TRADITION: Ashes to ashes, bucks to bucks
The days of the family crypt and side-by-side plots may soon be a thing of the past: cremation now dominates burial statistically in Canada, say funeral experts, a complete reversal from two decades ago, when the practice was still frowned upon by many faiths. “Edmonton’s rate is about 70% cremation now and Vancouver Island’s is […]
2013 CONCERT PREDICTIONS: Year of Young Women ahead
Hari Seldon – central character in Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi masterpiece “Foundation” – was onto something there, but he didn’t need to make such a big deal about it. It’s easy to predict the future by analysing the events of the past. At least it seems to work for the near future of major concerts expected […]
ONE FINAL YEARENDER: Eight Edmonton news items of 2012
And here you were hoping the Mayans were right and you could FINALLY get out of having to read one more “top stories of the year” list. Sorry. Given Pre-Columbian prophetic abilities, surely the Mayans wouldn’t have been able to accurately predict any of these events either: Former Edmontonian Heads Bank of England It was […]
REAREND IN VIEW: Our top stories of 2012
The most popular stories GigCity published in 2012 started in January with a viral video of “strange sounds in the sky” that prompted a local debunker to create a hoax video to prove the original was a hoax, but the plan backfired when her video went viral, too, as did the article we wrote about […]
MUSIC: Top 10 Edmonton albums of 2012
This was quite the year for music in Edmonton. Not only did we play host to some major touring acts, capped off by two nights with the legend Paul McCartney, but a large number of local acts put out some sensational albums. While the city may be best known in music circles for its folk […]
YEAR IN LIT: The bad, the good, and the wickedly sweet
The world is supposed to end in 2012 – and for a moment in late September, the world seemed like it was ending for Edmonton’s literary community. After 30 years of selling books and generously supporting local writers, Greenwood’s Books shut down. It was a devastating loss to the local community from an Edmonton institution […]
Fort Saskatchewan gets first radio station, lots of Bon Jovi, with Mix 107.9
Tucked away at the end of the radio dial, waaaay up at 107.9 FM, is Fort Saskatchewan’s very first radio station – which launched Tuesday morning as Mix 107.9 FM with a format that could only be described as “Somewhat Contemporary Hits Radio.” Once CFKT’s big-ass 20,000 watt transmitter is fired up, we’ll be able […]
Sexually exploited women share their stories in disturbing documentary
The trick in making a good documentary is knowing when to stop. The story that continues after the end of Rosie Dransfeld’s disturbing new film “Who Cares?” – a stark look at street prostitution in Edmonton – is just as tragic and touching as anything in the documentary itself. One of the main subjects, Shelly, […]
FIGURES ON DISPLAY: Is Edmonton ready to see the nudes?
Rachel Kwiatkowski – the new owner of the Front Gallery – hopes that Edmonton is finally ready for some public nudity. The previous owner received more than a few complaints over an exhibition of nudes and semi-dressed females – including a prominently displayed naked woman in the gallery’s Jasper Avenue window. Patrons even threatened to […]
Oilers hero sour on Lance Armstrong memorabilia
Georges Laraque owns three limited-edition replicas of the Trek bicycles that Lance Armstrong rode during his latter Tour de France victories, two of them autographed, one even decorated with 23-karat gold frame panels – and the former Edmonton Oiler can’t even stand to look at them anymore. “I got sick to my stomach because I […]
ART: Every day was Halloween for medieval monster makers
Zombies want your brains and vampires want your blood, but the modern pop monsters have nothing on the creepy creatures lurking in the Art Gallery of Alberta – they want your souls. The macabre exhibition “Beautiful Monster: Beasts and Fantastic Creatures in Early European Prints” opened just in time for Halloween and is up until […]
Play me a memory: CBC’s Bosendorfer sold to the ESO
Some have called it Edmonton’s most-recorded piano, and as CBC Edmonton’s house keyboard for close to 30 years, the claim may have some merit. But when the broadcaster announced earlier this year that it was axing its local recording unit, it realized there wasn’t much point in keeping its magnificent seven-foot Bosendorfer that had been […]
