Today was a nice, albeit slightly cloudy, summer type day and I figured I’d get outside and put some distance into a few books that I’ve been sludging away on. However, it seems that Edmonton’s ‘Festival City‘ moniker was living up to its name - kinda.
Although these were not ‘festivals’ per se, they were outdoor gatherings that gave some people some things to do during the saturday afternoon. The first I came upon, while walking to one of my favorite reading park/fields, was something called Hip Hop in the Park - and was a celebration of ‘Hip Hop Appreciation Week’ …which is the 3rd week in May. Who knew. There wasn’t a huge crowd, but at the same time this is Edmonton - and hip hop is more of a fashion statement than a way of life for most. We do try though, it seems. There were a few acts that had me wanting to leave in a hurry, but then there were a few that had me hanging around too. But considering it was an unexpected encounter, I’m glad I got to see some of what ‘E-town’ has to offer - and as a bonus, I saw some dancing, graffiting, and there’s even a free download of the artists preforming.
So I left, made my way downtown, and found four or five city blocks sectioned off and turned into street hockey rinks. It appears it was the first CBC ‘Play On! 4 on 4′ …which is the official canadian street hockey tournament. Again, who knew (lol). This was by far a larger event, however it seems that most of the people watching the games were participants themselves. It wasn’t too intense, although there were some high-spirited games going on at the main rink, which was centered in Churchill Square. I happened to have my camera in my bag (most of the time I do) so I decided to do the picture thing. I was tempted to get into the ’seedy’ downtown area to grab some other shots - but I didn’t - maybe another time …when things are a bit more seedier. And I suppose I’ll finish my reads another day as well.
