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ICON RICK ARNDT’S PROFOUND DESIGN INFLUENCE ON THE CITY
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CONTENTS
28 18
24 FEATURES
18
24
28
THE ARCHITECT Rick Arndt applies his old-school approach to modern design throughout his nearly 50-year career.
MID-CENTURY MELTDOWN
THERE GOES THE NEIGHBOURHOOD A neighbourhood redesign invigorates the area next to Commonwealth Stadium.
As each heritage home falls, Edmonton loses a piece of its soul.
by ELIZA BARLOW
by MICHAEL GANLEY
WO RD S & P I C T URES #YEG AND CONVERSATION PIECE A monumental achievement for downtown Edmonton, as Bob and Doug take their seats.
by STEVEN SANDOR
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DETOURS GET QUACKING There’s an all-natural way to rid your yard of slugs, and it’s really taking off. Plus, did you know there are thousands of feral cats in our city?
16
BEST IN BREW Our listing of the winners from the third annual Alberta Beer Awards.
ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPHY COLIN WAY
COMING IN JUNE OUR SECOND ANNUAL INNOVATION ISSUE: WE TAKE A LOOK AT MEDICAL ADVANCES, FOOD OF THE FUTURE AND THE EDMONTON-CALGARY INNOVATION CORRIDOR. 10 avenue M A Y. 20
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Q+A VISIT ART HOMES IN: SOUTH EDMONTON Greenwood at Orchards Laurel Green Maple Crest SOUTHWEST EDMONTON Arbours of Keswick Ridgecrest at Glenridding Ravine WEST EDMONTON Woodhaven Edgemont NORTH EDMONTON Village at Griesbach
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QUESTION & ANSWER WITH ART HOMES WE ASKED OWNER ARMAN PANDHER WHY HE’S ONE OF YEG’S FASTEST GROWING HOME BUILDERS
FAMILY BUILDERS ARMAN, NEETU & NIRO
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“To sum it up. Do your research, talk to builders, ask questions, look at reviews, talk to existing clients and make your decision, we did. And if we were to do it again we’d land at the same builder, ART Homes.”
COMMITMENT TODETAILS DETAILS COMMITMENT TO
What makes makes ART ART Homes Homes so so special special is is the the attention attention to to detail detail in in their their home home What designs, quality of materials, materials, construction construction and and customer customer experience, experience, it’s it’s designs, quality of something Arman learned learned as as aa small something Arman small builder builder and and maintains maintains to to this this day. day. From From the the large large open open concept concept floorplans, floorplans, to to the the thoughtful thoughtful accents accents and andcustomization, customization, it’s it’s evident evident he’s he’s aa builder builder who who cares. cares. Arman Arman even even names names home home models models after after important people in in his important people his life; life; the the Neetu Neetu and and Niro Niro in in Greenwood Greenwood at at Orchards Orchards are are named for his his wife wifeand andson sonpictured picturedabove. above. named for DESIGN CENTRE
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kelsey Siemens works at Rohit Land Development, She does Marketing for Urban and Suburban Communities and Builders.
AV E N U E E D M O N T O N . C O M
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EDITOR’S NOTE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL SWANSON
CLEAN HANDS, FULL HEARTS, CAN’T LOSE It’s not the first time I’ve mentioned it in this space, but I spend a significant amount of time volunteering with youth sports. I’ve been a youth basketball coach for the past couple of years, and I’ve been an assistant coach with my son’s rep baseball team. This past autumn, I arrived to a west-end school gym to meet my U13 players for the coming season. It was, to put it frankly, a scary moment. Only two members of the team — including the one who was related to me — had played organized basketball before. At the end of our first practice, the parent of the other kid who had previous league experience told me that they were going to try and find another team. We had to go through the basics. But, the kids showed up for every practice. Every game. Even when we got blown out in our first couple of games, they didn’t break faith. There was something I recognized fairly early on, despite their lack of experience: The kids were willing to work their tails off, to use sporting vernacular. They started making smart passes. They started moving the ball. The number of times they gave the ball away went down. By Christmas, we were winning more games than we were losing. By the spring, we weren’t losing at all. Kids who struggled to make passes in the fall were firing the ball around the court by the time the playoffs rolled around. And, when the kids lined up to get their divisional gold medals at the end of the season, I told them that each one of them played a vital part in getting to the championship. Not because it was lip service, but because it was absolutely true. These kids, and the families who supported them, who brought them to Monday night practices on -20 nights, who got up early on Saturday mornings for games — they’re examples of the kind of resilience Edmontonians show when the odds aren’t in their favour. Yes, many storefronts are shut down and many of us are isolated at home as we weather the COVID-19 storm. But I believe that when we come out at the other end of this, we’ll be
collectively stronger. We will have persevered. It is why we need to support local business and charities as much as we can during the crisis. The more we do to help them during these times of need, the better off this city will be when we’re allowed to get close to each other again. We’re in this together. And that’s why this magazine is still getting into your hands. We think there’s a lot in Edmonton that is still worth celebrating. And, judging by the strong reader reaction to our April Best Dressed issue and to the unveiling of the SCTV monument in late March (see p. 42 for more on that), we know that our Avenue family is still deeply connected to our city. That’s why we’re looking at the city’s architecture and design in this issue, and looking forward to city-changing projects like the Stadium Yards (p. 28). We’re also looking forward to a full slate of issues through the summer. We can all buck the odds, just like my U13 Northwest Basketball kids did. And, yes, I still owe them all a heck of a victory party. The pizza’s on me when we can all get together again.
RANDOM THOUGHT
Have a great story about how you or your company or charity is coping with COVID-19? Tell us at supportlocal@odvodpublishing.com
Steven Sandor Editor steve@odvodpublishing.com AvenueEdmonton.com
13
CONTRIBUTORS
Paul Swanson @paul_swanson_
Paul Swanson is an Edmonton photographer who wrote this bio six days into the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown — are we all out of our houses yet? He sure hopes so. He’s worked for editorial and commercial clients throughout the country but still struggles to write a good bio.
Michael Ganley @MichaelBGanley
Michael Ganley is a writer and communications professional living in Edmonton. He was the editor of Alberta Venture magazine from 2011 to 2017. Prior to that, he was an editor at Up Here Publishing in Yellowknife. Going back even further, he had a career as a lawyer and was, for one year, an English teacher at an all-girls Catholic high school in Kingston, Jamaica.
The premium Charcuterie experience for your special event 780-907-0741 @grazingtablesyeg
Markwell Lyon @manekimarko
Markwell Lyon is a freelance journalist who likes writing about the outdoors, wildlife and conservation. A graduate of MacEwan’s Communications program, he now works and lives in Boyle Street with his indoor cat, Isabelle.
Colin Way
@colinwayphoto
Photographer Colin Way has been commercially shooting in Calgary for over 15 years. Since graduating from ACAD, he has shot for a varied client list including The New York Times, Travel Alberta, Sportsnet and Canadian House & Home. His work has been recognized in Communication Arts, Applied Arts and at the Alberta Magazine Awards.
