Avenue Edmonton Summer 2020

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What do all the Best Neighbourhoods have in common?

Some neighbourhoods stand out for their historic charm. Others for their picturesque tree-lined streets. Or their trendy cafés and restaurants. But the single most important factor in elevating a good neighbourhood to the ranks of Best Neighbourhood is simple: it’s the people.

Good neighbours are a great thing to have. When you need to borrow a cup of sugar. Or when, in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, flood waters rise to historic levels driving you and upwards to 15,000 of your neighbours to evacuate your homes. All this within days of the fourth anniversary of a devastating fire that drove everyone from their homes.

It’s moments like these that define neighbourhoods. That call on

communities to show what they’re made of. That’s exactly what Fort McMurray has done, time and time again.

Neighbours reach out helping hands. Business owners assist fellow business owners. Families open their doors to other families.

As a company that proudly attributes much of its success to the people and community of Fort McMurray, Syncrude has always been determined to help out however it could – whether it meant sending in its Emergency Response crews to protect homes and neighbourhoods during the 2016 wildfire, helping its community stay safe during the COVID-19 lockdown or having its Tailings team pump out millions of gallons from flood zones in 2020.

“With all the hardship we’ve been through this year, and in years past, our community has come together like family,” says Doreen Cole, Managing Director of Syncrude.

“Together we stand, together we will rebuild our community, and together we will secure the prosperity of our Fort McMurray family, our region and our province.”

Syncrude congratulates the residents of this year’s Best Neighbourhoods because they know the best neighbourhoods are built by the welcoming smiles and outstretched hands of great neighbours.

The Syncrude Project is a joint venture undertaking among Imperial Oil Resources Limited; CNOOC Oil Sands Canada; Sinopec Oil Sands Partnership; and Suncor Energy Inc. (with the Suncor interest held by Canadian Oil Sands Partnership #1 and Suncor Energy Ventures Partnership, both wholly owned affiliates of Suncor Energy Inc.).

Beautiful neighbourhood.

Beautiful memories.

Just a short drive from the city, a unique neighbourhood awaits. Step out of the noise and into nature, with 25 kilometres of walking trails, green spaces and parks.

Superior quality single-family homes and duplexes accent the landscape, and incredible amenities are only 10 minutes away. With the North Saskatchewan River as your neighbour, every season’s memories will be treasured for a lifetime.

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L E A R N M O R E AT W W W. W O O D H AV E N E D G E M O N T. C O M

CONTENTS 47

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WELCOME TO THE NEW BEST NEIGHBOURHOOD Our readers went through a long list of features to determine Edmonton’s best neighbourhood.

The answer may surprise you.

DETOURS

W ORDS & P I CTURES

18 #BLM A photo of the inspirational and important BLM rally, Dr. Karen Lee takes lessons learned around the world to make Edmonton a healthier place and we learn how to bake bread at home.

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#YEG, ARTIST Q&A AND CONVERSATION PIECE A Grant MacEwan student uses her camera to see a piece of Edmonton again… for the first time.

A CITY TO CELEBRATE We love you, Edmonton — and these are just some of the reasons why.

by STEVEN SANDOR, KATERYNA DIDUKH and CORY SCHACHTEL

NO SOUVENIRS, PLEASE

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Lauren Kyle and Connor McDavid’s house is tactile, intimate and noteworthy for the paraphernalia it doesn’t have.

55 A HOME (JUST A LITTLE BIT) AWAY FROM HOME How nearby rec properties provide new, sometimes permanent staycation destinations.

by CORY SCHACHTEL

by CAROLINE GAULT

ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPHY COOPER & O’HARA; [ROW TO ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT] APRIL DEAN, JESSE LIPSCOMBE, KYRA BROWN, ALEX PRIOR, KEN BAUTISTA, NNEKA OTOGBOLU, DANIELLE LUNDY (AND GRACIE), DARRIN HAGEN

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AV E N U E E D M O N T O N . C O M

Publisher Trudy Callaghan Associate Publisher Chelsey Swankhuizen (On Leave) Editor Steven Sandor Art Director Kim Larson Assistant Editor Cory Schachtel Digital Editor Kateryna Didukh Production Artist Betty Feniak Contributors Cooper & O’Hara, Alan Dumonceaux, Michael Ganley, Caroline Gault, Carissa Halton, Zakariya Ismail, Brock Kryton, Stefan Legacy, Cassia Schaar, Stephanie Simpson, Paul Swanson, Daniel Wood Director of National Sales Lindy Neustaedter Account Executives Liz Baynes, Jocelyn Erhardt, Sam Farrell, Brad Kelly, Deise MacDougall, Anita McGillis Sales and Traffic Assistant Adrienne Vanderheyden Accounting Lana Luchianova Production Art Odvod Media Printing Transcontinental Inc. Distribution: GREENLine Distribution Subscriptions (prices plus GST): One year $39.

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Formerly the Devonian Botanic Garden

Beauty is waiting for you.

Garden open daily, for your peace and relaxation.

botanicgarden.ualberta.ca Located in Parkland County, 5 km north of Devon on Hwy 60 14 avenue S U M M E R . 2 0

Submissions Edify will accept queries via email for editorial submissions. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Published 10 times/year by Odvod Publishing Inc. Copyright (2020) by Odvod Publishing Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher.

The views and opinions herein do not necessarily represent those of Odvod Publishing, the publisher, Trudy Callaghan or the editor, Steven Sandor.

Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreement No. 41354037. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to address below: ODVOD PUBLISHING INC. 10221 123 Street, Edmonton, AB, Canada T5N 1N3 T 780.451.1379 F 780.482.5417 www.odvodpublishing.com info@odvodpublishing.com Thank you to RedPoint Media Group for being our friends and mentors through 159 issues of Avenue Edmonton.

We appreciate the licensed use of the Avenue brand for our Edmonton farewell issue.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

LOVE IS THE CONNECTOR must now forge our ways forward, separately.

We will miss our Calgary colleagues, but each of us needs to do the right thing for our own city. Opportunities to work together will arise, and when they do, we will embrace them.

So, this 159th issue marks the last time we will publish under the Avenue brand.

It is our determined purpose to continue our work in telling Edmonton’s stories in a newly designed magazine. Under the direction of Editor in Chief Steven Sandor and Creative Director Kim Larson, the new publication will authentically reflect our city. It will inform and intrigue, uplift and entertain.

We chose the new name because of what it means: To make or to build; to inform in an uplifting way. We are a city of makers.

We make a life, a business, a career, a family, a friend, a success, a choice. You can make it here.

It will not be cloaked advertorial, but it will be a space for local advertisers to find their voices and their audience as we all focus on supporting our local economy.

Stay tuned for the first issue to arrive in October. The love affair will continue with Edify.

Trudy Callaghan Publisher, Edify President, Odvod Publishing

PHOTO BY CURTIS COMEAU

It started as a love affair. And that love is the connector for those of us who call Edmonton home.

It started 14 years and 158 issues ago, when my late husband, Orville Chubb, and I decided the way we could love our city was to publish a magazine. We wanted it to have integrity and be filled with a compelling combination of words and images that told Edmonton’s stories.

It would showcase the work of local writers, photographers and illustrators and they would be paid fairly for their work. And, it would be a space where advertisers would associate their brands with one another and with the magazine’s loyal readers.

We looked to RedPoint Media in Calgary, who were successfully publishing Avenue Calgary, and formed a partnership to publish under the same brand in Edmonton, starting in 2006. It’s been a good partnership. Avenue Edmonton has won several publishing awards, including Alberta Magazine Publishers Association’s Magazine of the Year — twice.

But now we find ourselves in the wake of a global pandemic, in a time where we hardly recognize our provincial economy.

Together, we’ve decided we are facing a necessary ending of our partnership and we

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EDITOR’S NOTE

ROCKING A NEW MAGAZINE You may have noticed the words “Good Night, and Good Luck” on the cover.

Those were the famous sign-off words from legendary American broadcaster Edward R. Murrow. To me, it’s a sign off that means two things: Goodbye for now, this show is over; I hope you will join me again soon, and make sure you’re doing well until then.

Murrow’s words were a combination of a goodbye and a prediction that more was to come; that the report for the night was finished, but a new story would emerge.

So, what does that have to do with this issue of Avenue? Well, let me move from one analogy to another with the grace of someone driving stick for the first time. Let’s move from Murrow… to modern rock.

If your neighbourhood’s peace and quiet has been interrupted by the sound of loud minor chords emanating from the stereo of a black Ford Mustang, windows rolled down in defiance of air-conditioned quasi-comfort — yup, that was me. Minor chords and the internal combustion engine — if there was ever a nonalcoholic cocktail for sheer bliss, that’s it.

And, Queens of the Stone Age make the best car-stereo music, well, ever. My wife and I have even taken the kids to see the band play live — because kids should be exposed to loud rock shows as early as possible.

Except, Queens of the Stone Age is more the idea of a band than a band itself. Other than lead guitarist and singer Josh Homme, the group has always featured a rotating roster of players. Homme has also contributed to other projects, like the Eagles of Death Metal, or

has been part of one-off projects, like Them Crooked Vultures. To make matters even more confusing, he often invites musicians from around the world to join him in his hometown of Joshua Tree, California, to write and record music — released under the “Desert Sessions” name. The cast of collaborators has included members of ZZ Top, the Foo Fighters, Elton John, English songstress PJ Harvey and even Matt Berry, who plays a vampire on the hilarious TV series, What We Do in the Shadows.

In a lot of ways, Queens of the Stone Age and the various offshoot bands operate a lot like we do in the world of magazines. There’s a varying cast of writers and photographers who contribute to our issues. We lean on a lot of freelancers who provide their talents and expertise. There is the publisher, small editorial team and art director who help guide the magazine’s direction from month to month.

So, to take my rock band analogy even further, what if we were to keep our rotating cast of characters, but put out a magazine under a different name?

When we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re going to emerge to a new normal. While we’re not 100 per cent sure what that new normal will be, I’m pretty confident that Edmonton as a whole will rise to the challenge. And, as part of that, there will be a new magazine to follow. Our staff is going to be part of a magazine rebirth, one that you’ll see very soon. Look for an Edify website in September, and the debut issue of the new print magazine in October.

