Checking out the Edmonton Street Performer's Festival in Winston Churchill Square

One of the very cool benefits for me of working at the Citadel Theatre is that I right next door to Winston Churchill Square.  I knew the Square was busy in the summer, but until I was walking by it on an almost daily basis I didn't quite get the scope of it.  Last week, The Works was in full force and we even had some art in our lobby, and this week (starting last Friday, July 4th) The International Street Performers Festival is in full swing.  I took some time on Friday to walk around and check out the activity and it brought back for me, many memories of previous visits to the Festival.

Years ago (in the late 1980s), when I was in University I had a job just North of Downtown and I had a bus transfer right at Edmonton City Centre.  I would hop off the bus with my lunch, take a walk to the Square and enjoy whatever was going on.  My favorite week was the Street Performers Festival.  Coming from a smaller city I had never seen anything like it before.  I couldn't believe that I was able to see such performers, right there, and all it would cost me was my applause and what I could afford to toss in the hat at the end of the show. I loved watching the kids react and thought it was a fabulous way to introduce children especially to theatre.

The Festival has grown up a lot since those early days, but the spirit at the centre of it remains the same.  It's definitely about bringing unique performance art to everyone.  The price is the same for everyone - whatever you can afford - and that is fabulous!  Now there are Food Trucks and lovely shaded seating areas for those who want to enjoy the atmosphere nearby.  I really like the way they have the space laid out.  The Food trucks have their own lane and you can scoot over for a green onion cake or butter chicken or whatever else suits you and then head back for more performances in the square.  There are face painting stations and a special Kid's section complete with bouncy castles - perfect for the wee ones who might need to stretch their legs after sitting and watching.  On Friday, I took in a bit of two performance circles - varied in what they presented.  One was a trio of dancers who combined exceptional physicality with a brilliant sense of humour. The other was a juggling type of a performer who you could tell was an expert on engaging the audience and making them feel like they were an important part of his performance.

I've been back since the Opening to catch a glimpse here and there at lunch time of the shows on the square and to get a taste of my favorite festival fare! It's been perfect weather and it looks like it's going to hold for an absolutely wonderful week!  Check it out!

A Special Note: For those of you who think that this is a just-for-kids event, I would wager that you would be very impressed by the quality of the acts AND there are special Late Night events on July 11th and 12th at the Stanley Milner Library Theatre hosted by Trevor Schmidt with music by Darrin Hagen.  Tickets are required for this and are available in advance.  This show is specifically for the grown-ups and starts at 11:11 p.m. both nights!

A Little Sword Play in the Square... A Nice YEG Summer Evening...

Last night we finally made it to the Wednesday Night Light Saber class at Sir Winston Churchill Square.  My good friend Janine has been teaching these classes all summer long on Wednesday nights from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. I have been meaning to take the boys but various conflicts in my schedule meant that last night was the first time we could make it out.  It was so much fun.  Gibson was really the push for it as I mentioned it to him earlier in the summer and he has been saying "Can we go this week?" and "Is it Wednesday? The Light Saber Day?" a lot over the past few weeks. I was so glad we went.  The class is nicely structured.  They split off the younger kids to do simpler activities (the little ones last about 45 minutes) and then split the people who have been coming a lot over the summer and the 'newbies' so that it's easy to meet the levels. I liked that everyone had to stretch first, then a basic pattern of 'positions' was taught and reviewed. You got the sense that this was not just playing around with Star Wars stuff, but that they were actually learning real sword play moves. I was also pleased with how serious my boys took it.  I know they both have a ways to go in terms of form and structure, but they both approached it like a class and they seemed to work harder.  The force does seem a little stronger in Gibson, however, but Oliver is so close to teenager that the attitude inherent seeped in a bit. After the basic patterns, there was a little routine that they paired up to practice and make better. I loved it when they added the force.  While the newbie practiced, the more experienced group was taught some more challenging moves to add to their routine.  I thought that was a great way to address the multiple needs of the group. We plan to go back, this time with lots of water as I didn't even think about it.  It was a great workout - not just swinging a toy around - they were jumping and lunging and the moves are very precise so both boys were very sweaty at the end.

Nice. Oh, and did I mention, FREE? Another great way to spend a summer evening in YEG!

Strangely Drained...

I've been without an active project for about 3 weeks now and I am feeling really punchy about it.  I have filled my time with reading and cleaning and working out, but without a structured project I feel at wit's end. I do have projects coming up and some that I am somewhat involved in (painting in September, a bit of dramaturgy for a friend's Fringe show [more on that in a later post], overdue writing projects, etc...), but now in the heat of summer with kids home and all that I feel a bit trapped and bored. I have read many books over the last few weeks.  A bit of junk food reading, some non-fiction, some police procedurals, some young adult fantasy stuff and all that has been good.  I just don't function well when not busy.  That is not to say I want people to load me up with their tasks (no phone calls, please).  There is something that happens when you are chained to the house because of kids (it is summertime and they are home) and so you can't do things you want to do and even when you do some of the stuff you want to get done at home (cleaning and organizing and all that kind of crap) it is not necessarily fulfilling and you are quite likely to spend 2 hours cleaning a room and you can find it messed up again later that same day.  It happens in my house... grumble.