14 avenue M A Y. 2 0
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‘ YO U D O N ' T H AV E A S L U G P R O B L E M , YO U H AV E A D U C K D E F I C I E N C Y.’
C ITY
S LUG S U N LI M ITE D
LAST YEAR, our flower patch was so infested with slugs that sunflowers were cut down at their bases and hollyhocks were riddled with what resembled bullet holes. Pesticides were out of the question — bad for beneficial insects, kids and pets. We considered beer traps, but still worried about damaging insect populations. The past few years have been especially challenging as increased rainfall creates an ideal habitat for the land molluscs. Most slugs in Alberta are invasive species from other parts of the world, says University of Alberta researcher Lien Luong, so their natural enemies are not usually found here. “On top of that, they are hardier like a weed and more likely to establish,” says Luong. A slug can eat up to 40 per cent of its weight in a day. In Europe, there are nematodes — parasites that naturally kill 16 avenue M A Y. 2 0
slugs — available on the market as a biological control agent that does not affect any other organisms except slugs. Luong is actively working on finding something similar in our province, having surveyed 2,000 slugs for the solution last year — and the results are promising. But our solution came from Maryann Borch of Good Note Community Farm after a late-night search on social media revealed an underground environmental movement — slug-eating ducks. Or, rather, just ducks — as all ducks eat slugs. Her ducks have gone to several city homes where they happily devoured pesticide-free slugs. I expressed concern about the liability as City bylaws do not allow ducks to be housed even temporarily in an urban yard. And if, a complaint is lodged, can the City can issue a fine?
“Be the change!” she said with enthusiasm. And, within days, there was a noticeable change in the form of only a few visible slugs, a lack of slime trails on sidewalks and two engorged ducks ready to go home. Kazimir Haykowsky, owner of Spruce Permaculture, also used ducks to control the slugs in one of his vegetable patches. In other parts of the world, duck rentals are common practice, and especially popular across Europe. “I think it is something the city should consider allowing, in alignment with the new urban hens program,” says Haykowsky. “As is said in permaculture: ‘You don't have a slug problem, you have a duck deficiency.’ Every element in a system — even a slug — has a beneficial partner that turns it into a resource for the whole system.” In the meantime, there are other
methods that can naturally cut back on slugs including hand-picking towards the evening, removing leaf litter from around plants and cleaning up old pieces of wood that provide sanctuaries for slugs. Wool, egg shells and copper are all said to be difficult for slugs to crawl across, though the effectiveness is highly variable. In the spring, says Luong, you can turn over the soil so that you expose their eggs and the young slugs to predators and damaging UV rays. Most importantly, you want to maintain as much balance as possible by planting a diverse array of plants that are less appealing to slugs but still attract predatory beetles, frogs, salamanders, garter snakes and wild birds, which all can help to get rid of the land molluscs naturally. These predators are your best bet — next to ducks. — Caroline Barlott
illustration ANDREW BENSON
H U N G R Y D U C K S O F F E R A N AT U R A L A LT E R N AT I V E T O P E S T I C I D E S
63,000 F E R A L C AT S LIVE IN THE CIT Y
CIT Y
H E LLO, K IT TI E S T E N S O F T H O U S A N D S O F F E R A L C AT S CAN BE FOUND IN OUR CITY THE KITTENS were found under a doghouse in Mill Woods during a brutal December cold snap. Five had already frozen, and the other three weren’t far behind. “If we had gotten there one day later, I think they probably all would’ve been dead,” says Christine Koltun of Furget Me Not, the rescue she started out of her home in March 2018. While the year-old mother was likely a stray, her surviving kittens were feral, having lived their lives to that point without any human contact. These are just three of Edmonton’s estimated 63,000 feral cats, which survive in the city’s liminal edges, where weather, predation, disease and malnourishment
are constant realities. Though numerous, feral cats are experts at not being seen, avoiding human interaction while taking advantage of the shelter, food and water that can be found in cities. As social animals that easily interbreed with strays and free-roaming housecats, they form colonies ranging from a few individuals to several dozen. In Edmonton, these colonies are peppered throughout the river valley, in industrial parks and in undeveloped pockets of residential areas. Rescues like Furget Me Not provide medical treatment and sterilization with a possibility of rehabilitation and, in some cases, even adoption. In two years, Koltun
estimates she’s adopted out some 800 cats and kittens — but only a small percentage of them were feral. Feral kittens can be adopted after a socialization process, which acclimates them to humans, though this becomes difficult after four months and impossible after six months of age. Even for the youngest kittens, socialization can be lethally stressful. “Sometimes even at seven or eight weeks,” Koltun says, “they just can’t get past that mindset that humans are the enemy.” Edmonton has adopted a Public Trap Neuter Return (PTNR) strategy to manage its feral cats. Those cats captured by residents within city limits can be sterilized at the Animal Care and Control
Centre before being returned to the outdoors. According to Animal Care Coordinator Tracy Bauder, the program is by appointment only, due to large quantities of cats being taken in, and the shelter’s limited capacity. On its website, the city provides some guidelines to help the residents spot the difference — and discourage them from misidentifying and bringing in owned, free-roaming cats. “Part of that move was to allow cats to find their way home on their own,” Bauder explains, noting that owned cats are 10 times more likely to return to their owners if left alone. As for feral cats, PTNR is generally considered the most humane and effective method currently available for managing their numbers. Unfortunately, PTNR doesn’t fix hunger, and sterilized cats still need to eat. That’s bad news for other animals, birds in particular. Researchers have struggled to quantify the damage that feral and free-roaming cats do to songbirds in Canada. But Environment Canada researcher Peter Blancher pegged the number anywhere between 100 and 350 million birds killed annually by cats in this country. Dale Gienow has seen the damage firsthand. The executive director and rescue
manager at Edmonton’s WILDNorth estimates that 80 per cent of the 3,000 animals his organization takes in each year are birds, many of them cat-catches. And those are just the ones that aren’t killed outright. Telltale signs include puncture wounds from claws and teeth, which can become infected. “On average, the prognosis is not good,” Gienow says. “Most succumb to their injuries, and then it’s a matter of providing humane euthanasia when they come in.” The City continues to work on possible solutions to its cat overpopulation problem. Stronger bylaws, higher intensity PTNR and expanded assistance programs are all on the table and have proven successful in other cities. But such changes take time and resources to implement. In the meantime, we may need to rethink our cavalier attitude toward cats. Few owners would allow their dogs to roam free and unsupervised outdoors, especially given the fines they could face and the harm that could befall their pet. “We know this is a problem we face and we want to take steps to address it,” Bauder says. “But what’s most important is encouraging responsible pet ownership.” — Markwell Lyon AvenueEdmonton.com
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ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN
T HE MODERN MAN RICK ARNDT’S CAREER IS A T E S TA M E N T T O GOOD DESIGN
BY MICHAEL GANLEY
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PHOTOGRAPHY COLIN WAY
ARCHITECT Rick Arndt, MRAIC of Urbis Infill Homes + BUILDER Urbis Infill Homes INTERIOR DESIGN Urbis Infill Homes in collaboration w/Melanie Marshall of MSquared Design Group + CABINETRY & MILLWORK Crestview Cabinets Ltd. KITCHEN DESIGN Barb MacLaren of MSB Consultants + LIGHTING DESIGN & SUPPLY Nick-Cole Fleshman of Vivid Concepts Inc. FURNITURE Restoration Hardware, Cottswood Interiors, West Elm, Gresham House Furniture and Nuevo Living + FLOORING & WALL TILE Paramount Flooring ARTWORK Douglas Udell Gallery and Caldwell Snyder
R
ick Arndt loves to draw. Even after almost 50 years as a student and practitioner of architecture, having been involved in marquee projects like the Art Gallery of Alberta, he still likes to sit down with paper and pencil and sketch designs. “Architecture is art,” he says with youthful enthusiasm. “Being able to draw by hand is important because I think as I draw.”