Steven Sandor Editor steve@odvodpublishing.com

Yes, the look and name will be new, but our reimagined magazine will retain a tentpole initiative for which Avenue was famous — Top 40 Under 40.

It also means that this will be the final issue we put out under the Avenue flag. So, if you’re into keeping collector’s items, place this issue in a bag with a backing board and file it away safely. It might (not) pay for your retirement, some day.

We’re proud of the accolades we’ve received over the years, including twice being named Magazine of the Year at the Alberta Magazine Awards. But, no award, no matter how shiny, means as much as having readers tell us what the magazine means to them. When I am stopped in a coffee shop because someone wants to tell me he or she liked that story we ran last month, or loves the magazine in general, well, that means more than any award.

When I get an email from a reader, that means more than any peer accolade.

Good night, indeed. And we will see you soon.

You’ll love …

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CONTRIBUTORS

Cooper and O’Hara @cooperandohara Cooper and O’Hara is an award-winning photography duo formed in Edmonton. Over the past seven years, their work has brought them around the world. It brought them to an empty warehouse, where they spent the past few weeks trading in their cameras and lights for hammers and paint to create the set you see in this issue.

Stephanie Simpson @stephanie.illustrates Stephanie Simpson is a freelance illustrator from Edmonton.

Since 2015, Stephanie has worked with organizations and individuals across Canada to create colourful illustrations that celebrate Canadian architecture, natural landscapes, flora and fauna. When she’s not working, you’ll find her tending to her houseplants with mixed results, planning her next hiking trip, and – like so many others right now – diving headfirst into the world of homemade bread.

Alan Dumonceaux Alan Dumonceaux has been baking for over 35 years at several in-store bakeries, including 19 years at NAIT as a Baking and Pastry instructor and academic chair.

He passionately supports the baker trade and volunteers time to support the youth in Skills Canada Baking competitions.

He has competed globally, representing Canada in the Louis Lesaffre Cup, World Cup of Baking and World Bakery Masters.

Paul Swanson @paul_swanson_ Paul is an Edmonton-based photographer and has worked with clients across the country. He wrote this nine weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic. You’re reading this in July and he’s hoping things are way better... fingers crossed!

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p h o t o ST E FA N L E G A C Y a n d Z A K A R I YA I S M A I L

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BIKE L ANES, WATER STATIONS AND STAIRS CAN HELP A CIT Y GET FIT.

to display calories on menu boards.

Daycares were required to serve water, not unlimited amounts of juice and sugar-sweetened beverages to children. Grocers were encouraged to move into “food deserts” (neighbourhoods that didn’t have access to healthy food) thanks to tax and zoning incentives. It encouraged stair use through signage and by painting stairways in fun colours. “In under a decade, the city reversed childhood obesity trends and improved life expectancy,” Lee says.

CIT Y

H E A LTH Y BY D E S I G N D R . K A R E N L E E B E L I E V E S T H AT BETTER COMMUNITY PLANNING HAS LONG-TERM MEDICAL BENEFITS WHEN DR. KAREN LEE, associate professor, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta and author of Fit Cities, was growing up in St. Albert, she didn’t anticipate becoming a disease detective. Before COVID-19 introduced Edmontonians to the work of epidemiologists, who knew a disease detective was even a thing?

One of the first such sleuths was Dr. John Snow, who in 1854 identified the source of cholera in one London neighbourhood: Contaminated water from a public well. By the 20th century, cholera was virtually eradicated.

“We don’t have great treatment for cholera,” says Lee, “instead we’ve relied on changing our environment 20 avenue S U M M E R . 2 0

by building clean water infrastructure to control that disease.”

After completing her masters and residency in Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the University of Toronto, Lee was consumed by the question: If pandemics can be controlled with environmental changes, can non-communicable diseases like obesity be controlled too? In 2004, Lee was hired by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to use environmental changes to control non-communicable diseases.

Lee took her experience at the CDC to New York City, and with a small team set out to create a healthier city.

The city’s health department took on the fast-food industry, requiring chains

IT TAKES A VILLAGE With 63 per cent of Canadian adults overweight or obese in 2018, Lee doesn’t believe it’s fair to blame individuals for not having willpower. “The science is showing us that if we live in unsupportive environments making it difficult to stick to our diets or exercise goals, then we will likely fail at it.”

She believes fighting obesity is a community battle that starts with how we design our communities. In Fit Cities,Lee shares ideas from all over the world. Adult exercise bikes and elliptical equipment at playgrounds?

Taipei has them. Affordable rapid transit, with dedicated bus-only lanes throughout the city? Bogota has it.

She hopes people will be inspired and ask, “Why not in Edmonton?”

Since returning to Edmonton in 2018, Lee has seen how much the city has increased densification and, if you live in the core, good access to active transportation systems like LRT service, biking and walking trails. But what can we do better?

Promote stair use – “Burn calories, not electricity. Take the stairs!” Lee says signs like this can increase stair use by over 50 per cent. One Harvard study showed that climbing the equivalent of just three to five floors a day can reduce risk of stroke by 29 per cent.

Connect suburban houses to shopping areas – Lee believes connecting residential areas to the many suburban shopping areas with paths would encourage walking, as well as encourage more local shopping for a win-win.

“ T HE SCIENCE IS SHOWING US THAT IF WE LIVE IN UNSUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTS MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO STICK TO OUR DIETS OR EXERCISE GOALS, THEN WE WILL LIKELY FAIL AT IT.” — DR. K AREN LEE

Stop the use of restrictive covenants on supermarket sites – this restricts access to healthy food options in many older communities where grocery stores have gone out of business and new ones are unable to set up shop.

Continue to expand safe bike networks – the city recently turned a traffic lane into a bike path along Victoria Park. If you consider that biking 15 minutes to work and back each day burns an average 10 pounds per year, that lane helps hundreds of people to not just maintain their weight, but decrease it.

Expand access to water refill stations in streets and parks – “When we are already doing road work, why not connect pipes to public fountains?” Lee asks.

Adopt the U of A’s Housing for Health Project guidelines – enable healthy communities to ensure the City, builders and design firms working on development and renovation projects include health and well-being considerations going forward.

— Carissa Halton

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WHOLE WHE AT BRE AD PICTURED HERE . FOR A BUT TERMILK RECIPE , VISIT AVENUEEDMONTON.COM

HOM E

O N TH E R I S E

bread baked and photographed by DANIEL WOOD

ALAN DUMONCEAUX IS THE CHAIR OF THE BAKING P R O G R A M AT N A I T, W I T H M A N Y O F U S H A V I N G M O R E T I M E AT HOME, HERE’S HIS EASIEST B R E A D R E C I P E F O R U S T O T R Y.

Bread Flour 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour 3 Cups Water 326 ml Eggs 3 Large Eggs Room Temperature Unsalted Butter 4 Tablespoons Sugar 2 Tablespoons plus 2 Teaspoons Salt 2 Teaspoons Instant Yeast 2 3/4 Teaspoons Yield: Two loaves @ 650 grams each or 1 loaf and 13 buns @ 50 grams each.

Mixing Method: Stand Mixer

STEPS 1. Place room-temperature (21°C) water and eggs in mixing bowl, then sprinkle instant yeast into water. Note: If using active dry yeast, take 1/2 cup or 125 ml of warm water (40°C) from the formula and stir yeast into water and leave it for 10 minutes. Then continue with step one.

2. Add butter, sugar, salt and flours into mixing bowl.

3. With a dough hook, mix on low speed for six minutes.

4. Turn speed up to medium-high speed and mix for 8-10 minutes. Every couple of minutes stop the mixer, lower the bowl and turn dough over in mixing bowl, this ensures consistent dough development.

5. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl, round into a smooth dough ball, place the dough into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to rest for one hour.

6. After one hour give the dough a four-way stretch and fold and place the dough back in the bowl, cover and let rest for one hour.

7. Dust counter lightly with flour, place dough on top of flour and divide in half — approx. two 650-gram portions.

8. Round the loaf into a ball, place on a lightly floured counter, lightly dust the top of the loaf with flour, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

9. Flatten the dough, with a stiff flat hand, ensuring to degas all the excess carbon dioxide, then tightly roll up into a loaf, and place the seam side down into a greased loaf pan.

10. Allow to rise for two to three hours at room temperature. Ensure the dough is always covered with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.

11. When the dough is one inch above the edge of the pan, preheat the oven to 425°F. 12. Once the oven has come to the temperature, place loaf in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.

13. Immediately remove the loaf from loaf pan and allow it to cool on a wire rack, allowing it to cool evenly on all sides. If you leave it in the loaf pan or on the counter, the loaf will sweat.

14. Do not cut the loaf for a minimum of one hour after baking. The loaf needs to cool to allow for proper slicing and flavour development.

— Alan Dumonceaux

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ED. IS COMING. A MAGAZINE REBORN. NEW LOOK , NEW AT TITUDE .

EVERY THING NEW IS NEW AGAIN. WE’ VE CHANGED, EDMONTON. REALLY, WE HAVE .

YOUR FAVOURITE MAGAZINE IS BEING REIMAGINED, AND WE’RE GOING TO BE BET TER THAN EVER. YOUR CIT Y. FANTASTIC FOOD AND DRINK .

IN-DEPTH FEATURES. ST YLE AND SPACES. BUSINESS. CULTURE .

LOOK FOR IT OCTOBER, 2020

PERSONIF Y. UNIF Y. IDENTIF Y. ELECTRIF Y.

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AN ODE TO Y EG

As told to ST E V E N S A N D O R , K AT E R Y N A D I D U K H and CO R Y S C H AC H T E L Photography CO O P E R & O ’ H A RA

To say that the first half of 2020 has been challenging would be a massive understatement. From cancelled events to postponed sports seasons to summer plans gone awry, COVID-19 has affected every single one of us.

But, Edmonton is a place of hope and optimism.

