Arts Roundup
April 2, 2026

Music

• Singer-songwriter Mariel Buckley won the JUNO Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year for Strange Trip Ahead, while Pro Coro Canada and Axios Men's Ensemble earned their first-ever JUNO win, taking Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble) for Benedict Sheehan: Ukrainian War Requiem. Here's the full list of winners.
• The Aviary is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a three-night event featuring performances by Major Love, Calgary's Sun Glaciers, and Arlo Maverick from April 2 to 4. Owner Philip Muz told Fish Griwkowsky about the highs and lows of running the venue. "We've gone through an astonishing number of hoops to continue this unique special event space."
• Toronto R&B artist Daniel Caesar announced a Canadian summer tour, including a stop at Rogers Place on Aug. 13.

Visual arts

• AJA Louden launched a free Piney P sticker library at the Kenilworth Community League, part of the Good Neighbour Arts Network supported by the Edmonton Arts Council. He's one of nine artists participating in the Hello Neighbour Exhibition in east Edmonton.
• Michael Saavedra has launched My Home Reclaimed, a brand blending his Cree and Chilean heritage through beadwork and apparel. "Reclamation is about taking things that were pushed aside or taken from us and putting them back where they belong in everyday life," Saavedra said.
• The Indigenous Empowerment Fashion Collective hosted the second Edmonton Indigenous Fashion Week. Jamie Medicine Crane, a Blackfoot designer and vice-president of the collective, spoke to CBC's Edmonton AM about why it's important to centre Indigenous artists.
• Kaden Ave Communications commissioned a mural based on Heated Rivalry from Calgary artist Rachel Lyon.

Theatre and dance

• Jim Guedo chose A Chorus Line for his final show as an associate professor in theatre arts at MacEwan University. He has acted as chair and coordinator of the program throughout the last 15 years and helped convert the diploma program into a full degree. The production featured performances from 17 talented up-and-comers under Guedo's watchful eye, wrote Liz Nicholls, calling it "a landmark show for a landmark era in Edmonton theatre."
• Ramneek Singh spoke to Liz Nicholls about his new one-man show, Butter Chicken Odyssey, which got its first staged reading at the Springboards New Play Festival from Workshop West Playwrights' Theatre.
• The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is once again offering sponsorship packages for its portable toilets. "This year you'll also have the opportunity to decorate your humble commode so any trip to one of Fringe's finest facilities can be a truly … immersive experience," the Fringe posted.
• Calgary actor Emily Howard, who plays Princess Diana in Citadel Theatre's production of Casey & Diana, spoke to CKUA about the production. It's running from April 4 to 26.
• The University of Alberta's drama department is accepting applications until April 26 for the 2026 Lee Playwright in Residence.
• Andrew MacDonald-Smith, artistic director of Teatro Live!, joined CKUA to discuss receiving a 2025 Edmonton Artist's Trust Fund Award, presented by the Edmonton Arts Council and the Edmonton Community Foundation.
• Rising Sun Theatre, Edmonton's theatre troupe for artists with cognitive disabilities, is almost halfway to its fundraising goal. The Grindstone Comedy Festival returns from July 2 to 12. Lineup details have yet to be announced.

Books and publishing

• Paper Birch Books owners Benjamin Hertwig and Céline Chuang received a $500 donation to their Good Neighbour Fund, which goes towards coffee, books, and treats for low-income and unhoused people in the area near The Piazza in Little Italy. "We had one guy I'm thinking of who was living rough on the street, and he came in and saw our Greek and Roman classics section, and he just started quoting Horace to us, and other Roman poets," Hertwig told CBC Edmonton's Radio Active. "He couldn't afford a book, but this man needs a book because this is a person who loves books, who loves literature, so why shouldn't he have a book?"
• Linda Hoang has published a children's book called Miracle Baby, You're Finally Here!, inspired by her years-long experience with infertility. A book launch takes place at Audreys Books on April 12.
• Canada Reads finalist Billy-Ray Belcourt, who is now based in Vancouver, said he wrote what would become A Minor Chorus in cafés around Edmonton. "When I visit, I sometimes go out of my way to drive past some of these cafés. I don't go in, perhaps because the nostalgia is enough." Canada Reads runs from April 13 to 16.
• The Edmonton Public Library named The Handmaid's Tale as readers' favourite banned book after more than 2,700 votes in its intellectual freedom bracket competition.
• Birth Story by Elisabeth Belliveau was the top-selling non-fiction book on the Edmonton bestseller list from the Book Publishers Association of Alberta.

Screen industries

• Edmonton Screen congratulated two Edmonton-produced series for receiving Rockie Award nominations at the 2026 Banff World Media Festival: Sticks and Stones for its work on CBC On Design and Catapult Pictures for its docuseries Crip Trip.
• The National Film Board of Canada is presenting a special premiere of Foster Child, a 1987 documentary by Gil Cardinal with new nêhiyawêwin (Cree language) subtitles, at the Dreamspeakers International Film Festival on April 18. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Elders Jerry and Jo-Ann Saddleback and subtitle editor Conor McNally.
• Edmonton actress Jenny Angus, who has Down syndrome, made her big-screen debut in the 2026 romance film Reminders of Him after landing the role through a Zoom audition.

More headlines

• Windsor Park Community League is nearing the end of a fundraising push connected to the designation of its park as a municipal historic resource, aligning with upcoming city policy that aims to widen the definition of heritage. The league's North Park enhancement committee launched the Love Our Park campaign on Valentine's Day, and donations quickly brought it close to its target of $53,000. "We just kind of held our breath, and I had no doubt that we would raise the money, but I didn't think we'd get it in a month," committee chair Elaine Solez told Taproot.
• Sensory Canada is hosting an inclusive arts festival at the Bison Lodge on April 10 and 11, supporting Autism Edmonton, the Edmonton Association of the Deaf, AdaptAbilities, and the Braille Tone Music Society. April 10 features the Sensory Gala, while April 11 is the Sensory Festival. Both days include sensory-friendly environments, ASL interpretation, tactile art, and live performances.
• Applications are open until April 24 to be Stony Plain's first artist laureate.

Happenings

Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:

• April 2: Kathleen Edwards starting at 8pm at Winspear Centre
• April 3: The Aviary's 10 Year Anniversary: Friday Night show starting at 6:30pm at The Aviary
• April 3: The Prairie Improv Federation: Royal Bumble starting at 7pm at Grindstone Studio
• April 3: Good Friday with Pro Coro Canada starting at 7:30pm at All Saints Anglican Cathedral
• April 3-4: The Downtown Defrost at Churchill Square
• April 4: The Aviary's 10 Year Anniversary: Saturday Night Show starting at 5:30pm at The Aviary
• April 4: Rum Ragged starting at 7:30pm at Maclab Centre for the Performing Arts
• April 5: Soul Speak starting at 7pm at Boa and Hare
• April 6: Rough Cut Comedy - Weekly Comedy Showcase! starting at 8:30pm at River City Revival House
• April 7: Thoughtful Tuesday - Inside the Manosphere: Watch Party and Discussion starting at 7pm at Earth's Refillery Coop
• April 7: Poetography starting at 7pm at ArtsHub Creative Studios
• April 7: North Side: Marilyn Quaedvlieg Opening Reception starting at 7pm at The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• April 12: Icons of Horror: A Drag Showcase at The Dive Bar
• April 15-19: Dreamspeakers International Film Festival
• April 17: RavenWood Music Club: ØStella at Salisbury Greenhouse (Sherwood Park)

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

Correction: This file has been updated to indicate that the lineup for this year's Grindstone Comedy Festival has not yet been released. The previous version listed last year's headliners.