Edmonton Notes for 1/17/2009 - MasterMaq's Blog

Here are some Edmonton-related things I found interesting this week:

It’s warm and sunny outside again today! A new record-high temperature was set on Friday here in Edmonton, at 6.9 C. The previous record, set in 1972, was 4.4 C. Get out and enjoy it – there’s lots going on, such as Ice on Whyte which runs until the 25th.
Edmonton Minor Hockey Week 2009 wraps up tomorrow – the Journal has a photo gallery of the action.
For the third straight year, the Edmonton International Airport led the country in passenger growth at 6.1%. Passenger numbers reached 6.5 million!
Yesterday was proclaimed Glenn Anderson Day in recognition of the Oiler great. His number will be retired at Rexall Place tomorrow evening before the Edmonton-Phoenix game.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Alberta Soccer Association, and plans are underway to bring Inter Milan to Edmonton in August to play a team from South America. That would be cool.
I attended an information session on Edmonton EXPO 2017 on Thursday evening. If you’d like to volunteer, you have until the 23rd to submit an application.
Mark the evening of February 12th in your calendar for Edmonton Twestival! We’re still getting the details sorted out, but Edmonton will definitely be participating in the global event!

http://adamsnider.com Adam Snider

I’d skip Ice on Whyte this year. Unfortunately, the record high temperatures have wrecked havoc on the ice sculptures. When I visited on Saturday, nearly every sculpture had been damaged by the warmth, at least one had melted and fallen apart so much that it was no longer recognizable as anything more than a pile of large ice blocks.

It only costs $2 to get in, but it’s $2 that would be better spent elsewhere, unfortunately.
Timothy Hall

Ice does revert back to water when the temperature reaches above zero, but all efforts have been made to keep the festival going. Live entertainment has filled the tent for the past two nights and continues until the end of week. They have planned one block carving competition goes on Thursday night, so the park will be filled with new pieces for the weekend. A toonie isn’t much to ask, to help keep a family festival alive.
http://adamsnider.com Adam Snider

Timothy: I wasn’t aware that the Festival was making up for the uncooperative weather in other ways. My comment wasn’t meant as a slight against Ice on Whyte. I appreciate and enjoy the Festival, I was just commenting on the fact that, unfortunately, the weather has hurt the Festival this year.

But, you’re right, a toonie isn’t much to ask. And, though I didn’t mention it, the Festival site is still a great place for families. The ice slides, for one, are still in tact, which makes for great fun for kids.

And, creating new pieces and having live entertainment on site will definitely help liven things up. Plus, this weekend is set to be a cold one, so I hope that the Festival is a success again this year.

In fact, I will try to come out again this weekend just to see the new sculptures.

Thanks for the head’s up. I appreciate it, and I’m sure Mack and his other readers do as well.