So, we asked a number of prominent Edmontonians to tell us their favourite things about living in this city. Some told us what they miss most, some told us about the things that still bring joy to their hearts. We will persevere through the COVID-19 pandemic, Edmonton; we will see you on the other side.

Our photographers Cooper & O’Hara constructed a large green COVID box and set up a makeshift studio in the back of a warehouse bay. With the bay doors open people pulled up one by one in their cars and let us photograph them while keeping their social distance.

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ALEX PRIOR CHIEF CONDUCTOR OF EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

NNEKA OTO GBO LU

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND EQUITY STRATEGY, EDMONTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ➔ Nneka Otogbolu moved to Edmonton from Nanaimo, B.C., in March of this year. And, immediately, she noticed one major change — she didn’t have to drive her three kids to school anymore.

“Moving from a community of about 100,000 people to a city of over a million people, that can be a shock, but right away Edmonton felt like home to me,” she says. “It’s family friendly, and you can see that in the way the city is planned.

Every community has a school, and my kids can now walk to school from home.”

Otogbolu moved to Canada from Nigeria in 2016, but Edmonton offers her a taste of home.

“This is a diverse city,” she says. “It is great to come here and find that there are African shops so I can make meals like I did back at home. I can enjoy the same things I enjoyed back in Nigeria.”

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➔ Alex Prior was born in London, England, has studied music in Russia and has conducted in many parts of the world, including Copenhagen and Seattle.

But, he’s not only cemented himself as part of Edmonton’s arts scene, he’s truly made the city his home. He loves the ambience of Bistro Praha and sitting on the patio at Pip. He’s missing those things at the moment, and he admits the cancellation of many of Edmonton’s arts festivals due to the COVID-19 pandemic has him “grieving.”

“The combination of the Fringe Fest, Folk Fest and ending with the ESO’s Symphony under the Sky means that Edmonton has one of the best summers anywhere in the world. I tell my friends from New York, from California, from Europe, from around the whole world — head to Edmonton for part of your summer, you will not regret it. Not only are these festivals, and many other ones too, truly world-class and incredible, but the weather is beautiful, the days are long, and the light has this beautiful silvery edge to it that is so

characteristic of Alberta, and contrasts so beautifully with the warm yellows of the fields of wheat and the multicoloured tapestry of wildflowers around the lakes of our nearby glorious Rockies.

"And, additionally, all of these elements mean that people feel even more active and alive than ever. The streets are bustling, folks are having a grand time — it’s just the best of places. And so I’m grieving for what is a lost summer in many ways, as I know so many are with me. It’s absolutely the right thing to do and I want to salute the myriad of organizations, including my own, who have done the right thing in putting people’s welfare and supporting our brave frontline workers first, even before it was required.

I am sure that opportunities will come from this loss — they always do — and indeed it’s the only way that’s sensible to think about it. However, just imagine how awesome it will be when it comes back! And I want the world to hear — Edmonton, any time of year, is an awesome place to visit, especially for its arts scene.”

JASON GREGOR

RADIO HOST OF THE JASON GREGOR SHOW ON TSN 1260, LEAD COLUMNIST AT OILERSNATION ➔ It is April. When we speak to Jason Gregor (Top 40 Under 40 alumnus, class of 2011) over the phone, he has just got off the air and is about to drive to his family’s farm by New Sarepta. He’s going to help with the calving, and the -20 Celsius temperatures mean he’s got to do it in the warm barn, as it’s too cold for the cattle to give birth outside.

On his show earlier that day, more than $5,000 was raised for the Edmonton Food Bank, even though he knows that, in the heart of the COVID-19 crisis, many of his listeners are facing their own financial hardships. By the end of that week, a total of $23,000 was raised for the food bank, on his show.

“It’s something I love about Edmonton. The philanthropy. There’s a lot of quiet money in Edmonton.

But, when push comes to shove, people step up and help. People might be losing their jobs, but they still find a way to donate 20 bucks or 50 bucks or even more.”

And what impresses him is the number of his listeners who make donations but don’t want their names read on air. He says that someone called in to make a large donation to the Food Bank, someone who is now on his feet after having used the charity in the past, and that person insisted that his contribution be done under a fake name.

It’s the fact that so many Edmontonians want to give — without seeking publicity — that says a lot about the fabric of our city, says Gregor.

CR ASH AND MARS

102.3 NOW! RADIO MORNING SHOW HOSTS ➔ Crash: “We lived in the suburbs for years, but we loved going out downtown. So, one afternoon we were downtown on a patio, and I ran to put more money in the meter, and there was an open house sign at one of the condos. We were like, uh, can we do this? And we just made an appointment, kind of a spur-ofthe-moment decision, and we fell in love with it right away. A few months later, we were in our new downtown home!”

Mars: “We don’t regret it at all. As someone who grew up here, it’s great to see downtown come into its own and kind of grow up a bit. We’re OWNER, ALL ACCESS ENTERTAINMENT; lucky to live down here and watch DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF COMMUNICAthis community grow and transform, TIONS AND MARKETING, MACEWAN even just in the past five years alone.

UNIVERSITY; COLUMNIST, CBC RADIO Edmontonians of all walks of life are ACTIVE’S IN CROWD here, getting out together, going to ➔ “I love that no matter the week and no matter restaurants, riding scooters. the weather, there is always something to do in We got to see the development this city. You can see a play, take in an exhibit, listen of Alex Decoteau Park. And I swear, to some live music. Read a poem — heck, write a poem — build an ice sculpture, be a part of a folklore the people working out at Constable re-enactment. Not a weekend goes by in a calendar Ezio Faraone Park are really good year that one can’t find a legitimate response to the looking!” statement, ‘I’m bored.’

“And, while I’ve been lucky enough to have many of those ‘I was there when...’ experiences, not everything is a hit. I’ve sat through my fair share of stinky artistic endeavours. But I love that we keep trying.

We travel the world and bring back ideas.

“We push ourselves to be better, aim higher, dream bigger. Whether as a participant or observer, it’s the art that always leaves me feeling sad, happy, angry, confused, silly, disappointed, challenged and bewildered — and reminds me that Edmonton is a great place to live and not just exist.”

AIMÉE HILL

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APRIL DEAN

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SNAP ➔ April Dean (Top 40 Under 40 alumna, class of 2016) has been executive director at SNAP Gallery for eight years, but she first became involved with the organization long before that — when she volunteered there as an undergrad.

“To be able to come back in a service role as the executive director… it really opened my eyes to the importance of a place for artists to connect with their community, that can help young artists to thrive.”

SNAP is one of the oldest art hubs in the city — the gallery has been around for a few decades, and hasn’t stopped drawing artists in since it opened its doors in 1989.

“Many of the artists that founded the organization still take a really active part in the community, which I think is really rare for an organization that’s 40 years old,” says Dean. “For me, that’s really fostered sort of a sense of mentorship, and also this feeling of responsibility of wanting to give back to my community.”

RITCHIE VELTHUIS

SCULPTOR OF THE SCTV MONUMENT, BUILD MANAGER OF THE EDMONTON ICE CASTLES ➔ “As a lifelong visual artist working in Edmonton, my favourite thing about the city is our strong sense of community. I have had the opportunity to work with many different groups and events throughout my career. Edmontonians are passionate and always seem to step up to the plate to contribute to a cause, an event, a neighbourhood project or festival.

Our community spirit makes me proud to call myself an Edmontonian.”

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100 years of letting kids be kids.

James Ogilvie founded his law firm in 1920 on the belief that it’s not enough to simply work in the community, his firm would work for the community. A century later, Mr. Ogilvie’s legacy lives on. As we emerge from the pandemic to a new world, we feel it’s more important than ever to serve our clients with integrity and enthusiastically support various causes that make Edmonton the city we’re proud to call home.

We are especially proud to commemorate our 100th anniversary with a $100,000 contribution to All in for Youth, a United Way initiative. All in for Youth provides local students with resources to learn and develop the life skills they will need to succeed into adulthood, helping to break the cycle of poverty for vulnerable children and families in our community.

strathcona.ca/youcanvisit

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Photo credit ŠCurtis Comeau/Travel Alberta

With only the stars for company, you can physical distance from four light years away.

MALCOLM BRUCE

CEO, EDMONTON GLOBAL ➔ As the head of an organization that promotes the city to an international audience, Malcolm Bruce has seen a slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Right now, the emphasis is on looking inward, and supporting local initiatives,” says Bruce. And that’s true whether you live in Edmonton, Toronto, New York or Tokyo. So building international relationships hasn’t been on the forefront of many businesspeople’s minds through the spring of 2020.

But, Bruce is confident that Edmonton Metropolitan Region will roar back once the all-clear is given.

“I think once we get to a new normal, whatever that will look like, there will be lots of opportunity.”

He says that the region has a track record of three things: Resilience, character and community.

“During times of strife, this is a community that has always come together,” he says. “Whether it was coming out of the Dirty Thirties, the Second World War, or many booms and busts, this region has always proved to be resilient. It comes back.”

He says that no matter what the world will look like postCOVID-19, Edmontonians will have a sense of togetherness to greet what is to come.

KEN BAUTISTA

PARTNER, MAKESPACE GROUP; CO-FOUNDER, STARTUP EDMONTON ➔ What makes some start-ups succeed where others fail? According to the co-founder of Startup Edmonton and now a partner at Makespace Group, Ken Bautista, it’s the supportive community and the power of open collaboration. For those “looking to get an idea off the ground,” Edmonton is the city to be in, says Bautista, a Top 40 Under 40 alumnus, class of 2009. Here, it’s easier to foster connections, find support and collaborations, and ask for help — and receive it.

“Everybody is always trying to build something [here], and there’s a lot of that community and openness that not many cities have necessarily,” says Bautista.

The collaborative entrepreneurial scene in Edmonton is what allows start-ups to successfully develop here in a way that might not be possible elsewhere.

“Entrepreneurship can be a really lonely, isolating thing,” says Bautista. “In this city, I think people are looking for more connectivity to help each other build things.”

His own work is a testament to that. When Bautista and fellow Top 40 Cam Linke co-founded Startup Edmonton in 2009, their idea was to provide entrepreneurs with the support and encouragement they needed.