This weekend we went to a family reunion. I had a nice visit with some of the family - those that stuck around to visit. Some people left 1/2 an hour after we got there and came back just in time for supper when we had to leave about 1/2 an hour after that - what's up with that? The kids had a great time with their cousins and that was what counted.  Those that stayed to visit were pleasant to catch up with.  I don't often get to this one because if I am committed to Fringe stuff it is a challenge for me to go too.  My hip is killing me and I think the 6+ hours of driving had something to do with that, but whatever... grumble.

So tomorrow, to get out of the house and feel productive, I will work a casino.  Hi Ho, the Glamorous Life!

I should write more.  I technically have the time.  I should work out more (as soon as my hip stops killing me - I have actually been good about this the last two weeks). I should clean/sort out more of the house (I am working on it).  But I really need a project!

Lazy Days of Summer...

Yesterday I took the boys to the Spray park at Glengarry. I have to keep them doing things or else they invade each other's territory and the punches and tears start. It's not constant, and in fact I tend to get several hours of good play before an altercation, but when it does happen it always seems to be at a critical point in my work. I wonder, do these kids have special radar for when the absolute worst time to fight would be?

Anyhow, the spray park was great and even tempered the rest of the day as there were very few moments of high drama for the rest of the day. Nothing like sun and water to sort out a child's day! We are going to hit a few more spray parks this week. I am mixing it up but going to different ones. They long to go back to West Ed, but a couple of things stop me from doing that. First, the outrageous price and second, the thought of my butt in a swimsuit in public. Maybe after I lose about 50 lbs... but even then it would still be so very, very expensive for just a couple of hours of fun. They would have stayed longer yesterday and it was all free so why waste the money?

I have put away the LOST DVDs until Season 6 comes out. I re-watched all the seasons and even the special features and the deleted scenes and all that but now it is time for a rest. I need to be reading more. Finished up a book yesterday and started a new one. I also need to be writing. Hard with the distractions of summer...

The Sun Has Come out...

This week we were much more successful weather-wise and soccer-wise. If all goes well we will have our last day of soccer tomorrow. It took Gibson 2 days to settle in and today he went to the class with no issues. He had more challenges in the playground afterwards when his sand castle got stepped on and he banged his head twice on the slide. He is also going through a 'I want to play, but I want the rules to favour me' phase which is really annoying. After soccer we went to see Ice Age 3: The Age of the Dinosaurs. It was hot and the movie theatre was air conditioned. Lovely.

This weekend Mark and I went to The Lion King at the Jubilee. It is part of the Broadway Across Canada package. This was the show that made me most want to buy this season. It was wonderful. Conceptually it was so complete. The puppetry and the set and the lighting were amazing. Some mic balance issues and the young Simba was occasionally robotic, but he was only 11, what can you do?

School's Out... Now What?

Oliver finished up on Friday and Gibson had his last day of daycare on Thursday. They both came home with memory books that I will put away in their treasure boxes and then I will cull the rest of the detritus from the bottom of their backpacks. Crafts are lovely in the moment, but I don't want to be carting around 5 billion pastel crayon, macaroni pictures! The sugar cube pyramid will stay but only as long as it stays secure from vermin. Anyhow, I feel a paper purge coming on! I think they both had good years. The Division I reporting system is a bit annoying. If the chart is to be believed then the Descriptor "Work meets acceptable standard" is only 50-64% or a C. If the "Work exceeds the acceptable standard" it is equivalent to a 65-79% or a B. This doesn't make much sense to me and I think that it is the fault of the chart. I will be talking to the teachers next year about this and where I expect Oliver to be. If he is achieving below an A level I will be ticked off. We are talking about a kid who could read at age 4.

A few hours this morning reassured me that my plans for a YMCA Camp for both boys next week is a good thing. I have also registered them in soccer for the following two weeks, but those are shorter, 1 hour a day, 4 day camps. I like the City Soccer camps because they provide for a guaranteed 2 hours of activity for each boy, separate from each other and the only cost $10 a week. So I get 32 hours of activity for $40 (it is actually 64 hours, because while one boy is in the camp the other is playing in the park, but I have to watch whichever boy is in the park). Anyhow, it suits me, because the boys get some structured play with kids other than themselves but they don't have to be away for the whole day. They need some break over the summer, right? Oliver's YMCA camp is a Swim Combo, so I hope they push him a little with that. He'd rather just play and goof off in the water and I want him to gain some skills. I wish there were more short camps for the older kids. Most of the city camps are full day. I can get Gibson into some half day camps but you really have to hunt the brochure for convenient ones. July is pretty much worked out and I will take some time later to look into August.

Summer Dazed

Been going to the playground with the kids for the last little while. Oliver has been in City Playground Camps (Soccer, Super Tots and Short Sports) so Gibson and I have mostly hung out at the nearby playgrounds or investigated air-conditioned malls when necessary. One of the boys from Oliver's Kindergarten class is in his soccer camp so they have been having a great time while I visited with the other mom. Tonight we tired a movie but interruptions including a call for help from my brother regarding baby-sitting, an "accident" a la Gibson and Oliver being "scared" of the movie have precipitated an early retreat. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted?