The Pulse: June 15, 2022

In the early hours of a Saturday morning, dozens of hand-crafted mushrooms cropped up around Edmonton. Cardboard polypores rooted in the brick face of an Irish pub. Stained-glass amanitas dripped off tree branches along walking trails. Knitted toadstools and psychedelic polymer caps lay in long grass, waiting for collectors – or curious passersby – to discover them.

All of them were made, placed, and hunted as part of the underground holiday known as Game of Shrooms. Started in 2019 by artist Daniel "Attaboy" Seifert, the one-day event on June 11 now has thousands of artists worldwide creating original pieces and leaving clues on social media for seekers.

"You get to be both Santa Claus and the kid on Easter morning. You get to be the mischief-maker and that person looking for something," Seifert said, describing the out-of-the-ordinary mindset Game of Shrooms kindles in participants.

Seifert began crafting and hiding mushroom-themed artworks in 2016, as a way of coping with what he described as his first real depression. While travelling to meetings in L.A., he would have a "secret agenda" of dropping off one of his creations – and dropping hints about it online. "No matter how bad my day went, I would change the narrative of my day, so I got to have a little bit more of a sense of control. It was a form of therapy, I guess, art therapy."

The idea has now grown well beyond Seifert, with the day marked on calendars in Tasmania, Hong Kong, Canada, and beyond. The original spirit behind it, of creating a moment outside the day-to-day hustle, is still largely embraced by the artists, Seifert said. Some pieces would normally sell for thousands but are instead placed as freely as those made by first-timers.

"You're gifting it to a world not knowing if anybody's going to find it. It's an art of giving it to the world."

That act of giving was the inspiration behind another art hunt that captured the imagination of Edmontonians. In the doldrums of the pandemic, sculptor and metal artist Slavo Cech began producing works to be "hidden in plain sight" around the city.

• Despite heavy rainfall in the Edmonton area, EPCOR reported only minor flooding on June 14, including on the Quesnell Bridge caused by a blocked catch basin and on Yellowhead Trail due to construction. Some parts of southern Alberta are expecting up to 150 mm of rain by June 15, prompting Calgary to declare a state of local emergency on June 13, that city's rainiest day of the year so far.
• City council's urban planning committee decided to delay pursuing a bylaw to regulate the removal of trees on private property and instead asked for more information about how the City Plan's goal of planting two million trees by 2050 will be accomplished. A report with options — including a potential private tree bylaw — is due back early next year. The city's most recent estimates suggest that 56% of Edmonton's urban forest is located on private residential property.
• Tina Thomas has been named the new CEO of the Edmonton Community Foundation, effective August 2022. Thomas, who also shared the news on Twitter, spent 13 years with the Edmonton Public Library where she led the library's award-winning rebranding project. "We are fortunate to have Tina bring her experience and skills to the table to help shape ECF as we look toward a bright future of strengthening Edmonton," said ECF board chair Monelle Sturko. Thomas takes over for Martin Garber-Conrad, who retires this month after 17 years at the helm.
• Edmonton will celebrate Waste Collector Appreciation Day on June 17 to recognize curbside collectors, apartment and condo collectors, and staff at recycling depots and Eco Stations. The city suggests showing gratitude by attaching a "thank you" note to your bins, thanking collectors in person, and following Edmonton's waste collection safety tips.
• Matthew Wood (a.k.a. Creesian), Edmonton's Indigenous Artist-in-Residence, is holding a final showcase for his 2021-2022 residency from June 16-18 at the ATB Financial Arts Barns. The IDENTITY showcase will feature live DJs and interactive exhibitions involving Cree syllabics and finger drumming.
• The Alberta Basketball Association is hosting the International Basketball Federation's 3x3 basketball tournaments this summer. The women's and men's series will take place in Hawrelak Park in conjunction with the Edmonton Heritage Festival. Played on a half-court with one hoop and a 12-second possession time limit, 3x3 basketball is a faster alternative to traditional basketball.
• The province said it has now axed one-third of the 631,000 "unnecessary requirements" it identified in 2019 as part of its red tape reduction initiative, which the government claims will save Albertans "countless hours and more than $1.2 billion."
• The Alberta UCP's election committee has confirmed that a new leader will be elected on Oct. 6 following in-person and mail-in voting from Sept. 2 to Oct. 3. Eight candidates have entered the race so far, most recently Calgary-Shaw MLA Rebecca Schulz after she stepped down as minister of children's services.

On this day in 1914, the newly renovated Hotel Cecil was advertising itself as an inviting spot for "Edmonton's particular people" on the city's west end.

Modern-day Edmontonians might find a few surprising things in the ad. For one, Jasper Avenue at 104 Street is no longer anywhere near the city's west end. Secondly, the hotel's reputation in its final decades was anything but inviting.

But in its early days, the Hotel Cecil held itself out as an oasis of luxury in the young, growing city. Built in 1906, the brick-and-stone building was easily recognized by the double columns flanking its Jasper Avenue entrance. The hotel was run by Francois Lannic and Charles Belanger, although Belanger soon bought out his partner and became the main owner of the building.

The hotel was expanded in 1910 and again in 1914. By that time, it boasted 65 rooms, a writing room, and a 300-seat dining room that regularly hosted a live orchestra. Special occasions saw the hotel serve decadent meals of caviar, salmon, and venison. The hotel proved to be a popular spot for visitors to Edmonton, especially for workers coming to do land surveys of Alberta. Belanger's father had been a land surveyor, and it is said he understood the particular needs of the profession.

The years between the two world wars were difficult for the city as economic growth cooled. The Cecil saw its reputation begin to decline, a slide that would continue for several decades. The period after the Second World War did see some upswing as the hotel became a popular spot for newly arrived immigrants on their way to settling in Edmonton. But by the 1980s and '90s, the Cecil was seen as little more than an eyesore and a centre of crime, with a reputation for thefts and fights that often spilled out onto the street.

In the late 1990s, the city would invest millions in trying to revitalize 104 Street and encourage residential development. But the Cecil and its rowdy reputation were seen as a hurdle to that goal. Ultimately, years of neglect caught up to the building. In 2003, the Hotel Cecil was shut down due to numerous building code and health violations. A few months later, the building itself would be gone.

The loss of the Cecil is seen by many as the start of the modern 104 Street. The strip has changed significantly in the two decades after the hotel was torn down: new towers were built, specialty stores and restaurants opened, and the strip was the home for the Downtown Farmers' Market before it moved to its indoor digs on 97 Street. While development has cooled in recent years, it hasn't stopped. Early this year, city council approved a plan for a 40- to 45-storey tower integrated into the historic Horne Pitfield warehouse on 104 Street and 103 Avenue.

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.