“We started it to try to connect with other entrepreneurs and turns out there was a whole bunch of them out there waiting to connect, and help build,” says Bautista. “It started off with small gatherings and then kind of snowballed from there.”

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J ESSE LI P SCOMBE

ACTOR, SINGER AND SPEAKER, CO-FOUNDER OF #MAKEITAWKWARD CAMPAIGN ➔ Lipscombe loves the collaboration and possibilities that exist in Edmonton, how we can make ideas come to fruition and work with so many different sectors of our city.

“Even during a lockdown, I wrote this TV show (Locked in Love) and was able to reach out to people and we shot it with 20 actors from all over North America while following AHS (Alberta Health Services) guidelines,” he says. “Now there’s another company jumping in that’s opening a drive-in, and we’re going to be the first show that’s shown there.”

And this collaboration happened in response to his least favourite part of our city, and many cities, with #MakeItAwkward about racism in Edmonton. “When the video (which captured audio of racists yelling epithets at Lipscombe) came up, the city — in droves — supported our response (Lipscombe’s campaign encouraging people to confront racist behaviour when they see it).

I’m talking the actual citizens were behind it, the media, the police were behind it, the schools, the politicians were behind it — I had a sit-down with the mayor three days after it happened.”

The same thing happened with the Be the Change rally, where Black, Indigenous and people of colour — reacting with the world to the murder of George Floyd — shared their experiences of racism in Edmonton. “[That collaboration] happened in even a quicker period of time, from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday evening,” he says. “In each case, something horrible happened, but it wasn’t a city where they tried to pretend it’s not a real thing. It wasn’t covered just like, ‘Oh that’s a cool event.’ Each time it happened, the city’s response was, ‘How can we be better?’”

SAR AH HAMILTON

EDMONTON CITY COUNCILLOR, WARD 5 ➔ “So there was this German exchange student who went to high school with my brother. Some of my friends knew him, but we had never actually met in, like, 15 years. Come August 2018, I was at my friend’s house for a party and I said my resolution for 2019 was that I was going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, because I wanted to do it my whole life. And this other friend said, ‘Who are you going to do it with?’ That’s when Nick, the German exchange student, walked by.

I said, ‘Nick, you want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with me?’ And he said OK — his father had done it in the ’70s, and he always wanted to complete that goal as well.

“We had to train for endurance, and the best way to train for endurance is walking through the river valley. So every Saturday during that winter, we would put on our boots and go for two-, threehour walks, meandering through the river valley, with nothing to do but talk to each other, admire the river valley, the architecture of the city and talk about our favourite things about Edmonton.

Through the river valley, we got to know each other, we actually got to like each other and we fell in love. And, as a bonus, last summer, we actually ended up climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, too!”

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K YR A BROWN

DANIELLE WOO

GENERAL MANAGER, WEST EDMONTON MALL ➔ This year, Danielle Woo celebrated her 10th anniversary working in the corporate office at West Edmonton Mall. And, while many of WEM’s stores and attractions had to temporarily shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, the regular hustle and bustle of one of the world’s largest retail centres enthralls her in her adult years just as it did when she was a child.

“Shortly after its grand opening I clearly remember the first time my parents took me to visit the ‘greatest indoor show on ‘Earth,’” she recalls. “It was unlike anything that existed at the time anywhere in the world, and as a six-year-old it was a sight to behold.

My family spent countless days at the Mall during my youth. My siblings and I could be easily entertained at the skating rink, the amusement park, or a day at the World Waterpark, especially in the depths of the Alberta winters.”

She eventually moved to Vancouver, but made WEM a big part of her itineraries whenever she came back home to visit.

Now, she enjoys the mall on a daily basis. And while it is her workplace, she says the magic that once thrilled her when she was a little girl now works on her niece and nephew.

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INDIGENOUS RELATIONS ADVISOR, EDMONTON ARTS COUNCIL ➔ Kyra Brown has traveled to many places. But what’s always stood out to her about her hometown is how the city’s leadership believes in “nurturing relationships that are meaningful.”

“We try to learn from what’s been done, what worked and what hasn’t, and then figure out how we can co-create better ways of engagement,” says Brown, a mixed-blood Nehiyaw (Cree) and Portuguese Iskwew (woman).

“Amiskwacîwâskahikan — Beaver House — Edmonton has a richness in cultural and traditional diversity that is reflected in the arts, our food, our people and communities. I enjoy that Edmonton is opening up to reflect our Indigenous communities in the collaborative creation of a meaningful and beautiful Indigenous Art Park, named (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞.”

In the 1980s, Brown also discovered a personal connection to the city’s iconic hockey team.

“During the mid-’80s my family was going through major tragedies with both my mother and father passing away,” she recalls. “It was interesting and uplifting to feel the surge of our Edmontonians’ energy resonating with every Oilers’ victory. Those times over the years actually helped me step out of some dark emotional stressful times.”

Following the COVID-19 shutdowns, the Edmonton Arts Council team has responded with new organizational and independent artist granting opportunities.

“This is really a tough time for many folks and I see people delivering care packages and reaching out to each other in more meaningful ways,” says Brown. “I feel a heightened willingness to reach out… I belong to a strong, resilient city community, and I’m glad to be here.”

CHERIE KLASSEN

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OLD STRATHCONA BUSINESS ASSOCIATION ➔ After leaving Edmonton to attend the university in Calgary years ago, Cherie Klassen never imagined she would be coming back. But her move back turned out to be life changing. In 2017, she took on the role of executive director of Old Strathcona Business Association — one that aligned with her passion for supporting the small business community.

“I’m a big community champion… it’s at the very root of who I am as a person,” says Klassen. “And I think our community connectedness is so tight in this city.”

Following the shutdowns due to COVID-19, Klassen has seen an outpouring of people reaching out to the Old Strathcona Business Association, asking what they can do to help support and promote small businesses. She has witnessed an incredible amount of perseverance, and people adapting on a dime.

“I have been just blown away by seeing these small business owners and entrepreneurs quickly adapting in a day or two, and changing their entire business models to be able to adapt and still meet their customers’ needs with open arms,” says Klassen. “People come together to support each other, regardless of their walks of life.”

DARRIN HAGEN ACTOR AND PLAYWRIGHT

➔ “As a teenager, travelling into the city on a Greyhound bus, the shot of the Edmonton skyline from Saskatchewan Drive was only visible for a few seconds before heading down the winding road that plunges into the river valley. The view literally made my stomach flip with excitement. I just knew that somewhere, buried deep in that impressive forest of towers and concrete and glass, was the me I would become.

“Eventually I moved out of downtown, landing on Saskatchewan Drive, where the skyline dominated my vision and my imagination from a new angle. I became the observer, not the participant. I started taking pictures like a maniac — it was my model.

“The skyline never stopped working its magic on me, whether rising mysteriously out of the ice fog, or sternly reflecting the hottest August sun.

“And then, after years of unchanging stillness, it suddenly springs to life: New cranes everywhere, indicating where the next towers would rise. Through the boom years I had a bird’s-eye Saskatchewan Drive view of the construction as it clawed away at the clouds. I was already accustomed to seeing it as a living organism, feeding on a stream of traffic for its morning kick, then bleeding rivers of cars in a nonstop rush hour. Fog floated in front of it, mammoth thunderheads appeared behind it, icy steam rose above it, small planes navigated around it, prairie dust and 7-Eleven bags blasted through it. Depending on when I looked out the window, I could see a sunset red from forest fire smoke sinking behind Oliver, weather conversions, gigantic winds approaching from the west, a dozen hot-air balloons taking off from the baseball diamond, northern lights, fireworks… and the host, the backdrop, the main event, the star, was always Edmonton’s skyline.”

DANIELLE LUNDY (and Gracie)

DIRECTOR SALES AND MARKETING, FAIRMONT HOTEL MACDONALD ➔ Danielle Lundy moved to Edmonton from Ontario two years ago — and was taken by the warm welcome she and her family received from neighbours, coworkers and pretty well everyone she met.

“What struck me first about this city was how warm and generous the people are,” says Lundy. “We had countless offers to help with our condo hunt, restaurant recommendations, sightseeing tours, business partnerships, friendships and so much more.”

As a director of sales and marketing at Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, Lundy spends a large part of her week in downtown — but, in her spare time, she never misses a chance to spend time in nature. Her weekends are usually split between long walks in the parks with her family or their small dog, checking out the festivals and shopping at the farmers markets.

In Edmonton, Lundy discovered an incredible balance of downtown city amenities and urban park areas — something that’s hard to find.

“I love the ample green space located throughout the city,” says Lundy. “There are so many options within a 10-minute drive from downtown, so we feel like we never stop exploring new green space in the city.”

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ALYSSA PATERSON

DARYL CLOR AN

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, CITADEL THEATRE ➔ Daryl Cloran moved here with his family in September 2016 — and hasn’t regretted it one bit. He was impressed by Edmonton’s renowned Ice Castles — a unique experience that his family didn’t hesitate to check out when they got here.

“We’ve been so welcome,” says Cloran. “This felt like a real place where we could belong.”

Like its longtime residents, he has come to appreciate the river valley and the city’s sports scene — and his two young sons started playing hockey the same winter they moved here. The game has also allowed him to explore the city in a way that he wouldn’t otherwise.

“I got to know Edmonton really well, because I had to drive to all the little rinks everywhere around the city,” says Cloran. “So I’ve explored every corner of Edmonton thanks to youth hockey.”

Cloran moved to Edmonton to take up a role of the artistic director at Citadel Theatre, one of the first establishments to take a heavy hit from COVID-19. All shows were rapidly cancelled or postponed. Numerous artists lost their work. But what followed was the incredible collaboration and generosity in the midst of loss.

“The thing that’s really blown me away is how the artists have come together,” says Cloran. “It’s been pretty amazing to see how artists are supporting each other and how much work is suddenly going online… and the amount of artists finding ways to still have theatre exist in various forms online.”