While clients describe what they want their new homes to look like, he’ll sketch floor plans, revising as they talk. In a profession now dominated by computer-aided design, Arndt is a bit of a throwback. “There are lots of days I wish I could design on a computer because you can project a 3D visualization for clients,” he says, “but I still enjoy and believe in my old-school way.” AvenueEdmonton.com
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“ I T D O E S N ’ T C O S T A N Y M O R E M O N E Y, SO WHY CAN’T WE DO GOOD DESIGN?” — RICK ARNDT
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The design of the home is crucial, and the smallest details are what make it special. Arndt’s homes are low-profile, not raised, to fit better among the surrounding home. Decks are just two steps up, closer to the yards’ ground planes, negating the need for a guard railing and leaving more open space. He articulates the home’s footprint based on the yard and incorporates existing trees, which add character to the finished product. Deep, wide window wells allow more light penetration into the basement and create a more welcoming in-ground environment. His comprehensive take goes back to his roots, where he learned to blend urban planning, landscape design and architecture. “We create amazing foregrounds with landscape design to enhance the architecture through careful selection of plant materials and lighting,” he says. Arndt is 64, short and energetic with a machine-gun laugh. He’s retired from the large architectural firm he founded, but he’s not gone quietly. He continues to design and build new homes with two of
his kids, works on volunteer projects and advocates for good design. “It doesn’t cost any more money, so why can’t we do good design?” Arndt was born and raised in Edmonton. His parents, he says, were “blue collar.” Encouraged by a teacher at Harry Ainlay High School, he found his passion for drafting and architecture and began sketching. In 1973, soon after graduating from Ainlay, Arndt walked into the offices of Edmonton’s pre-eminent architect, Gene Dub, who had just won the competition to design the Legislature grounds. Dub hired him on the spot, and Arndt worked for Dub every summer while completing his university education. First, he studied industrial design, landscape design and urban planning at the University of Alberta. “They all relate to one another,” he says of his diverse studies. “They all need to be operating in concert.” He continued his education at the University of Manitoba’s faculty of architecture for one year until a professor suggested he get more design experience and helped him
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F I V E T H I N G S R I C K S AY S THE CITY OF EDMONTON SHOULD DO:
1 . I t should not be in the develop-
ment business. “They have a huge amount of residential land in their portfolio: Blatchford, Rossdale, Northlands. Sell those lands to developers and let them come in and develop it.”
2. R un more competitions for the
design of public buildings like fire halls, libraries and schools.
3. C ontinue to support laneway
housing. It increases density, brings income to homeowners and increases safety by getting more “eyes on the laneways, like in Vancouver, where they activate the laneways into a second street.”
4. S upport the “missing middle,”
low-rise, medium density infill housing such as four-storey walk-ups that an inner city needs to raise density. He acknowledges that this is a tough one for neighbours to accept, because “it really changes the scale of the neighbourhood.”
5. C reate better connections to the
river valley, including a gondola from Old Strathcona to downtown and the High Line over the High Level Bridge, and provide more outlooks along the river edge pathways. “These are the kinds of things we need to get behind.”
get into UCLA, where he studied under architectural greats like Charles Moore, Barton Myers and Frank Gehry. “They were teaching us ways of thinking about sculpture and art,” Arndt says. “Gehry was just in the infancy of his career, but he’d already built his chainlink home in Santa Monica.” You can see Gehry’s influence in the sinuous curves of the Art Gallery of Alberta, for which Arndt spent eight years as the volunteer project director. He returned to Edmonton every summer to work with Dub, eventually becoming his partner. The firm won the competition to design a new city hall in 1982, but the economic slowdown delayed its build. When the project came back in the early ’90s, Dub led part of the company to complete it. Once it was complete, Arndt formed his own firm, eventually taking on Joe Tkalcic and Brian Bengert as partners and growing it to 65 employees. He continued to design custom homes, but the partnership grew to include civic design in their work. In one of his many award-winning projects 22 avenue M A Y. 2 0
from this period, he designed the Courtyard Block, at the corner of Jasper Avenue and 112th Street. It was the city’s first “inverted commercial retail development,” meaning the retail units were street fronted, with parking in the rear. “That broke the standard commercial development rules that were out there to that point,” he says. “Now everyone does it.” Arndt retired from Arndt, Tkalcic, Bengert in 2014, and took six months off. After, he continued to lead the development of The Estates at Waters Edge, a 50-acre master-planned community on the north shore of Lac Ste. Anne. He says about 80 per cent of its 133 lots are now developed. He also founded a new company, Urbis Infill Homes, with his son, who manages the company, and was eventually joined by his daughter, also an architect. Urbis’s focus and passion is infill homes, those neighbourhooddensifying projects that, in Edmonton at least, have come with their share of controversy. Arndt remembers the race that started in 2013 when the City first allowed 50-foot lots to be subdi-
vided into two 25s and a pair of “skinny homes” to go up. Arndt says two things contributed to the backlash: Poor communication and a lack of respect. “If you communicate with your neighbours, meet with them before you go in the ground … things go much better,” he says. Arndt says infill has brought life and energy to many central neighbourhoods like Ritchie, Bonnie Doon, Holyrood and Strathearn. It means more people to support businesses, more kids to attend local schools and, in most cases, increased nearby property values. His passion for residential design continues unabated, as does the pleasure he takes from sitting with a client, pencil in hand. He enjoys the back-and-forth conversation about what the client wants, and he sketches vision into reality. “There’s nothing better than to design something and then, when the clients move in, they say, ‘Wow, you built our dream home.’”
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ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN
P O S T- W A R P R E S E R VAT I O N IS EDMONTON RAZING ITS MID-CENTURY MODERN LEGACY? BY ELIZA BARLOW
T
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ILLUSTRATION KIDPIXEL
wenty-five years ago, in their song “Alternative Girlfriend,” the Canadian pop band Barenaked Ladies lamented that they were “old at being young, young at being old.” It’s a Gen-X refrain that resonates with Edmonton’s heritage community today, as it races to protect the city’s remaining stock of mid-century modern buildings. “They’re old enough to stand out, but they’re not standing out in the way that people say, ‘Oh, that’s a very iconic historic structure,’” says Dan Rose, chair of the Edmonton Historical Board. “They’re just like, ‘That’s an interesting, older building, I wonder what the deal is with that thing?’ We haven’t quite got to the point where that turns into appreciation yet, the same way we appreciate the red brick Edwardians that dot the city.”
