The Pulse: Aug. 15, 2022

The birdwatching trend kindled by isolation gave people a much-needed distraction during the pandemic, created a wealth of data for researchers, and now has inspired a gallery full of craft art objects.

The Alberta Craft Council's Albirda: Put A Bird On It exhibition features more than 60 pieces from Alberta craft artists, celebrating the winged creatures that captured our imaginations and lifted our spirits during COVID. Originally conceived as a way to aid artists struggling with the loss of markets and revenue, the call for submissions drew interest well beyond the craft guild.

"We've never had a more successful response to a call for entry before. We had hundreds of applications," said Jenna Stanton, executive director of the Alberta Craft Council.

"During COVID, we noticed that there were a lot of people, our artists included, starting to follow the Birds of Alberta page on Facebook and getting more into birding. And so we put out a call for entry that didn't require anyone to be a member of the craft council with a really open theme. We didn't ask for artists' statements or anything like that. We wanted people to feel like they belonged at the craft council and could contribute to being part of an exhibition."

Stanton said the chosen submissions represent a wide range of media from diverse regions of the province. The exhibition runs until Oct. 29 in Edmonton, with an opening reception on Aug. 20. The gallery will also be offering complementary programming alongside the art displays, including guided birdwatching tours around the city.

• After more than 10 years of work, the Boyle Street community now has an inclusive neighbourhood playspace, which incorporates the seven sacred teachings of Indigenous knowledge into its design. "I'm grateful that we have reclamation of the land through these Indigenous parks, and I challenge all municipalities in Canada to adopt an Indigenous playspace in their communities," playground committee member Nicole Morin told CBC.
• While public-private partnerships are "fundamentally flawed" when it comes to public transportation, the P3 model is not the reason for the latest delay of the Valley Line Southeast LRT, Coun. Tim Cartmell told CBC. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi called for a comprehensive review of how the city pursues P3 projects after TransEd announced the discovery of cracks in several piers that will further delay the opening of the line, which is already two years late. Cartmell, who is a structural engineer by trade, said the delay is the result of a design mistake, not the form of the contract, and he disagreed with Sohi that a P3 restricts the city's oversight.
• Negotiations are slated to resume on Aug. 25 between GardaWorld and the union representing airport security screening officers, thus averting a possible strike at the Edmonton International Airport for now. The main issues are wages, pensions, and working conditions; if a deal can't be reached, the security screeners would be in a legal strike position starting Sept. 19.
• The Edmonton Police Service has launched a new campaign to hire 100 recruits in 2022. The new campaign is meant to emphasize that there is no ideal recruit, said Staff Sgt. Rocky Druar of the recruit selection unit, which reached out to stakeholders such as the University of Alberta, the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, the Africa Centre, and others for feedback.
• EPCOR will start adding orthophosphate to Edmonton's water in early 2023 to prevent lead from leaching into the supply. The addition of the odourless, colourless chemical was delayed for two years, in part because of the pandemic. About 1.6% of Edmonton homes have lead pipes, EPCOR says.
• The Edmonton Urban Farm celebrated its ninth Alberta Open Farm Days on the weekend, allowing Edmontonians to watch weed-eating goats in action, admire the honeybees, and see about 120 different food-producing plants. "It's really important that we rebuild that connection, so that people have an understanding of where their food comes from, how it gets to their plate and what we grow and make here," Jessie Radies, Explore Edmonton's director of strategic programs and initiatives, told Postmedia. The farm remains open to visitors on Saturdays until Oct. 8.

City council will meet on Monday with a continuation scheduled for Wednesday. A council services committee meeting and public hearing will take place on Tuesday.

Key items on the agenda include:

• Prairie Sky Gondola announced a Cree name for its project on Aug. 12, saying that âsowahonân — which translates to "crossing of the river" — was chosen in a traditional naming ceremony last April. Coun. Aaron Paquette was critical of the announcement over the weekend. "Today I witnessed a corporation take advantage of what is normally considered a sacred ceremony, a ceremony that many Indigenous people do not have access to due to the impacts of colonization, in the most cynical way possible and without certain permissions," he tweeted. "It is unsettling." Proposed land agreements between the City of Edmonton and Prairie Sky Gondola will be considered after executive committee heard from dozens of speakers last week about the project, many of whom spoke in opposition.
• The discussion about funding for the Healthy Streets Operation Centre will continue, with a motion on the floor that if passed would increase the Edmonton Police Service and Community Standards and Neighbourhoods Branch budgets by a combined $15 million over the next two years.
• A sanction hearing will be held following integrity commissioner Jamie Pytel's determination that Coun. Michael Janz violated council's code of conduct when he retweeted a tweet referring to police as "pigs" earlier this year. Janz posted an apology on Twitter about a month after the retweet. "I do not recommend sanction or further action with respect to the Complaints," Pytel wrote in her report. "In my view, this resolution is proportionate and appropriate."

As North America's largest and longest-running Fringe continues in our city, this week also offers a startup community happy hour, a night market, a story-centric dinner, and a Prairies-wide show-and-tell session.

• Aug. 15-21: Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival
• Aug. 17, 4:30pm: Community Happy Hour at Startup Edmonton
• Aug. 18, 7pm: Night Market with BOM YEG & Glass Bookshop at Latitude 53
• Aug. 18: Rig Hand Distillery & Pei Pei Chei Ow Collaboration Dinner for Alberta on the Plate
• Aug. 18: Great Prairies Pitch Marathon

Find even more listings in Taproot's weekly roundups.

Photo: In addition to 160+ theatre shows, the Fringe offers street performers and an outdoor stage. (Edmonton Fringe Theatre/Facebook)