategy.

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 Alberta Indigenous Games begin on Aug. 12 and run until Aug. 19. The multi-sport event will bring Indigenous youth from across the province together for a week of competitive team sports, traditional games, special events, education, and cultural connection.
• Youth Day Edmonton celebrates its 10th anniversary with a free, all-ages event. On Aug. 14, attendees can have their faces painted, watch a movie and fireworks under the sky, win prizes, and enjoy the stylings of DJ Kwake.
• Renowned comedians David Spade, Nikki Glaser, and Chelsea Handler headline alongside stand-up and improv performers at the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival on Aug. 13 and 15.
• Local drag queens God and Agata Gogh are bringing fabulous back to brunch at Under Brunch: Summer Side Up Drag Brunch on Aug. 14.
• Self-defence classes return to Al Rashid Mosque, available exclusively to local Muslim women, starting Aug. 15.

Photo: (Robert Copithorne/Instagram)