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CN TOWER designed by Abugov & Sunderland, it was Western Canada’s tallest office tower when completed in 1966. The 27-storey tower is clad in glazed curtain wall with pre-cast fins, and its tower-on-podium design can be seen in other Edmonton buildings of the time such as the University of Alberta Students’ Union Building and the Campus Tower building at 87th Avenue and 112th Street
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PETER HEMINGWAY (CORONATION) POOL designed by by Peter Hemingway in 1967. Hemingway won the Massey Medal for Architecture, the highest honour in the country for architecture. He was the first Alberta architect to win a Massey Medal, and he won another for the 1968 Stanley Building on Kingsway Avenue
R “ T H E Y ’ R E O L D E N O U G H T O S TA N D O U T, B U T T H E Y ’ R E N O T S TA N D I N G O U T I N T H E WAY T H AT P E O P L E S AY, ‘ O H , T H AT ’ S A V E RY ICONIC HISTORIC STRUCTURE’.” — D AN ROSE, CHAIR OF THE EDMONTON HISTORICAL BOARD
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ose views midcentury modern buildings as the “definitive architectural style of our city,” and as irreplaceable links to a formative time. They stand as silent witnesses to the population boom that followed the Second World War and the discovery of Alberta oil. In first-ring suburbs they’re the 1950s and ’60s bungalows, clad in fieldstone with large front windows and low roof lines that extend over carports. Larger structures include the CN Tower, Coronation Pool, Jubilee Auditorium, Idylwylde Library, the former Provincial Museum
of Alberta, Jasper House Apartments, Ross Sheppard High School and the Edmonton Cemetery Office. “We have not planned for the preservation, conservation and adaptive reuse of our mid-century modern buildings,” Rose says. He argues Edmonton has done a poor job of saving buildings from earlier eras, and worries the same loss is poised to happen with this next batch of historic properties. The City of Edmonton maintains a register of designated historic resources that are protected against demolition. There’s also an unprotected inventory shortlist. Getting listed
there is the first step to designation, and is largely up to property owners. Between the register and inventory, the City has identified more than 1,100 heritage sites, but only around 165 are from the 1950s and ’60s. Few of those, however, are protected with designation. A 2019 heritage report commissioned by the city identifies 38 sites of historical value in four westend neighbourhoods alone: Britannia Youngstown, Canora, Glenwood and West Jasper Place. The report notes that the four neighbourhoods originally had 55 sites, but the “vast majority” of heritage sites identified in the mid to late 1970s, as part of the ongoing Provincial Heritage Survey, have since been demolished. “It’s hard to know” how many homes and other buildings of this vintage are being lost, says David Johnston, principal heritage planner for the city. What is known is that around 60 properties on the unprotected inventory have been demolished since 2015. Each time “it’s a sense of loss,” Johnston says. “It’s like a small piece of Edmonton’s soul has been plucked out and discarded.”
“ I T ’ S L I K E A S M A L L P I E C E O F E D M O N T O N ’ S S O U L HAS BEEN PLUCKED OUT AND DISCARDED.” — D A V I D J O H N S T O N , P R I N C I P A L H E R I T A G E P L A N N E R F O R T H E C I T Y
Heritage structures face many threats, including redevelopment pressure for houses and high maintenance and renovation costs. Even well-known landmarks like the CN Tower aren’t on the protected list, though current owner Strategic Group is committed to a “thriving modern business tower within a historically significant facade,” according to CEO Riaz Mamdani. It appears safe, for now, from the fate that saw many of Edmonton’s modern buildings crushed under the backhoe. Johnston shudders at the mention of Edmonton’s 1957 City Hall, torn down in 1989. It was a daring, cutting edge midcentury modern design. “Other cities, at the very least, have their original city hall. We don’t have any of ours. They’ve knocked every single one of them down,” he says. Edmonton-raised and now Vancouver-based architecture critic Trevor Boddy once published the first local history of modernism, Modern Architecture in Alberta, in which he praises mid-century creations like the 1957
Edmonton City Hall and the 1960s Edmonton Art Gallery. In a postscript to the 2007 exhibition catalogue Capital Modern, titled “In Memoriam,” he notes how Edmonton has destroyed its best building from every decade from the 1930s through to the 1960s, including both of these Churchill Square structures. And in his introduction to Capital Modern, titled “EDMODERNTOWN”, he theorizes Edmonton’s boom-andbust economy is behind its drive to knock down reminders of the bad times that come with the busts. “There’s this hostility to what was there before, and this is the reason why Edmonton tends to eat its own past,” says Boddy.
THE JASPER HOUSE APARTMENTS Designed by architect John A. MacDonald in 1960
Rose hopes Edmonton can break the “vicious cycle of reinvention.” He thinks it contributes to Edmonton’s perpetual identity crisis. “We have no idea who we are because we’ve gutted what we were.” But preservation involves hard choices. For developers to pursue designation, they need to know building constraints won’t prevent them from recouping their investments. For a homeowner, selling an old property on a double-wide lot can fund retirement. And, for the City, which has measures to designate heritage structuress against a developer’s wishes, compensation can be costly and politically risky. Jim Gendron of the Infill Development in
THE ROYAL ALBERTA MUSEUM (THE ROYAL PROVINCIAL MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES OF ALBERTA) Opened to the public in 1967 as Alberta celebrated Canada’s Centennial of Confederation
Edmonton Association — who lives in a municipally designated 1915 heritage home in Cromdale — says there’s room for “quality infill replacing older, rundown homes that have lived their life … (thereby) making communities better for people.” Perhaps there is a balance between old and young, somewhere in the cul de sacs of Ottewell and the construction morass of downtown. Rose just hopes Edmonton can find it before it’s too late. “I’m not one to chain myself to every bungalow and say infill is evil. It’s just about finding some room in that conversation for preserving what we have as a means to understanding who we are.”
