The Pulse: Aug. 1, 2025

Workshop West Playwrights' Theatre will keep offering pay-what-you-will ticketing during its next all-Canadian season of theatre because its pilot run was such a smash, growing its audience by nearly 75%.

"It was a huge, huge success," artistic producer Heather Inglis told Taproot. "There are people who came to the theatre and said, 'I'm coming because you've offered this to the community.'"

In 2024, Workshop West decided to let its audience pay whatever they wanted for tickets to the five shows that made up its 2024/2025 season. Workshop West made two-and-a-half times its predicted revenue, though Inglis noted that the original projections were conservative. About 53% of attendees paid the suggested $40 for a ticket, 15% paid more than that, and 32% paid less. Those ticket sales resulted in an attendance increase of 74% compared to the 2023/2024 season.

Greater attendance is important to Workshop West's mandate to get Canadian theatre in front of audiences, Inglis said. "I would rather have somebody in a seat watching a Canadian play, being in community, contemplating what it means to be Canadian, laughing or crying or breathing with the suspense of a story in real time for $5, because that's better than an empty seat," Inglis said. "That's really what it's about: To make art alive."

Pay-what-you-can ticketing is growing in popularity at arts organizations in Edmonton. The Citadel Theatre and Thou Art Here Theatre now offer it to their audiences for select shows, and the Kaleido Family Arts Festival operates its annual event on a pay-what you-can basis for attendees. Workshop West uses the term "pay what you will" in its language, which Inglis said is an intentional choice.

"There's sort of a thoughtfulness," Inglis said. "I think (pay what you will) gives audiences an opportunity to contemplate the value of art in their lives and in their budget."

Workshop West is only the second theatre in Canada to offer all of its shows at a price determined by the audience. The Belfry Theatre, in Victoria, rolled out the model for its 2021/2022 season. Inglis said she and her team researched the model before implementing it and found that smaller theatres — Workshop West typically seats 70 to 90 — have more success with the model than larger ones. Plus, she said, her theatre takes risks.

"The development of new Canadian theatre is a risk right from the beginning," Inglis said. "In that climate, it becomes easier to make a choice like this … I was surprised at how interested people were in the initiative, and pleasantly surprised by the notion that something that is so far away from capitalism, as an impulse, could be successful."

Risks, she has found, can pay off for audience and revenue numbers, as well as artistic work itself. Workshop West selected Horseplay, by 25-year-old Kole Durnford, to close its latest season (the decision marked Durnford's first professional production). The result? Horseplay won the Outstanding Production of a Play at The Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards on July 14.

Workshop West plans to announce its 2025/2026 season soon. The season will again be ticketed to the audience at a pay-what-you-will price. In the meantime, the theatre's commissioned ticketing platform, tailored to pay-what-you-will, is something Inglis hopes others adopt.

• Edmonton-based development company Westrich Pacific held an open house on July 30 to share plans for a proposed 27-storey apartment building near the University of Alberta campus. The tower, planned for the corner of 87 Avenue and 117 Street, would include 285 residential units and retail space. Some Windsor Park residents voiced concerns about the building's height, potential shadow, traffic, parking, and the loss of current businesses located in the strip mall it would replace. A rezoning application will be heard by city council at a public hearing on Aug. 18.
• Edmonton mayoral candidate Andrew Knack opposes potential provincial legislation that would allow the Alberta government to remove bike lanes, arguing it infringes on municipal jurisdiction. This follows comments from Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen, who wants Edmonton and Calgary to remove bike lanes from major corridors, citing traffic congestion. Knack invited Dreeshen to experience Edmonton's cycling infrastructure firsthand.
• In his recent article, Postmedia columnist Keith Gerein highlighted a grassroots approach to revitalizing Edmonton's downtown through a co-operative real estate investment model. Former Edmonton mayor Don Iveson and developer Tegan Martin-Drysdale are leading a project to crowd-invest in the historic Alberta Block building, once home to CKUA Radio. The initiative allows individuals to buy shares in the property for as little as $10,000, giving them both ownership and a voice in its future.
• With Edmonton and much of northern and central Alberta under heat warnings, Alberta Wildfire officials are urging caution this long weekend, as the hot, dry conditions raise the wildfire risk. The hot weather increases both the risk of fires starting and the speed at which existing fires can spread, wildfire officials said. Campers are asked to minimize fire risks, keep campfires small and controlled, and fully extinguish them when done. As of July 31, there are 53 wildfires burning in Alberta, 11 of which are out of control. The City of Edmonton does not currently have a fire ban in place.
• A new Sticks & Stones documentary, The Secret Long Tree Society, which explores a project cultivating better futures by growing 1000-year-old trees, will premiere on CBC on Aug. 2 at 8pm and will be available on-demand at CBC Gem starting Aug. 1.
• Edmonton is a hub for exporting live horses to be slaughtered for raw consumption, specifically for "basashi," a Japanese dish that must be eaten within three days of slaughter, Postmedia reported. Sen. Don Plett has defended the practice, saying that horse meat is part of culinary traditions in 77 countries and that he personally inspected a horse shipment at the Edmonton International Airport to ensure humane treatment. Activists argue the exports are not about feeding the world, but rather about providing a luxury dish for wealthy people.
• A collision between a motorcycle and a sedan at 82 Street and 167 Avenue left a 25-year-old motorcyclist dead, marking Edmonton's 21st fatal collision of 2025. The Edmonton Police Service said the motorcyclist, travelling south on 82 Street, struck a car that was waiting to turn left around 5:50pm on July 30. The 40-year-old driver of the sedan was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Police believe speed was a factor in the crash. It was the seventh fatal motorcycle collision this year.
• Capital Power is seeking an opportunity to power a large-scale data centre at its Genesee Generating Station, 80 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, which now runs entirely on natural gas. CEO Avik Dey said the location is ideal, but the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) is not currently making enough electrical connection capacity available. The Alberta government aims to attract $100 billion in data centre investments over five years, but the AESO has placed a temporary limit on projects wanting to connect to the grid.
• An audit of Alberta medical clinics that charge membership fees suggests paying members receive more thorough care compared to non-members, with longer appointments. The province launched the audit in 2023 following concerns about clinics switching to membership models. The report reviewed 13 clinics and found that member clinics see substantially fewer patients than public clinics. While the audit found "no significant non-compliance," recommendations for the province include more regulation to address areas where insured and uninsured services overlap.
• Former Edmonton Oilers captain Jason Smith has been named the new head coach for the Edmonton Oil Kings. Smith brings NHL, WHL, and AHL coaching experience to the team. Oil Kings President and General Manager Kirt Hill said Smith is a proven leader and a great cultural fit for the team.