And Citadel Theatre was no exception. To support its artists, Citadel launched its Stuck-In-The-House series in March. Each day the theatre uploaded a new video by a different artist and was able to pay that person through the Edmonton Community Foundation. Cloran sees these collaborations as a testament to the kind of people that live in Edmonton — the “people that make things happen.”

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GENERAL MANAGER, EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & WINSPEAR CENTRE (TOP 40 UNDER 40, CLASS OF 2019) ➔ “I moved to Edmonton in 2011, after living in five other cities in the previous seven years. I’d been hired to work with the City, and arrived knowing no one in Edmonton aside from a few family members. Having moved so often during my adult life, I was used to working hard to meet people and make friends, and expected this to be the case in Edmonton as well.

“I summoned the courage to go to Brittany’s Lounge for a musical theatre open mic night. I went alone, knowing no one and fully planning to sit and listen quietly in a corner. As soon as I arrived, I was embraced — both literally and figuratively — by a group of like-minded people, who made me sit with them.

They placed binders of sheet music in my hands and, before I knew it, I was singing Sondheim in front of a group of people who are now my close friends and colleagues in the arts. Their welcoming spirit brought me back to my first love, musical theatre, after many years away from it, and opened my eyes to the friendliness and generosity of spirit that Edmontonians exude. The sense of community and welcoming spirit that exists here is something that I haven’t experienced in any other city, and it’s a huge factor in why I’ve chosen to make Edmonton my home.”

QUINN PHILLIPS

SPORTS ANCHOR AND REPORTER, GLOBAL NEWS ➔ “A few years ago, my friend Wanda and I were walking down 109th Street when we saw highschool friends on a patio. We hadn’t seen them in years and it was just instinct to run and join them. It turned into a few beers — then a few more (plus nachos) — and a much needed catch-up turned into an all-night celebration.

“I love Edmonton’s sense of community. It can often feel like a small town. You go with one group and then, inevitably, see other people you know, and if there are people at the table you don’t know, you feel like you’re friends by the end of the night.

“You can also guarantee seeing friends on a patio any day at any time. You go with one group and then inevitably see 10 other people you know and get another much needed catch-up.”

MANFRED ZEUCH

VICE-PRESIDENT, EXTERNAL AFFAIRS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

➔ Manfred Zeuch moved to Edmonton from Brazil 13 years ago, but was taken by the city well before that. He first heard about its mix of urban landscape and greenery when he was still teaching in Brazil. His colleague, who was a former flight attendant and visited the city several times, described Edmonton as “a mix of New York and Switzerland.” And Zeuch agrees the statement has some merit.

“It’s clean and organized and, at the same time, it’s kind of urban, nice looking like New York,” says Zeuch.

“Edmonton is one of the two sunniest cities in Canada and that aspect has attracted us [here]. And also, the city has a mind-blowing ratio of green spaces that it’s known for.”

Zeuch came here for a new position in academia, and later joined Concordia University in 2012. “I’m very proud of being a part of the Edmonton education web — it’s a very strong one,” says Zeuch.

“We love the temperate climate of the prairies here,” says Zeuch.

“We like the city for this calm, green,

natural and sunny place, but also for its vibrancy in innovation and culture and, of course, education.”

Though his first glimpse of Edmonton couldn’t be bleaker, he was pleasantly surprised to discover the landscape that awaited him once the snow has cleared.

“When we were coming in and landing, we just saw a white blanket, and we said to each other, ‘Where is Edmonton?’” Zeuch recalls. “And lo and behold, in May and June, we see that uncovering from the white, was the amazing green.”

Zeuch notes how the city has greatly developed over the last decade, since he moved here. “The transformation that we’ve been seeing in the downtown and in the cityscape is amazing,” says Zeuch.

“Me and my wife appreciate that the city not only wants to be smart, but also green and sustainable. So the development of a bike culture, transit system and sustainable housing and buildings, that’s very important for us.”

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MARY MOREAU

ALAN NURSALL

PRESIDENT AND CEO, TELUS WORLD OF SCIENCE ➔ Having spent his childhood right on the edge of the river valley, Alan Nursall fondly recalls his days of skiing down the back alley, to the top of Whitemud hill, and using the rope tow to go again.

“We had our own little slice of the river valley… it was our neighbourhood hangout,” says Nursall. “I grew up with the river valley basically being the backyard, and it was pretty special.”

Though he moved away from Edmonton for 33 years, when the opportunity arose to take a job at TWOSE in his hometown, Nursall accepted it without hesitation.

“It was fun to come back and see how it’s changed,” says Nursall. “I’m thrilled to be here.”

Having moved back in 2014, he was astonished to find an abundance of wildlife — especially rabbits — that the city didn’t have in the 1970s. He was also reminded of the amazing Edmonton summers, the kind that “we should never take for granted.”

“Edmonton summers are spectacular,” says Nursall. “They’re dry and sunny and they’re warm.” For Nursall, returning to Edmonton opened up the new horizons — quite literally.

“The skies [here] are really blue,” says Nursall.

“You get a nice Arctic or polar airmass moving over northern Alberta and the skies are just amazing.”

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CHIEF JUSTICE, ALBERTA COURT OF QUEEN’S BENCH ➔ The chief justice of the province’s superior court lists a few Edmonton landmarks that continue to inspire her. Even though she was raised in Edmonton, she still sees the city with fresh eyes.

“I was born and raised near Edmonton’s river valley and have never moved far away from it. The valley is a real gem, even shinier with the Walterdale Bridge spanning the river and framing spectacular sight lines to downtown Edmonton.”

On the east end of this tour, you’ll head towards the Muttart, which is currently closed for renovations, and to Gallagher Hill. The Muttart is missed, as the gardens inside allow for people to have a stroll in the park, even in the dead of winter.

“The pyramids of the Muttart Conservatory remind me of those -30 Celsius days in the middle of winter when I let my kids loose inside to oxygenate,” she says.

She also enjoys viewing the “Dove of Peace,” located nearby. Created by Eddie Williams, the dove was installed to provide shelter for the temporary altar that was built at CFB Namao for Pope John Paul II’s 1984 visit. After he led mass for hundreds of thousands, a permanent home for the dove was established at Gallagher Park.

Now, we’ll head to the western side of Moreau’s tour.

“Skating in Victoria Park, jogging on the valley trails and soaking up incredible valley views from patios overlooking it have been a big part of my life in Edmonton, every season of the year,” she says.

ALPHONSO DAVIES

FULLBACK, BAYERN MUNICH ➔ It’s hard for Edmontonians to wrap their heads around Alphonso Davies’ meteoric rise. A decade ago, he was a kid on the playgrounds of the city. Now, he’s a regular starter for one of the world’s most popular sports teams.

It’s not a question that Davies is the most famous Edmontonian alive right now. He could already be the most famous Edmontonian… ever. On top of the fact that millions upon millions of people watch him on television — per week — he just signed a lucrative extension that will keep him with Bayern till 2025.

Bayern just won its eighth consecutive Bundesliga title, and Davies has become known in Germany as “The Roadrunner” because of his sprint speeds in excess of 35 km/h. He was named the league’s Rookie of the Season.

He’s also a massive TikTok star.

He’s got over 970,000 TikTok followers and his videos collectively have earned over 17 million likes.

When Canada, the United States and Mexico made their successful bid for the World Cup, Davies was asked to speak to the world on behalf of his home country.

As the bid was presented, Davies spoke in front of camera crews who came from around the planet.

“When I was five years old, a country called Canada welcomed us in, and the boys on the football team made me feel at home… I’m a proud Canadian citizen.

And my dream is to someday compete in the World Cup, maybe even in my hometown of Edmonton.”

Even though he’s a global celebrity, and he’s currently in Germany, Davies told Avenue that he will never forget what Edmonton means to him.

“I love Edmonton, it’s my home. It’s where my family lives and it’s where I grew up. I started my soccer career in Edmonton and the city is filled with great memories for myself. I always look forward to coming home.”

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97 HEAVEN th

CONNOR MCDAVID’S HOUSE HAS EVERYTHING YOU WOULD IMAGINE — EXCEPT HOCKEY MEMORABILIA BY

CA ROLINE GAULT

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PHOTOGRAPHY

PAUL SWANSO N

CONFESSION: I’ve never been to an Oilers game, but I’ve somehow made it inside Connor McDavid’s house. As an Edmontonian, I don’t know if that makes me ridiculously lucky, extremely smart, or a complete asshole (or all three), but it certainly makes me an anomaly.

Thankfully, inside the modern sleek, blackand wood-accented exterior there’s not a hockey reference in sight, so I won’t have to fake it. As 23-year old interior designer Lauren Kyle — McDavid’s longtime girlfriend — welcomes me into the 8,000-square-foot mansion she designed, she’s rightly amused by my suggestion that hockey royalty must have hockey regalia adorning the walls. "Connor doesn’t like showing off hockey memorabilia," she says.

What the interior does have, however, is a fitting sense of youth and grandeur: A plush, grey sectional sofa by Timothy Oulton large enough to host an entire team anchors the living room; a glass wine-bar wall in the basement is stocked with hundreds of bottles; a Hollywood-style his-and-her dream closet (we’ll get to that later) lives upstairs; an indoor sports court (McDavid’s dream) is one of the mostused spaces in the house; and a very chic — yes, chic — elevator will lead you to a top-floor, heated balcony with its own hot tub, swing and unfettered views of Edmonton’s river valley.

It’s a dream home for a young couple with nothing but possibilities ahead. During the 18-month build, Kyle had free reign to bring the house to life — save for a few key requests from her boyfriend (like that sports court). When asked to describe the interior in three words, Kyle says, “Tactile. Intimate. Hub.” The striking space is designed to entertain guests, bordered with black-and-white ceilings and walls, textured backdrops and Italian Calacutta marble.