NORTHERN ALBERTA JUBILEE AUDITORIUM The auditorium was completed in 1957
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ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN
IN 1978, THE CITY IMAGINED TRANSITORIENTED DEVELOPMENT WO U L D TRANSFORM THE AREA SURROUNDING THE NEW C O M M O N W E A LT H S TA D I U M . N O W, T H O S E D R E A M S M AY F I N A L LY B E REALIZED
40 YEARS IN THE MAKING
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BY STEVEN SANDOR
+
PHOTOGRAPHY PAUL SWANSON Photos were taken in March 2020
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“ T H E I D E A WA S T H AT ‘ I F Y O U Z O N E I T, T H E Y W I L L C O M E . ’ T H E I D E A WA S T O D O T R A N S I TO R I E N T E D D E V E L O P M E N T I N T H E L AT E ’ 7 0 S A N D E A R LY ’ 8 0 S , B U T I T D I D N ’ T W O R K . ” — ERIK BACKSTROM
T
hose with even the tiniest twinges of civic pride hate it when someone puts their city down, justified or not. Back in 2015, I was at Commonwealth Stadium, covering the Women’s World Cup along with dozens upon dozens of journalists from around the world. Edmonton had been selected to stage more games at this prestigious tournament than any of the other Canadian host cities. But I didn’t hear a lot of positive feedback. An Australian journalist told me I could take solace, because “at least it wasn’t as bad as Winnipeg.” And I watched as a Dutch crew left the press area, with their leader declaring in her best English, “goodbye Edmonton, I hope to never see you again.” Why were they sour? Visitors from around the world were put
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up at various hotels around the city, but spent the better part of their days at Commonwealth Stadium. There weren’t really a lot of buzz restaurants or great coffee shops close by. Those who shuttled from hotel to stadium and back again couldn’t step out of the press area and find a great place for a sandwich and a drink. Fast forward five years, and the Stadium Yards will be part of a total neighbourhood transformation. In addition to the estimated 1,000 residential suites, a complete rethink of the Stadium LRT station, the addition of a multiuse trail and the elimination of fences that cut Commonwealth off from the surrounding area are all pieces to the puzzle. The project, which broke ground last fall, would be the realization of a vision that’s more than 40 years in the making.
LET’S JUMP IN A TIME MACHINE
and head back to 1978. We are in an era of bell-bottoms and Firebirds with t-roofs and the Bee Gees. The LRT’s Stadium station opens in April of that year, with the brand-spanking new Commonwealth Stadium across the street. The City of Edmonton hatches a plan for “transit-oriented development” (we put that in quotes to show that this was a fairly novel concept back in the day). Plans are made for high-density developments and new businesses to surround the stadium and LRT. But, it doesn’t happen. Erik Backstrom, the senior planner with the City of Edmonton’s City Planning Branch, looks back at some of the mistakes that were made four decades ago. “The idea was that ‘If you zone it, they will come,’” says Backstrom. “The idea was to do transit-oriented
“I love Avenue because it always helps me discover new things about my city, and that’s something cool to do even when we’re stuck at home. One day, this will end and I’ve got a list of restaurants I want to hit up. I am excited that Avenue is still relevant during this crazy time.” — Alexis Marie Chute, author of the 8th Island Trilogy and visual artist
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into four plots, three of which were purchased by Rohit. PEOPLE SHOULD START MOVING
into the Stadium Yards by the end of 2020, in low-rise residential rental properties. There’s a mix of commercial space in the area. According to Russell Dauk, vice president, land and commercial for Rohit, the development, when finished, will have four plots containing around 1,000 residential units. Rohit’s three blocks could make up 750 of them. The area will feature two new urban parks, both designed by Claude Cormier. He is the Montrealbased landscape architect who designed Toronto’s Sugar Beach, an area of once-industrial waterfront area that was transformed into a sandy urban playground. The builder, developer and city planners worked together to rethink the streetscape. “The city and Brookfield did the horizontal design, we’re doing the vertical,” Dauk says. Traditionally, in mixed-use development, residential units take the upper floors while retail bays take the ground level. But, taking cues from other urban rethinks in Ritchie, Oliver and downtown, the decision was made to create freestanding buildings, with raised ceilings, as the retail spaces. For people who walked through the
RENDERINGS COURTESY OF THE CITY OF EDMONTON
S TA D I U M L R T S TAT I O N L O O K S L I K E A B U N K E R T H AT WA S M I S TA K E N LY P L A C E D A B O V E G R O U N D R AT H E R T H A N B E L O W I T.
development in the late ’70s and early ’80s, but it didn’t work.” Why? Because the tracks split the stadium area from any proposed developments. To get to the river valley from the stadium, you’d have to cross the tracks, which were fenced off, or walk underground through the station itself. As well, there were still pockets of industrial buildings, some of which sat vacant, which wasn’t all that palatable for developers. Who wants to live next to a lumber yard or a cement plant? And, well, where were the sidewalks? So, a lack of connectivity and infrastructure, and an intimidating track all worked together to keep the area from realizing its potential. But the dream of revitalizing that area never died. Let’s get back in the time machine and set it for 2014. The city announces $14 million worth of infrastructure upgrades for the area, and Brookfield Residential purchases seven acres of land to the east of Stadium LRT station from the Muttart family. With new pathways, plans for a revitalized LRT station and new roads on the blueprints, the connections that the neighbourhood needed were put in place. Brookfield subdivided the land it purchased from the Muttarts
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neighbourhood but didn’t live in one of the developments, they wouldn’t feel like they were out of place if they walked into a business and tried on some clothes or sat down for coffee. Rohit commissioned “The Cut,” a pitch competition which saw entrepreneurs vie to become the first business to reserve a spot in the Stadium Yards’ 2,500 sq. ft. (plus a mezzanine), park-facing, commercial bay. Five finalists were selected from 47 submissions. Those five sets of entrepreneurs pitched in front of a crowd of 400 people at MacEwan University’s Triffo Theatre in February. The six-person, local judging panel, which included ATB’s Entrepreneur Strategist Aimee Parker, and Oodle Noodle President Jay Downton, selected the pitch from Jack’s Burger Shack. Yes, that Jack Burger’s Shack, which has become a staple in downtown St. Albert. Jack’s won $125,000 that will be put towards the business (plus other small business supports), and spot No. 1 in the Stadium Yards’ commercial development. Residential areas will be rethought, with influence from hotel design. Common areas will be placed where the penthouses usually go. And residents will get together on the top floor, to enjoy the view and socialize. Fire pits will be placed in common amenity areas to act as gathering spots. Rohit reached out to Edmontonians to find out what they like and what keeps them from moving into apartments. In response to the feedback, the builder is creating music and all-purpose meeting rooms in the development. Residents who like to jam can go to a soundproof room
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that’s even ready for recording. And, with more and more people working from home, the need to have business rooms to work in was important. In fact, Dauk says that even the idea of room service has been bandied about. “Part of being a player in this is that you are not only looking after your own development, but you want to make it so everything in the neighbourhood gets better,” says Dauk. “Good design is good design. But the thing about good design is that you don’t know precisely which small detail elevates the living experience.” MANY OF US ARE FAMILIAR WITH
the story of the elephant’s foot. It tells us that if an elephant’s foot is tied to a post, even by the flimsiest excuse for rope there is, the animal won’t escape. The animal believes that it is trapped, and that’s enough. Humans aren’t that different from the elephant tale. If we perceive even the smallest barriers, we turn them into massive walls. When formulating their plan for the Stadium Yards, City planners, the developer and builder had to consider the barriers that had basically broken up the neighbourhood. The first order of business was the LRT track, which runs northsouth just to the east of Stadium Road and crosses 111th Avenue. Stadium LRT station looks like
a bunker that was mistakenly placed above ground rather than below it, with narrow entrances that cause massive bottlenecks during high-traffic times. There is an existing walking/ cycling path on the west side of the LRT tracks that leads to downtown, but another has been added on the east side. A new urban street, Muttart Crossing, will connect Stadium Road to 84th Street. “What we wanted to make sure is that the new neighbourhood is super walkable,” says Backstrom. “The LRT corridor is actually an impediment to that. Now, with the new road, it’s a short walk from the Stadium or the recreation centre to the development and to the river valley.” The new Stadium LRT station will have an openconcept design and feel, much friendlier for pedestrians. Crosswalks will allow pedestrians and cyclists to get across the tracks, and easily move from the newly developed neighbourhood to the station or across Stadium Road to the Commonwealth Recreation Centre. “It was a matter of reconnecting all of the pieces,” says Dauk. ”The amenities were here. There’s a great grocery store and a recreation centre and transit. But there were some barriers and a hole in the middle. The City has removed those barriers and we’re working on filling it in.”
