Seen and Heard in Edmonton

Here’s the final blog roundup of the year, a little late because of a busy weekend that involved ringette and a sojourn in the mountains. I promise the roundup will be back in 2016 — I love this way of learning about my city and the people in it:

Collaborations and creations

• A “semi-granola optimist” responds to one of Elizabeth Withey’s posts in a most generous and creative way.
• Stu Kehrig and his wife Christina have welcomed a baby girl to the world. Squee!
• Sharon Yeo reports back from a tasting of Credo coffee and Jacek chocolate.
• OilersNation and the Weekly barbershop are working together. Learn more in this Q&A with barber Craig Boa.
• Cindy Nguyen tries out The Workshop Eatery, Chef Paul Shufelt’s new place at the beautiful Mosaic Centre.
• Anna Marie Sewell shares observations from Reconciling Edmonton, the project to find the intersections of indigenous and immigrant cultures since the signing of Treaty 6.
• EndPoverty Edmonton seeks your help to improve the new LinkYeg.ca app, which connects people in need with services.
• William Thompson is publishing his fractured fairy tales in a book.
• Waves Upon Us are the latest local band to share their music on the Northern Sessions. Very enjoyable.
• The play Burning Bluebeard gives Kristen Finlay a jarring flashback.
• Dustin Bajer muses about turning the West Edmonton Mall Ice Palace into a greenhouse.

The season

• Glenn Kubish’s lit-up bike lights up the morning of the people he encounters.
• Katryna Rae turns scraps into lovely little tree ornaments.
• A cookie exchange full of laughter and stories helps Valerie Lugonja get in the Christmas spirit.
• Kelly-Dawn Aulenbach recalls the gifts that have held the most meaning for her.
• A Big Sisters volunteer shares how her small gift of time gave her back so much more.
• Sharon Yeo offers a comprehensive and delicious local food gift guide.
• Kristina Lynne puts together a wish list from some of her favourite local bloggers.
• Nicole Rowan is working her way through Dressember in style.
• Linda Hoang lists all of the fun things you could do on New Year’s Eve in Edmonton.
• I predict it won’t take you long to get a line on Chad Huculak’s Edmonton Winter Bingo card.
• Artist Sydney Lancaster admires what the frost can do.

Salutes

• Rylan Kafara pays tribute to Prof. Lawrence Aronsen, without whom his CJSR radio show wouldn’t exist.
• #YEG Music Magazine wants your help to salute 2015’s best.
• Mack Male joined thousands to say goodbye to the Royal Alberta Museum in Glenora.
• Laurie MacFayden describes that feeling — you’ll know it when you read it.
• Matt Henderson pays tribute to the Oilers’ Taylor Hall.
• It’s so nice when the Oilers make Lowetide (aka Allan Mitchell) happy, as they did with that monster 7-5 win.
• Always fun to catch Avry Lewis-McDougall’s exuberance, this time on the Oilers’ sudden lack of suckage.
• The Oilers are still in playoff contention because the Pacific division is bad, writes Ryan Batty, but hope is more fun than despair, so let’s roll with it.

Records

• The Christmas shopping ads from 1887 unearthed in Vintage Edmonton are nothing if not comprehensive.
• Brendan Thompson visits with Betty Stanhope-Cole, Edmonton’s great golf star.
• TJ Jans reports on the University of Alberta effort to digitize thousands of musical recordings currently stored on tape.
• Meanwhile, cassettes are coming back, at least among some young local musicians, says Mike Ross.
• Alyssa Lau introduces her shoe collection in an animated way.
• Matt Dance puts the data to work to try to understand the nature of gentrification in Edmonton’s downtown neighbourhoods.
• Sunil Agnihotri explains where he’s coming from when he’s looking at hockey stats.
• Randy Talbot always finds lovely and interesting things when he goes for a stroll.

I’ll be back in January. In the meantime, get your fill of local blogs at ShareEdmonton. You can also walk down memory lane with previous blog roundups or my Flipboard magazine. And I’ll still stick around on Twitter: @seenandheardyeg.

The Seen and Heard in Edmonton newsletter is coming out later today, so there’s still time to sign up. See you in the new year!