Interior Designer/Decorator, KYLE & CO. DESIGN STUDIO; Architect, DESIGN TWO GROUP; Calacutta porcelain kitchen island, WESTERN MARBLE CRAFT; Kitchen light, SONNEMAN LIGHTING; Dining room light, VIBIA LIGHTING; Office light, APPARATUS STUDIO; Office art, SEB SWEATMAN; Main living room couch, TIMOTHY OULTON; Kitchen bar stools, LAPALAMA; Dining room table, RESTORATION HARDWARE; Dining chairs, HENGE; Office desk, RESTORATION HARDWARE; Office chair, RESTORATION HARDWARE; Coffee tables (all), GALLOTTI & RADICE; Appliances, MIELE; All custom metal work (TV paneling system and bar system), FORGE 53

“[The Calacutta] was kind of the driving force to the design concept and material palette,” Kyle tells me, noting how the gold marble veins influenced many of her accent and furnishing choices, like the brass and suede Henge dining room chairs.

The focal point of the open-concept kitchen is a sculptural-looking island made of Calacutta Porcelain from Edmonton’s Western Marble Craft. In all its glory, it appears to be a solid mass flowing from one surface to the next.

It’s a means of “grounding and balancing the space,” she says, and is an extra four inches taller than most countertops. “It’s like you are entertaining behind a bar, [but] it’s still functional for cooking and eating on.”

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“I love cooking just about everything,” she adds. “Indian, Italian, Greek, you name it."

The perimeter of the kitchen is almost entirely concealed with simple black panels.

Two Miele dishwashers are knock-to-open, a unique, functional feature that avoids fingerprints.

As we walk across the kitchen’s light, Herringbone wood-looking tile floors, the couples’ dog, Lenard — a miniature Bernedoodle with his own Instagram following of over 12,000 (@lenardthebernedoodle) — jumps playfully at our feet.

Lenard is clearly the man of the house; his portrait takes centre stage on a custom bar that’s encased by floor-to-ceiling metal sliding doors, which were handcrafted by Edmonton’s Forge 53.

The industrial-style furnishing company also custom made the large-scale television panels above the fireplace, almost shrinelike when the TV is on (I assume that’s when the hockey games really shine). “I did the initial drawings, showed them the concept, and explained how we wanted this system to work,” Kyle says of the paneling.

“And then they brought my vision to life.

[Forge 53] was unbelievable.”

Using Edmonton-based businesses was important to Kyle, a Sudbury, Ontario native who studied interior design and architecture at Ryerson University in Toronto. She moved to Alberta in 2019 after three years travelling back and forth every other weekend. Over that period, she also launched her own interior design studio, coined Kyle & Co., and worked closely with local architect Design Two Group Inc. to build the Edmonton house from scratch.

“I loved the process because I’m involved in it [through my work], but I think it’s definitely more difficult than people think.

There’s so much that goes into it and so many details. It’s long, it sometimes can be frustrating. It’s an interesting process.”

One process Kyle certainly had fun with was outfitting the basement of the house.

At the top and bottom of the dark, tiled staircase, urban paintings with bright splashes of colour by a New York artist named Flore hang on the walls. Downstairs,

42 avenue S U M M E R . 2 0

there are three large-scale Ralph Ueltzhoeffer portraits of Andy Warhol, Jimi Hendrix and Jack Nicholson, each composed of thousands of tiny words. The iconic faces gaze upon a cozy lounge and a frosted glass orb Apparatus Studio chandelier that dangles over the pool table, setting a playful tone to an otherwise moody, masculine room. “I wanted it to feel like a speakeasy separated from the other rooms of the house in style, because it should have its own feel,” explains Kyle. “I find, generally, that basements are so boring, and no one utlizes them well.”

Down here, Kyle scores top points for utilization. It’s where they play basketball and pickleball on that sports court (similar to the rest of the house, the sports court is also monochromatic), and they regularly hit the gym and steam shower. In the evenings, they watch movies in a theatre room that brings new meaning to the phrase, “staying in.” Equipped with custom sound paneling by Edmonton’s Eldrick Upholstery + Interiors, the room’s finishing touch is the black, movie theatre-style popcorn machine in the corner.

While the house can comfortably host three additional couples, the basement suite is a hot commodity. “Usually people are fighting over this room,” Kyle jokes.

Between the white wainscotting and a silver spiked Kelly Wearstler lighting fixture hanging over the bed — added “for visual comfort,” Kyle explains — the guest room nearly rivals the master.

Basement flooring, OLYMPIA; Pool room, APPARATUS STUDIO; Basement suite, KELLY WEARSTLER; Pool room art, Andy Warhol, Jimi Hendrix, Jack Nicholson, RALPH UELTZHOEFFER; Guest room bedding, RESTORATION HARDWARE; Basement couch - cloud couch, RESTORATION HARDWARE; Basement armchairs, RESTORATION HARDWARE; Coffee tables, GALLOTTI & RADICE

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Closet, SONNEMAN LIGHTING; Quartz closet island, WESTERN MARBLE CRAFT; Master bath shower, BRIZO; Master bath mirrors, LUMION CUSTOM MIRRORS; Closet, RESTORATION HARDWARE; Master bedroom bed frame, OLIVER APT.; Master bedroom paneling, ELDRICK UPHOLSTERY + INTERIORS

I said “nearly” in that last sentence, because Kyle’s favourite room in the house is the closet I mentioned earlier, adjacent to the upstairs master bedroom. She says the stylish, functional space was inspired by designer Yves Saint Laurent. A kind of shrine in its own right, the all-white wardrobes are illuminated by hidden overhead lighting and centre around a Nero Marquina black quartz island with T-bar knobs from London’s homefashion label Buster + Punch. On the “his” side of this dazzling dressing room, McDavid’s slip-on and athletic shoes line many of the shelves, many of which are Adidas. For Kyle, pieces range from Zimmerman and Chanel to Zara and Anthropologie.

“I find it so helpful to have a glass front to the closet [...] then you see all your basics, your blouses and your coats. It’s just so much easier to pull it all together because you can actually visualize it.”

Without a doubt, the girl’s got vision. When I exit the Edmonton house that Kyle and McDavid built, I don’t know if I’m more impressed, envious or inspired. But I certainly feel privileged.

44 avenue S U M M E R . 2 0

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AvenueEdmonton.com

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It’s Pronounced Kez-zick.

The Place to live in Southwest Edmonton

Two Brand New Schools, Gordon King Pond, and Stunning Homes from Award-Winning Builders Makes Arbours of Keswick The Place to Live in Southwest Edmonton.

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Why You Should L0VE ALBERTA

AVENUE

OUR SURVEY IS IN, AND EDMONTON’S BEST NEIGHBOURHOOD MIGHT NOT BE WHAT YOU THINK

Best Neighbourhoods

IN PREVIOUS BEST

Neighbourhoods surveys, Avenue asked our readers to tell us what they thought were the best places to live in the city. We did that again in 2020 and, to be honest, the answers were not all that different from previous years. The top 10 is similar to what we’ve seen in previous surveys, with the exception of Greenfield, the south-side neighbourhood which got a surge of votes in 2020.

EDMONTON’S TOP 10 (UNWEIGHTED) GLENORA WESTMOUNT RITCHIE HIGHLANDS OLIVER STRATHCONA GARNEAU GREENFIELD CRESTWOOD LAURIER HEIGHTS

BY STEVEN

SANDOR AND KÄTHE LEMON SIMPSON

ILLUSTRATIONS STEPHANIE

What this tells us is that, over the better part of the last decade, your perception of the best neighbourhoods to live in hasn’t changed. Many of us dream of the giant lots of Glenora, or the historic homes of Westmount. Ritchie is the cool south-of-the-river place to be, with cafes, breweries and fabulous places to eat. Highlands is the king of the east, while an Oliver condo sounds awfully nice to a lot of us.

But, in 2020, we kicked the survey off by asking our readers to rank what they thought were the most important things that, well, make for a great neighbourhood. We gave them a choice of 16 things that could make a neighbourhood great. And, the weighted choices bear no resemblance to the list above...

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EDMONTON’S TOP 10 NEIGHBOURHOODS (WEIGHTED)

1. ALBERTA AVENUE 2. QUEEN ALEXANDRA 3. DOWNTOWN 4. MCCAULEY 5. GARNEAU 6. STRATHCONA 7. BONNIE DOON 8. OLIVER 9. MEADOWLARK PARK 10. PARKDALE

TAKE A WALK

It’s not hard to find a good place to live in Edmonton. But what is the best place to live and what makes it the best? A lot of the answers to those questions are personal. Many of us want to live close to family or friends, in the neighbourhood we grew up in or close to work.

Or we love the look of a particular home on a particular street. Some of the answers have to do with intangible and subjective feelings about a place — how it feels to be there or to give it as your address rather than anything quantifiable.

But, putting all that aside for a moment, this is our data-driven approach to ranking Edmonton’s residential neighbourhoods. What makes a neighbourhood the perfect place for you to live is a matter of personal taste — but what makes a neighbourhood a great place to live for most Edmontonians — what characteristics and amenities are the most desirable to most of us? That’s the question we tried to answer with our Best Neighbourhoods survey and rankings.

In our online Best Neighbourhood survey, respondents told us a great neighbourhood is one with a high Walk Score,* lots of park spaces, with strong community engagement and good access to supermarkets. We collected data

(OUT OF 16 CHOICES)

1. High Walk Score, weight 5,794 2. High number of parks, weight 5,748 3. Strong community engagement, weight 5,313 4. Good access to supermarkets, weight 4,965 5. High transit score, weight 3,800 6. High number of restaurants, pubs and coffee shops, weight 3,661 7. Low crime, weight 3,288 8. High number of community schools, weight 2,912 Finishing at the bottom were the “reputation of a neighbourhood” and the “amount of renovations being done by homeowners.”

from the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Police Service for every neighbourhood on each of these points and then, using the weighting of the most important characteristics, crunched the numbers to calculate the results.

CALCULATING ENGAGEMENT

Community engagement means a lot of different things to different people and a lot of what it means is subjective. Yet our aim was to create an engagement score based on objective measures available comprehensively for the city’s many neighbourhoods.

One aspect of community engagement that can be measured is neighbours’ opportunities to run into each other. The more neighbours see each other out and about in their community, the more likely it is that they meet and then become involved.

To create our engagement score we collected data on access to libraries, parks, playgrounds, community halls, schools and more.