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ALBERTA BEER AWARDS
MORE THAN 80 WINNING BEERS SHOW THAT THIS PROVINCE IS FULL OF GREAT BREWS
BREWERY OF THE YEAR
HE R E AR E T HE RES ULTS O F T HE T HI R D ANNUAL A LBE R TA B E ER AWARDS , CO-PR E SE NT ED BY TH E A LBE R TA SMALL BREW ERS A S SOCI AT I ON AND AVEN UE M AGAZI N E . T HE ENTRIES A RE JUD GE D BY A PANEL O F BE E R E XP ERTS W HO B LI ND -TASTE TH E HUN DR E D S OF BEER E NT R I E S. WI TH A WIDE VAR I E T Y OF ST YLES A ND B R E WE RIES F RO M AC R OSS T HE P ROVINC E R E PR E SE NT ED, YOU’LL BE SUR E TO FI ND S OMETH ING YOU LOVE . ILLUSTRATION BY GLENN HARVEY
The brewery with the highest number of points. Points are awarded for medalling in categories only (not Best of Show) on the following basis: four points for a gold, two points for a silver, one point for a bronze finish.
Cabin Brewing Company
(Calgary)
(Edmonton)
Campio Brewing Co. Canmore Brewing Company
(Canmore) Alley Kat Brewing The Establishment Company, Brewing Company Olde (Calgary) Deuteronomy Barley Wine 2018
NEW BREWERY OF THE YEAR
Awarded to a brewer that opened in 2019 and received the most Brewery of the Year awards. Points are awarded on the following basis: four points for a gold, two points for a silver, one point for a bronze finish. (Best of Show and Soda categories are not included).
(Edmonton)
(Lethbridge)
(Canmore)
Spectrum Ale Works
SILVER BRONZE
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The gold-winning beers from the other categories (excluding root beer/ginger ale) were judged against each other to determine a gold, silver and bronze ranking for the best beer in Alberta.
Odd Company Brewing
GOLD
BEST OF SHOW
Long Hop Brewing Co. (Calgary) Sheepdog Brewing
(Edmonton)
(Calgary)
24-2 Brett Stock Ale, Blindman Brewing (Lacombe) Sunshine Rain, Cabin Brewing Company
TRENDY BEER OF THE YEAR: HOPPY KVEIK ALE
A dry, hop-accented ale fermented using a Kveik yeast strain. Flavours should be fruity with a light malt graininess.
Collaboration between Undercurrent Brewing (Sylvan Lake), Red Hart Brewing (Red Deer), Red Shed Malting (Penhold), Belly Hop Brewing (Red Deer)
and Craft Beer Nation (Red Deer)
Ryes Beyond Kveik IPA Sea Change Brewing Co., Hype Juice (Edmonton/Beaumont)
Annex Ale Project, Null Test Kveik Pale Ale (Calgary)
PATIO BEER
Lagers or ales that are light-bodied, refreshing and not overly hopped. Colour may vary but the overall emphasis should be on balance and accessibility with no aggressive flavours. With 34 entries this year, this was the most popular category among Alberta brewers.
Tool Shed Brewing Company, People Skills Cream Ale (Calgary)
Sea Change Brewing Co., Death Wave Mexican Lager (Edmonton/Beaumont)
Analog Brewing, Dry As Bones Dry Hopped Brut Ale (Edmonton)
HOPPY SESSIONABLE BEER
Hop-forward, but accessible beer with a noted but not overly aggressive hop flavour and bitterness, and a focus on balance overall. Alcohol strength under 5.5 per cent.
Sea Change Brewing Co., The Wolf (Edmonton/Beaumont)
Cabin Brewing Company, Retrospectrum (Calgary) SYC Brewing Co., Salud! (Edmonton)
GERMAN/CZECH STYLE PILSNER
Light-coloured lager with noted hop flavour and aroma. Designed to reflect the characteristics of German- and Czech-style Pilsner. When someone tells you to “take a pill,” this is what you drink. Snake Lake Brewing Company, Kinabik Pilsner (Sylvan Lake) Trolley 5, Turntable Lager (Calgary) Paddy’s Barbecue & Brewery, Pilsner (Calgary)
AMERICAN-STYLE WHEAT BEER
Ale or lager brewed featuring wheat as a key ingredient and wheat as a dominant flavour and characteristic of the beer, but lacking the yeast characteristics of German- or Belgian-style wheat beer.
The Establishment Brewing Company, My Best Friend’s Girl (Calgary)
Trolley 5, Upbeat Wheat (Calgary)
Prairie Dog Brewing, Super-B (Calgary)
GERMAN AND BELGIAN-STYLE WHEAT BEER
Ale brewed with wheat as a key ingredient, and using traditional German or Belgian yeast. Wheat is a dominant flavour characteristic, balanced with a noted yeast character appropriate to regional sub-style.
Brauerei Fahr, Fahr Away Hefeweizen (Turner Valley)
Hell’s Basement Brewery, He Ain’t Hefe He’s My Brother (Medicine Hat) Bent Stick Brewing, B.S. Wit (Edmonton)
BELGIAN ALE
Ale designed to reflect Belgian ale characteristics, including spicy yeast flavours and aromas with a moderate alcohol content.
Campio Brewing Co., Nondenominational Abbey Ale (Edmonton)
Sawback Brewing Co., Saison Series No. 1 Belgian Style (Red Deer)
Inner City Brewing, A Day In Bruges (Calgary)
EDMONTON IS WELLREPRESENTED, WITH WINS IN BEST OF SHOW AND NEW BREWERY OF THE YEAR
STRONG BELGIAN ALE
Ale designed to reflect Belgian ale characteristics, including spicy yeast flavours and aromas and with a higher alcohol content (above seven per cent).
Brewsters Brewing Company, Oh My Quad!
(Olds)
Olds College Brewery, Cold Winter’s Night (Olds)
Medium and darker-coloured lagers. Should have more malt character than light lagers, although malt-hop balance can vary.
Ol’ Beautiful Brewing Co., Eternal Twilight (Calgary)
Paddy’s Barbecue & Brewery, Black Lager (Calgary)
Inner City Brewing, Eis On The Bridge (Calgary)
BROWN ALE
Brown-coloured, malt-accented ale or lager. Darker malt flavours should be emphasized and hop character can range from none to moderate.