On this day in 1923, Alberta's premier was angry at the Edmonton Journal for financing and hosting a speaking tour. But despite the premier's anger, the speaker and their tour would eventually have a massive impact on Alberta's economy.

The 1920s were dire for grain farmers in Alberta. Following the First World War, the federal government established a mandatory wheat board that handled the sale of wheat, helping keep prices stable during the post-war recession. But when that board folded, in 1922, and sales were made to private buyers, grain prices plummeted. Bushels of wheat that were selling at $2.31 in 1919 dropped to 77 cents four years later — less than it cost farmers to grow the grain. With grain farming being Alberta's biggest industry at the time, there was immense pressure on the ruling United Farmers of Alberta party to find a solution.

It was in that environment that the Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald invited Aaron Sapiro, an American lawyer and labour activist, to provide a speaking tour of the Prairies. Sapiro had already gained a reputation for organizing farmer collectives in the United States. The newspapers invited and paid for him to come to lend support to the movement in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Sapirio spoke in Edmonton, Calgary, Lacombe, and Fort Macleod, as well as five locations in Saskatchewan. His speech was also broadcast on the radio and printed in full in the Calgary Herald. In it, he argued, "there is not a thing dealers do that farmers cannot do if properly organized".

Herbert Greenfield, Alberta's premier at the time, with the UFA, attacked the papers, accusing their executives of a "breach of faith" for hosting the tour. It wasn't that the UFA leadership was against the idea of a cooperative wheat board in Alberta — in fact, members of Greenfield's cabinet had travelled to the U.S. to talk with Sapiro before his speaking tour. But they favoured a more cautious approach than the quick timeline Sapiro encouraged.

Sapiro's speech nonetheless went ahead, and only added fuel to the demands of farmers and the UFA's membership, who wanted a solution before the 1923 harvest. Under this pressure, the government set up the Alberta Wheat Pool — a non-profit collective that farmers could join. Instead of negotiating prices with private grain dealers individually, the collective had more bargaining power, leading to higher prices for members. Alberta's wheat cooperative was the first in Canada, although Sapiro's speeches in Saskatchewan also led to a similar organization in that province shortly after.

As the Alberta Wheat Pool's membership grew, so did its power and influence. By the 1930s, the cooperative — along with its counterparts in Saskatchewan and Manitoba — had become some of the biggest businesses in Canada and held considerable of political power. The group also changed the very landscape of the province, erecting hundreds of grain elevators featuring their logo, a wheat kernel that become iconic for rural Alberta.

The Alberta Wheat Pool remained a force in the province's economy and politics for nearly 80 years. In 1998, it merged with the Manitoba wheat pool to form a new cooperative — Agricore. A few years later, it merged again and dropped its status as a cooperative, becoming a publicly traded company.

Sapiro's speaking series was a catalyst for it all. And while agriculture might not dominate Alberta's economy like the 1920s, it's still a massive industry. Today, farmers continue to face price uncertainty, now from the effects of a changing climate on their crops, and the tariff chaos with the U.S.

This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist Rev Recluse of Vintage Edmonton.

Here are some events happening this long weekend in the Edmonton area.

• Aug. 1: YEG Bike Coalition starting at 7:30am at Constable Ezio Faraone Park
• Aug. 1: Love Pro Wrestling 39: Time to Pretend starting at 7pm at Rec Room (South Common)
• Aug. 1-3: Blueberry Bluegrass Festival at Heritage Park Hall
• Aug. 2: Afternoon Sound Sessions on 124: Jenesia Band starting at 12pm at Remedy Cafe (124 Street)
• Aug. 2: Afternoon Sound Sessions on 124: Don Berner Big Band starting at 4pm at Helen Nolan Park
• Aug. 2: Save The 11 O'clock Number starting at 9pm at Grindstone Theatre
• Aug 2: ECAMP Curiosity Walking Tours — Ukrainian Ties at Central McDougall Park
• Aug. 2-4: Edmonton Heritage Festival at Borden Park

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Aug. 7-10: Edmonton Folk Music Festival at Gallagher Park
• Aug. 8-10: Cariwest Caribbean Arts Festival at Churchill Square
• Aug 14-24: Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.