Our engagement score is definitely a proxy for other measures of community involvement such as friendly neighbours who are actively involved in helping each other. But we think it’s a pretty good proxy.

*Walk Score measures the walkability of a neighbourhood based on the percentage of daily errands that can be accomplished on foot in the area. Walk Score is a private company based in Seattle, and it provides a complete list of Walk Scores, Transit Scores and Bike Scores for Edmonton neighbourhoods on its website.

48 avenue S U M M E R . 2 0

MOST IMPORTANT NEIGHBOURHOOD CHARACTERISTICS

TOP 3 NEIGHBOURHOODS

BY THE NUMBERS

ALBERTA AVENUE

Population (2019 Census): 6,581 Walk Score: 80 Park access points: 30 Engagement score: 266 Transit Score: 66 Bike Score: 70 Crime per capita (2019): 88.13

QUEEN ALEXANDRA Population (2019 Census): 5,123 Walk Score: 73 Park access points: 22 Engagement score: 263 Transit Score: 54 Bike Score: 92 Crime per capita (2019): 85.69

DOWNTOWN

Population (2019 Census): 12,423 Walk Score: 86 Park access points: 32 Engagement score: 191 Transit Score: 84 Bike Score: 75 Crime per capita (2019): 117.12

Best Neighbourhoods

FOR SALE BUYING A HOUSE IN THE TIME OF COVID

50 avenue S U M M E R . 2 0

BY

MICHAEL GANLEY

ILLUSTR ATION S

STEPHANIE SIMPSON

IN THE MIDDLE OF MAY, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Debbie Turner listed her 1,477-square-foot home for $875,000. It’s a five-bedroom, three-bath bungalow in Grandview Heights, a neighbourhood wedged between the University of Alberta’s research farm and the North Saskatchewan River valley. Turner says she has, for a few years, had plans to sell her home and move to southern British Columbia, near Kootenay Lake. Despite the unique market circumstances COVID presents, she’s stuck to her plan. “There’s no harm listing,” she said the day after putting it on the market. “We’ll see what happens.”

We will indeed. Coronavirus has turned everything upside down and backwards. In the real estate world, open houses are verboten, tours are virtual and written assurances are required to ensure people walking through a home haven’t been abroad.

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CANADA

EDMONTON

According to Statistics Canada, the monthly change in the New Housing Price Index (April 2020)

According to the Realtors Association of Edmonton, residential unit sales were down in May 2020, compared to May 2019

0 PER CENT ANOTHER EFFECT HAS been brutal real-estate

numbers, at least since mid-March when governments started giving stay-at-home orders. In Edmonton, home sales went down 55 per cent in April from a year earlier and 36 per cent month-over-month. New residential listings declined 46 per cent for the year and 31 per cent for the month. Overall inventory fell 20 per cent from a year earlier.

Turner is familiar with the numbers. She’s well-versed in real estate; her late husband was a commercial agent and they discussed markets around the breakfast, lunch and dinner tables.

She knows Grandview Heights is a desirable community, with its large, subdividable lots, its proximity to the river and downtown and the well-regarded elementary and junior high schools. And she says her home, in particular, will be of interest. “Many of the other houses for sale in the neighbourhood are bungalows that haven’t had a lot of love,” she says. “Dated carpet, no upgrades to the bathrooms or kitchens.” Hers, wellmaintained with improvements, is the only move-in-ready place in its price range.

So, despite the gloom, she listed. Her realtor, Leslie Jia, cautioned against the move due to the low number of viewings.

He acts mostly for sellers, and has been advising clients to hold back until society gets back to some semblance of normalcy.

Prior to Turner taking the plunge, he had just one property listed, and the owner removed it. “I just had a listing terminated because the seller sees no chance of selling,” he says.

LESLIE JIA PREDICTS A FLOOD OF LISTINGS OVER THE SUMMER, AND IS CONFIDENT THAT BUYERS WILL ALSO COME OUT OF HIBERNATION. “IF YOU HAVE TO SELL IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS, SEIZE THE MOMENT,” HE SAYS. In addition to being an agent, Jia builds and sells homes.

Wearing a mask and gloves, he tours me through the 4,200-square-foot home he recently built in Windermere. He’s waiting for the market to rebound before listing (as well as for the furniture he ordered from manufacturers in Quebec — they’re corona-slow to deliver too), but when he does, he expects it will be for about $1.6 million.

He predicts a flood of listings over the summer, and is confident that buyers will also come out of hibernation. “If you have to sell in the next two years, seize the moment,” he says.

Longer term, he sees trouble, but it has little to do with the coronavirus. Edmonton’s market is still heavily driven by the

52 avenue S U M M E R . 2 0

-64%

Decline in number of new homes sold, April 2020

-57.6%

Decline in Canadian resale home market April 2020

41.5%

-4.04%

Decline in residential unit sale prices in May 2020, compared to May 2019

price of oil, and any rebound will require the global economy to get back into gear to increase demand for fossil fuels. He also cites zoning changes made by the City of Edmonton to encourage more high-density development. He says the changes are happening too fast and will result in a flood of new units on the market, depressing prices.

Jennifer Lucas, the chair of the Realtors Association of Edmonton, points out that prices in Edmonton have been remarkably resilient through the turmoil, down just 3.3 per cent on the year. But she agrees with Jia that the road ahead is long and bumpy. “A lot of real estate has to do with consumer confidence,” she says, “so even post-COVID we have to deal with the fact that a lot of small businesses may not bounce back and there may be prolonged layoffs due to the economy. People don’t necessarily want to pull the trigger on a big decision unless they have to.” On the optimistic side, she says interest rates remain incredibly low and buyers have had lots of time to get their ducks in a row.

It’s hard to say what long-term changes the pandemic might have on the real estate market and the ways we buy and sell homes. Many people have become more comfortable operating digitally, in every aspect of their lives. There may be a persistent shift to virtual tours and electronic signatures. As far as the effects on different kinds of real estate, Lucas offers two ideas; there will be more interest in acreages and large properties as people think more about food security and want space for a garden. On the commercial side, she says more businesses will keep more employees at home more often, and therefore be looking to downsize their offices. Down the road, companies in large spaces may let their leases expire and look for smaller settings.

Turner is sanguine about it all. She knows that many potential buyers will also be trying to sell their own homes, and that there will be second and even third waves of COVID-19 washing over the world. But she’s been planning the move and she’s proceeding. “COVID makes it awkward, no question,” she says. “When I make trips to the Kootenays I have to remain self-isolated, but we can collectively move on or we can stay where we are and be worried about every next turn.”

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Staycations have their perks.

Visit the Old Strathcona Farmers' Market.

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Mercer’s Weekend BBQ Specials: Our legendary BBQ catering - to go! Order by Thursday for curbside pick-up on Saturday or Sunday - 3 hot off the grill options.

Individually Packed Meals: Our most popular breakfast and lunch items are now available individually packaged to keep your group safe and well fed.

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7 8 0 . 4 31 . 0 9 7 2

T HE S E A R E N’ T Y OU R TY P I C A L CA B INS IN T HE W OODS

BY CORY SCHACHTEL + PHOTOGRAPHY BROCK KRYTON

ROOM WITH A VIEW Some of Ryan Malloy’s best memories from growing up happened at Baptiste Lake, just west of Athabasca. It’s where he spent entire summers with his cousins swimming, fishing and enjoying the fresh air. His wife, Karley, had a similar experience growing up at her family’s place in Alberta Beach. After they married, their extended families regularly vacationed together at different rented cabins in British Columbia. Great times were had, but, Ryan says, “We kind of thought, for the amount of money that costs, if we took three years’ worth of those vacations, that would be enough for a deposit on a nice place.”

They wanted something on a big lake near Edmonton, and found a largely overgrown three-lot property on Pigeon Lake.

“We evaluated a bunch of master builders and custom builders and found Josh Marchand of Marchand Construction, and that’s kind of how the process began,” Ryan explains.

Architect, Land Faculty; builder, Marchand Construction; landscape design, Julia’s Alpine Garden; steel work, Alberta Steel & Fab Inc; flooring, Quality Red Tag Floors; lighting, Rejuvenation, Restoration Hardware; windows and blinds, Performance Haus

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The Malloy home offers stellar views of Pigeon Lake

56 avenue S U M M E R . 2 0

The families took about four months to design a place that could comfortably fit all 10 adults and nine children. Ryan admits there were “definitely a lot of chefs in the kitchen” as far as who wanted what, but everyone is happy with the finished product. There was consensus on the A-frame full of big windows, but other things, like the wood-burning fire place, took some negotiation. “I was totally against having a wood-burning fireplace because I thought it would be way more trouble than it’s worth. But [brother-in-law] Luke kind of fought for it, and Josh had a great idea for the hearth, and now it’s one of our favorite elements. The fire smell is such a key element to cabin life.”

Their patience resulted in a 2,700 square foot, Scandinavian inspired house, with structural and foundational steel throughout, that is part

cabin, part home. It’s a beautiful upgrade on the old Alberta Beach property, and will generate memories for generations to come.

A New Home Nina and Troy Emes grew up on the B.C. coast, met, married and moved to Alberta with a plan to stay for about three years. Today, 27 years later, they’re still here, happy in the landlocked prairies. Neither had cabin properties growing up, but the ocean was always a nearby escape. While living in St. Albert, the couple enjoyed long weekend drives to surrounding areas, including Lac Ste. Anne County, where they discovered The Estates at Waters Edge on the north shore.

Four blocks of full-fledged homes surround a lakeside pool. There are boat launches, and, because the streets are terraced, each home has

at least a partial lake view. “We both grew up with the ocean, so it was important to be able to see water,” Nina says. The couple built a threebedroom, walk-out bungalow with a large covered deck, big panel windows and a gourmet kitchen (“a must, for me,” Nina says). White birch and aspen poplar trees border the property, providing privacy without obstructing the lake view.

“When we first saw it a long time ago, it was actually just a campsite.