Deep brown, malt-accented ales that are reflective of the traditional porter style.
(Calgary/Edmonton)
Olds College Brewery, Cill Dara
AMBER AND DARK LAGER
PORTER
4th Meridian Brewing Company, Border Porter (Lloydminster)
Canmore Brewing Company, Chocolate Maple Porter (Canmore) Blindman Brewing, Triphammer Robust Porter (Lacombe)
STOUT
Very dark ale designed to reflect the characteristics of a stout.
Born Colorado Brewing, Arm Candy Milk Stout (Calgary)
Siding 14 Brewing Company, Coal Pusher Stout (Ponoka) Medicine Hat Brewing Co., Gentlemen’s Stout (Medicine Hat)
AMBER ALE
Amber-coloured, malt-accented ale. Malt should have darker flavours without being overdone, including caramel, toast, bread and biscuit. Hops can vary in profile and perception, but without becoming too dominant in the balance. Tool Shed Brewing Company, Red Rage (Calgary) Red Hart Brewing, Irish Red (Red Deer) Hard Knox Brewery, Grunt Work (Black Diamond)
ALL ALBERTA MALT BEER
A beer of any style brewed exclusively with grains grown and malted in Alberta.
Blindman Brewing, 24-2 Brett Stock Ale (Lacombe)
Campio Brewing Co., All Malt Lager (Edmonton)
The Growlery Beer Co., Wheels Up French Saison (Edmonton)
Village Brewery, Village Blacksmith (Calgary)
Canmore Brewing Company, Georgetown Brown (Canmore)
Travois Ale Works, Scottish Export (Medicine Hat)
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BLIND ENTHUSIASM, ALLEY KAT, ODD COMPANY, CAMPIO BREWING AND SEA CHANGE BREWING ARE ALL EDMONTON BREWERS WHO WON GOLD MEDALS
IMPERIAL STRENGTH BEER
PALE ALE/BITTER
Medium-bodied pale- to amber-coloured ale, with noted hop character and a balance of malt. Beer designed to reflect the characteristics of American pale ale or English bitter are appropriate.
Ale or lager brewed to higher alcohol levels, usually above eight per cent. Body, colour and malt/hop balance vary. Alley Kat Brewing Company, Olde Deuteronomy Barley Wine 2018 (Edmonton) Medicine Hat Brewing Co., Russian Imperial Stout (Medicine Hat) OT Brewing Company, Ape Index Barrel Aged Barley Wine (Calgary)
FRUIT BEER
Any lager or ale where the addition of fruit or vegetable is a key ingredient and important flavour or aroma component.
Undercurrent Brewing, Finn’s Raspberry Porter (Sylvan Lake)
Analog Brewing, In Another Castle Peach Mango Milkshake IPA (Edmonton)
Marda Loop Brewing, Blackberry Porter (Calgary)
SPICED BEER
Any lager or ale where the addition of spice or other adjunct (coffee, for example) is a key ingredient and important flavour and aroma component. With 27 entries from Alberta breweries, this was the second-most competitive category this year.
Odd Company Brewing, Mulled Lambrusco Sour (Edmonton)
Snake Lake Brewing Company, Ice Cutter Vanilla Latte Stout (Sylvan Lake) Analog Brewing, Porter Fandango (Edmonton)
OTHER FLAVOURED BEER
Ale or lager brewed with addition of alternative ingredients that do not fit into other categories. Includes beer made with alternative grains (gluten-free, for example) or alternative sugars (honey, for example), and smoked beer, as well as beer cocktails.
(Medicine Hat)
Inner City Brewing, OFA (Calgary) Bow River Brewing, Prairie Night Porter (Calgary)
KETTLE SOUR BEER
Any ale or lager where sourness is a feature of the flavour and aroma produced through the process of kettle souring. Can include fruit and other ingredient additions. Campio Brewing Co., Albertasourous (Edmonton) Ribstone Creek Brewery, Raspberry Berliner Weisse (Edgerton) Medicine Hat Brewing Co., Bussmann Cranberry Sour (Medicine Hat)
BARREL-AGED BEER
Any beer that was aged in wood barrels and exhibits flavour and aroma characteristics of the barrel.
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Travois Ale Works, Black Forest Porter
OT Brewing Company, Barrel Aged Hack Weight Imperial Stout (Calgary)
Cabin Brewing Company, Chapter 1: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Wee Heavy (Calgary)
Village Brewery, Village Framboise (Calgary)
WILD/NATURAL FERMENTATION BEER
Beer produced through the use of “wild” yeast and bacteria, including brettanomyces, or through spontaneous fermentation. Should exhibit the flavour profiles of the organisms used, including earthiness, spiciness, sourness, mustiness and cellar characteristics.
Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company, Substantially Complete (Edmonton)
Paddy’s Barbecue & Brewery, Foeder Aged Golden Sour (Calgary)
Grain Bin Brewing Company, Burgundy Barrel Aged Braggot (Grande Prairie)
WILD/NATURAL FERMENTATION BEER WITH FRUIT
Beer produced through the use of “wild” yeast and bacteria, including brettanomyces, and/or through spontaneous fermentation that includes fruit as a key ingredient.
Grain Bin Brewing Company, Welcome (Grande Prairie)
Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company, Fruitful Pursuits: Plum (Edmonton)
Troubled Monk, Mary Samsonite (Red Deer)
Spectrum Ale Works, English Pub Ale (Lethbridge)
Canmore Brewing Company, Ten Peaks Pale Ale (Canmore) The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company, Three Sisters Pale Ale (Canmore)
IPA
Light-to-amber-coloured hop-forward ale with a moderate-to-assertive bitterness, hop flavour and aroma, depending on sub-style. English or American versions of IPA are both appropriate.
Cabin Brewing Company, Sunshine Rain
SPECIALTY IPA
An IPA designed with features that deviate from traditional IPA, including colour, ingredients or yeast. Central feature of the beer is bitterness and hop flavour and aroma, with varying balance appropriate to variation.
A higher-alcohol IPA. Exhibits moderate-to-high bitterness and hop characteristics. A warming, but not hot, alcohol is appropriate. Alcohol should be above seven per cent.
Canmore Brewing Company, Railway Avenue Rye IPA (Canmore)
Sheepdog Brewing, La Noire Cascadian Dark Ale (Canmore)
Odd Company Brewing, Brett IPA II (Edmonton)
Cabin Brewing Company, Super Duper Saturation (Calgary)
Citizen Brewing Company, Royal Pine WCIPA (Calgary)
The Establishment Brewing Company, Ghost Machine (Calgary)
NEW ENGLANDSTYLE ALE
Hazy, light-coloured, mediumbodied hop-accented ale. Moderate-to-strong citrus-fruit flavours and aromas with low-to-moderate bitterness. Mouth feel will be full with a silky character. Designed to reflect the characteristics of the ales originating in Vermont.
(Calgary)
Origin Malting & Brewing Co., Pioneer IPA (Strathmore) Endeavour Brewing Company, Sudden Draft IPA (St. Albert)
DOUBLE/IMPERIAL IPA
The Establishment Brewing Company, Sky Rocket V (Calgary)
Long Hop Brewing Co, Long Hop Hazy Pale Ale (Calgary)
Snake Lake Brewing Company, Sidewinder IPA (Sylvan Lake)
ROOT BEER/ GINGER ALE
Non-alcoholic soda beverages made with traditional root beer/ ginger ale ingredients and process.
The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company, Root Beer (Canmore)
Hell’s Basement Brewery, Heck of a Root Beer (Medicine Hat) Troubled Monk, Ginger Ale (Red Deer)
E D M O N TO N N S R E L A X I N G FAVO U R I T ES AT WO R K .
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Now Available Locally.
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Overhead Door Co. of Edmonton.â„¢
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WORDS&PICTURES
# Y E G + A R T I ST Q & A + B O O K E N D S + S P O T L I G H T + G A L L E R I E S + C O N V E R S AT I O N P I E C E
#YEG
THE PLAY’S THE THING b y E L L I E H E AT H + i l l u s t r a t i o n K Y L E S C H N E I D E R
Like many actors, I used to live in Vancouver. I was there for four years and, at one point, I was paying $200 a month to attend a weekly meetup of other female actors, where we discussed the arts, worked on our craft and, I hoped, would inevitably make some like-minded friends. Maybe it was the competitive nature of the big city — people fighting for their jobs, their statuses, even their groups of friends — but, through this process, I was never asked to hang out, I was never offered a ride home. I’d start a new job and feel like I was auditioning for my coworkers to be part of the “in” group. The niceties began and ended within the space where we met. It was exhausting and lonely. The constant process of trying to prove myself became even more tiresome because, as an actress, I was already auditioning for roles on a regular basis, standing before expressionless ad execs and cold casting directors with very little feedback or success. It was a vulnerable time, where I tried any-
thing I could to ingratiate myself to others with the hopes of finding my people. All the while, I was working intermittently on shows in Edmonton — these were periods where I flourished and felt connected to my old self. In August 2012, I was facing eight months before my next acting gig in my hometown of Edmonton. I made a choice to give it my all in the coming months and see if Vancouver was the place for me. I signed up for the women’s meetup, I sent out multiple packages to prospective agents and put myself out there even on days where I felt unmotivated and alone. I returned to Edmonton in April, excited to spend two months working on a play, staying with my dad and reconnecting with my family and friends. Though it was spring, there was snow on the ground. In fact, the first day of rehearsal was a particularly brisk day and we all crammed into the rehearsal hall in our parkas and boots. Everybody had cause to whine and complain due to the unending winter,
but spirits were high — we were all excited to begin work on a new project and the room quickly warmed up. As we left that day, I was blown away by the generosity of the cast — nearly every member of the large ensemble asked if I’d like a ride home. This was the moment I decided to move back. While some people like the bigger city, the competition and the anonymity, I learned it was better for me to spend my life around kind-hearted, down-to-Earth humans who inspire me with their open arms and generosity. Edmonton is home to the best people in the world. Maybe we don’t have mountains, but we have mountainous hearts, and that’s more of a draw to me any day of the week. Ellie Heath is a producer/performer/playwright/ teacher based out of Edmonton. She is one third of the sketch comedy trifecta, Girl Brain. Since graduating from theatre school in 2007, notable moments include playing Alice in Alice Through the Looking Glass (Citadel Theatre), Cindy in Slipper (Alberta Theatre Projects) and having Carolyn Taylor from Baroness Von Sketch Show join Girl Brain.
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WORDS&P I C T U R E S
C O N V E R S AT I O N P I E C E
BOB AND DOUG b y ST E V E N S A N D O R
When he was a teenager, Ritchie Velthuis was a big fan of SCTV. And there was something he recognized when comedians Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas put on their tuques and raised their stubbies as Bob and Doug McKenzie. What Velthuis realized was that these two fictional back-bacon loving, bickering brothers reminded him a lot of … people he saw around Edmonton. “They were two people that you’d find anywhere in Alberta,” Velthuis says. When Bob and Doug made their first appearance, SCTV was being taped in Edmonton. So, it was fitting that an eightyear mission to build an SCTV monument downtown would result in full-colour statues of the duo at the corner of 103rd Street and 103rd Avenue, in the heart of the ICE District. “It’s surreal to see it done,” says Velthuis, whose snow sculptures you may have seen over the years at the Silver Skate Festival. “But I am truly honoured to have been a part of this. Many of my commissions 42 avenue M A Y. 20
I’ve had take months to do, but this was a five-year project.” Eight-year mission? Five-year project? Well, let’s back things up to 2012. In January, Avenue ran a cover feature on SCTV — how the show really caught fire in the years that it was produced in Edmonton, out of the old ITV studios. Dr. Charles Allard, who owned ITV, made the offer to bring a show in danger of cancellation to Edmonton. The cast flourished here. They weren’t in Toronto or New York, so they didn’t have network execs breathing down their necks. And their work soon became staples on both NBC and CBC. As an answer to CBC, which wanted more “Canadian” content on a show that was being aired on both sides of the border, Thomas and Moranis had the brainchild to create the most stereotypical Canadians they could think of. Bob and Doug. Well, enough with the SCTV history lesson. As part of Avenue’s 2012 package on SCTV, we asked, should there be a monument to the show in Edmonton?
And it was our publisher, Orville Chubb, who wanted us to take ownership of the cause. We launched an online petition. Later that year, we held an event, with the support of SCTV’s creators, a retrospective at Metro Cinema. I did a Pecha Kucha talk about why Edmonton needed an SCTV monument. The Allard family supported our vision, and together we struck a committee with the sole purpose of making the monument a reality. We selected Velthuis from a series of applicants. But it takes a lot of time — and paperwork (oh, the paperwork) — to make public art a reality. Where would the statue go? How would it be secured? Who would clean the pigeon droppings off of it? Who would touch it up in the future? All of these hurdles needed to be crossed. In the Oilers and the ICE District, we found an enthusiastic partner. A big launch event was planned for late March of this year. Cast members confirmed their attendance. And then, COVID-19 scuttled those plans, though there will be an official launch party in the future. But the statue was installed, quietly. Except, as soon as it went in, social media exploded with the news. Orville, who passed away in 2018, was about as big an Edmonton booster as I’ve ever met, and I’m sure he would have been thrilled to see the city’s reaction. “We are truly honoured to have a Bob and Doug McKenzie Monument in the City of Edmonton,” said Moranis in a statement. “It’s hard to believe it was 40 years ago that we recorded the very first episode of SCTV’s The Great White North at ITV Studios. Despite the time that has passed, we hold dear the memories of working with the people of Edmonton. We look forward to returning very soon to see our old friends who worked on the show and take a look at our new bronze brothers in the flesh.” And we’ll be looking forward to having Moranis and Thomas here for an official launch. We’ll keep the beer cold and the bacon crispy.
p h o t o PA U L S WA N S O N
BOB, DOUG AND RITCHIE VELTHUIS
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