But we always said it would be a great place to retire,” Nina says. But they couldn’t wait that long, and by then the gated community had become particularly appealing. “We’d been watching it develop for quite a few years. And we were thinking about coming out here even earlier, but we decided to finish raising our kids and then we bought out here after they were all done college.”

CHOICE.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

When you open Avenue magazine, most of the local ads that you see are produced by Edmonton’s advertising community, and most of those people are Advertising Club of Edmonton (ACE) members. ACE members are from every corner of the marketing, communications, advertising and media industries. We include people who work in internal marketing departments, advertising agencies, specialty companies, large media vendors and small, freelancers, interns and students. Once a year, we come together as a community to celebrate the world-class advertising and marketing work that is produced here in Edmonton at the much-anticipated ACE Awards gala. The work from 2019 was judged this past February by a panel of industry-leading experts from across North America, with the goal to ensure that the work being produced in Edmonton can compete on a world stage. And it does.

On July 18th, the Advertising Club of Edmonton celebrates our 41st annual ACE Awards.

The theme, OhShit, was chosen long before we knew a global pandemic was coming. It was an opportunity for our community to share some of their epic industry stories – the great ideas, the unbelievable moments and the sideways pivots needed to support our clients and help them thrive.

Like our members, our client, our families and friends, ACE has learned to pivot this year. Our regular Edmonton Convention Centre gala has evolved into an online video watch party. As we all find new ways to celebrate, while being conscious of keeping everyone healthy and safe, we want to thank our members, our sponsors and the Edmonton business community for following us down this new path.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

OUR SPONSORS We do need to thank our amazing creative sponsor team – Hoopla Media and Studio Hazel. The fact that this year’s volunteer creative team are video and branding specialists is the reason that we are able to make this shift.

We’d also like to thank our sponsors for their steadfast support of the ACE Awards, as without their belief in the board and the club, we wouldn’t be here. OhShit - without everyone’s support, ACE would never have lived to 41 years of celebrating Edmonton business. Please join us in the celebration.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

A getaway THAT’S NOT FAR AWAY Located just 45 minutes west of Edmonton and 35 minutes from St. Albert, The Estates at

Waters Edge offers customizable craftsman-style homes with an unobstructed view of picturesque Lac Ste Anne. Residents of this established 50-acre community enjoy the security of a gated property in a tight-knit community, perfect for full-time residents, snowbirds or those looking for that perfect rec property lifestyle.

Homeowners can enjoy the endless possibilities for fun and recreation, their visitors, family and friends alike can enjoy the resortlike amenities, like the community clubhouse, pool, marina, beach park, and don’t forget about boating or fishing on the lake,

along with so much more.

The Estates at Waters Edge is the perfect solution for families or empty-nesters — with all living space on one floor, bungalow living allows residents to easily age in place while the spacious layouts and walkout basements with additional bedrooms or second master suite, provide ample room (and privacy) for overnight or weekend guests.

All floor plans are customizable to incorporate any design dream, and all levels of each home have access to the outdoors with oversized, south-facing covered verandas.

Spend more time with family this summer — this is lakeside living at its best.

BODY OF WATER: Lac Ste Anne DISTANCE FROM EDMONTON: 45 minutes west LOT SIZES: 7,800 sf – 12,800 sf PROPERTY SIZE: 50 acres NUMBER OF LOTS: 132 LOCATION: 55101 Ste Anne Trail, Lac Ste Anne County LEARN MORE: watersedgeestates.ca | 780-441-4256

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nature

ENJOY IN YOUR OWN PRIVATE GETAWAY Situated on 210 sprawling acres on the northwest shore of Gull Lake, a swimming and boating paradise in central Alberta for over 100 years, Meridian Beach is a yearround lakeside community with a network of canals and picturesque pedestrian bridges.

Residents of Meridian Beach enjoy year-round cottage life, with boating, biking, hiking, fishing, water skiing, canoeing and paddle boarding in the summer, and traditional winter pastimes such as skating, hockey, cross country skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing.

The planned community boasts sandy beaches, parks, nature trails, a community hall and many new amenities such as a grocery store

and restaurant, and even a tennis and basketball court.

Homebuyers are free to use any builder they choose, so long as they meet the community’s architectural guidelines which were directly influenced by the natural beauty that surrounds the area.

With easy access from both Edmonton and Calgary, choose from a modest bungalow for a quick weekend getaway, all the way up to an estate-size home with multiple bedrooms and open spaces for large family gatherings.

With views like these, clear blue water right at your front door and so much to do outside, we doubt residents spend much time indoors.

This is the life. Come live it.

BODY OF WATER: Gull Lake DISTANCE FROM EDMONTON: 1.5 hours south LOT SIZES: 8,800 sf – 16,700 sf PROPERTY SIZE: 210 acres NUMBER OF LOTS: Approximately 250 LOCATION: 272 Canal Street, Meridian Beach LEARN MORE: meridianbeach.ca | 403-988-6906

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www.meridianbeach.ca 403.988.6906 www.meridianbeach.ca || 403.988.6906 403.988.6906 www.meridianbeach.ca | 403.988.6906 WWW.MERIDIANBEACH.CA | 403.988.6906

64 avenue S U M M E R . 20

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 + C O N V E R S AT I O N P I E C E

#YEG

GLASS EYES b y C A S S I A S C H A A R + i l l u s t r a t i o n ST E P H A N I E S I M P S O N

When the bars on Whyte Avenue began opening their patios in 2018, my trio of photographer friends and I knew we had planned long enough. Nothing beat drinking iced tea and editing photos while the wind blew in off the street, tousling my hair. It was officially summer — the best time to catch golden hour night after night.

Months earlier, David described his dream of starting an urban street photography group in central Edmonton. As a portrait and nature photographer, I was the last to agree — flat brick walls and twisted graffiti weren’t my preferred subjects. But, having reached a plateau with my skills, I accepted the challenge.

On the evening of our first meeting, we met outside Block 1912’s accordion windows as the sun dipped further west, pulling the heat with it. Twenty photographers followed David down the street, each with two pounds of glass lenses in their hands. At the corner, we divided into three clusters to avoid suspicion.

Street photography’s magic relied on anonymity to capture life in the most candid way possible. So was nature photography, but

I never felt guilty when the mountains stared back at me through my lens.

The night started off abysmally. Not used to the new style, my lens choices spat out blurry wide-angle shots and streaked images of passing cars. My focus darted from pedestrians to store signs to bicycles chained to streetlights. Compared to taking portraits, street photography was chaos. I didn’t know where to look and ached for blushing sunsets over prairie marshes. Everything smelled like concrete dust and oil. How did David take such spectacular shots without breathing in pine-infused air? When he initially proposed this venture to us, he showed us a greyscale photograph of a man walking by a store front. Shadows cast long crosswalk stripes over the scene, and my friend timed it perfectly so the subject stood between the shadows and in the sunlight.

As the other eager photographers positioned each other in front of chain-link fences, I scanned the alley for a subject through my viewfinder like a pirate with a telescope. Nothing but straight lines and geometry. I never liked math.

One left and two rights later, an orange glow yanked my attention from growing disappointment. I lowered my camera. We stood outside the Malt and Mortar patio where swooping strands of lightbulbs cast warm circles over wooden tables. My lens had noticed one of the bulbs. The colour of its light mimicked the setting sun, gentle but invigorating. Peace I only felt photographing rural settings spread through my veins.

I looked over my shoulder to Block 1912 sitting across the intersection. How had I sat at those window tables for months without noticing this string of lights? I’d spent the past hours looking for a way to bring straight lines and monochrome colours to life, when Edmonton was filled with as many curves and colours as the forest — I just wasn’t looking at it with the right eyes.

I turned back to my subject and lined up my shot.

Scot Morison, an award-nominated Avenue contributor, taught a creative non-fiction course at MacEwan University this past (abbreviated) school year. He presented us with a shortlist of the best writing from his class, and we picked one for publication in the Summer issue, the piece that you’ve just read.

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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

YORATH HOUSE Along the North Saskatchewan river bend, in Buena Vista Park, sits a residence built by Dennis Yorath on a 12-acre plot given to him by his father-in-law in 1949. Surrounded by trees on three sides, with a lawn leading up to the river’s edge, the property is shrouded in greenery, directly across the river from the Keillor Point viewing area, also known as “The End of the World.”

The home is unique for a few reasons: in a time when single-storey, one-room houses were the norm, the 4,380 sq. ft. Yorath House was an unusual and remarkable structure that stood out. But it’s not just big. Designed by the architectural firm Rule, Wynn & Rule, the home’s horizontal wood siding, flat roof and clean lines provide a fittingly Early Modern design that’s apparent even in black and white photos of the original build (a secondfloor suite was added in 1985).

The reason it’s relatively unknown is 66 avenue S U M M E R . 20

because it remained a private residence until 1992, when the Yoraths sold it to the City of Edmonton. It sat mostly vacant for over two decades, until renovations by Dialog turned it into a public space last September.

Structural and accessibility issues meant refacing the exterior and adding ramps, but much of the original, defining structure remains. The central fieldstone and brick fireplace, which starts outside and extends up to the second level, hardly needed any refurbishing. And the interior wooden staircase was beautifully resurfaced. Visually, it would fit perfectly in a brand-new build — but a single step up releases the soft creaking of history that only 70-year-old wood can provide.

Elizabeth Yorath-Welsh spent her childhood running up and down those stairs, playing along the river and learning to ride horses in the surrounding area. She

remembers tobogganing down the valley and skating on the river. But as she recalls growing up along the North Saskatchewan shore, she keeps coming back to one thing.

“Mom and dad always had wonderful parties,” she says. “They hosted the pre[Canadian] Derby party each year, which were huge garden parties. Those were always fun, but they often ended up in a rainstorm.”

They also hosted Prince Phillip as one of the distinguished guests, when he arrived for the Commonwealth Games in 1978.

Both she and her sister got married there, a tradition she's glad to see continue once it became a public space. Prior to COVID-19, Yorath House was available for a variety of bookings — weddings, corporate retreats, community programs and family-friendly events in the river valley. “I love the fact that it's being used for receptions and weddings and things like that. That's what it's supposed to be.”

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