Lindork’s Lists #141 – Wine & Food Fest, Pumpkin Smash, Christmas Markets (already!) and more!
Newsletter for November 1-8, 2022
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Things to Do This Week
We’re still in a pandemic! Please mask up, stay home if sick, and get vaccinated/boosted.
Save your pumpkins for the City of Edmonton’s Pumpkin Smash
The City of Edmonton invites you to bring your leftover Halloween pumpkins to Compost School (next to Fort Edmonton Park and the John Janzen Nature Centre ) this Saturday, Nov. 5 starting at 1 p.m. for family pumpkin-smashing fun. Smash jack-o-lanterns in different ways and learn how pumpkins are turned into compost. In 2019 around 500 pumpkins were smashed—they’d like to beat that record!
It’s Christmas Market season! Check out a few this weekend
There’s a few different holiday markets kicking off the season this weekend, like Crafters to the Rafters in Stony Plain, the 36th Annual Ermineskin Christmas Craft Fair at Ermineskin Community League (32A Ave and 106 St. Edmonton), and the Winter Handemade Market in Fort Saskatchewan.
Get tickets to the Edmonton Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival
The Edmonton Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival returns this weekend Nov 4 and 5 at the Edmonton Convention Centre. Sample wines, spirits, beers and bites. You need an entrance ticket and sampling coupons to enjoy.
Head to Barks at the Bar supporting the Humane Animal Rescue Team (hart)
Local rescue Humane Animal Rescue Team (hart) is hosting a Barks at the Bar fundraiser this Saturday, Nov. 5 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at the Hazeldean Community Hall (9630 66 Ave.) featuring appetizers and cash bar, musical entertainment, silent auction, and raffle prizes, with 100% funds raised supporting hart’s ongoing operations to rescue and rehome stray or abandoned dogs within the surrounding Edmonton area.
Grab spots to a free Yogalife Studios yoga class (2065 98 St.)
Yogalife Studios is offering a free yoga class this Saturday Nov. 5 from 3-4 p.m. at their south Edmonton studio! Snag a spot before they’re all taken.
It’s the last weekend for most Halloween events!
If you haven’t got enough of the spooky season yet, this is the final weekend for most local Halloween events. Check availability and tickets for Edmonton Ghost Tours’, Pub Tours, and Walking Tours, Deadmonton, The Raveyard, even a Vampire Ball.
Try a Story City Edmonton Adventure!
Turn your weekend into an adventure this week with real-life choose your adventures and puzzle trails that take you on a fun tour of Edmonton streets via Story City app! Join a heist in ‘The Coronet Caper’, solve a murder in ‘Murder on the River Valley’, follow a magic coffee shop on a café crawl of Whyte Ave in ‘Tips from Your Barista’, or send ghosts to rest in ‘The Psychometrist’. Each adventure is made by local games makers and creators, all you need is your smart phone and a sense of adventure.
Story City is a collection of stories that encourage you to get out, walk and explore your city while reading and listening to stories connected to a theme. Different story chapters pop up as you reach specified locations (it uses your phone Map/location).
Just download the free Story City app and select from over half a dozen escape-room style puzzle trails, choose your adventures, and walks all created by local storytellers that let you discover and play in a whole new downtown. There are free Stories and paid Stories (that range from $4-$10)! And they’re always working on adding new Stories (for instance, I may load up an Instagrammable Tour in the app next summer!)
#StoryCity_Partner
Got an Edmonton area event, virtual event, or something coming up you think my readers would be interested in knowing about? Let me know!
Food to Try This Week
Please continue safely supporting local restaurants, in whatever way works for your comfort levels. If not dining in, please do take-out! Mask-up and please stay home if you’re sick.
Head to the Arby’s Sherwood Park Drive-Thru—I’ll be working it!
This Saturday, Nov. 5 between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., I’ll be working at the Arby’s drive-thru in Sherwood Park (55 Salisbury Way) as an Arby’s Canada Ambassador!! Their limited-time feature this November is the popular Poutine Dip Sandwich! And of course you can pick up all your favs—curly fries, a jamocha shake, and more—when you come by. I’ll be giving away a few Arby’s gift cards to surprise those who drive-thru too!!
Show some love to Jack’s Burger Shack (10354 Jasper Ave.)
Jack’s Burger Shack downtown got vandalized. If you’re in the mood for some burgers and milkshakes, this week would be a nice one to support Jack’s!
Try Caribbean cuisine at Cafe Caribbean (10140 117 St.)
Never a better week than this (with our first big snow dump of the year and all) to pretend you’re in the Caribbean! Thanks to Avnish and Min for their recommendation of Cafe Caribbean a family-owned (cousins!) restaurant promising great food and good vibes.
Grab a cafe item and catch live music and events at The Carrot (9351 118 Ave.)
The Carrot Community Coffeehouse has a bunch of events happening at this Alberta Avenue community arts space. Grab a hot or cold drink or cafe snack, and catch Friday/Saturday Night live music/Open Mic arts, plus winter programming which includes toast and jam on Thursdays, poetry night, hip hop showcases and more. Browse their Fri/Night and regular event schedule.
Try the new Yunshang Rice Noodle and Yang’s Chicken (10167 109 St.)
I tried the new Yunshang Rice Noodle and Yang’s Chicken downtown last week and enjoyed my sour and spicy beef and enoki mushroom soup. They offer Crossing the Bridge style soup that one of my favs Dagu does—but with less flavour variety and slightly smaller meat portions. I’d continue to do Dagu for their Crossing the Bridge soup and drinks, but would suggest you try Yunshang’s other noodle and rice dishes!
Eaten something amazing recently? Want to show some love to a struggling restaurant? Have a take-out suggestion? Let me know to include in this newsletter.
Small Business Spotlight
My Filosophy is an Edmonton clothing, accessories and gift boutique that just moved to a new west Edmonton location at 15010 107 Ave. From women and mens clothes (including intimates and other “hanky panky” selections lol), plus footwear, handbags, gifts and more, there’s lots to browse. Watch for regular store events too.
Got a suggestion for a small business to spotlight? Let me know!
New on the Blog
This Halloween I decided to go hard and re-watch all episodes of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror ahead of the new one. That’s 33 total episodes lol. I ranked my favourite episodes and stories on my blog if you’re interested in watching (whether this year as spill-over Halloween, or bookmark for next Halloween!)
From the Blog Vault
Congratulations to Edify’s 2022 Top 40 Under 40 Class! There’s some truly incredible folks on this year’s list, doing amazing work, including Dr. Shazma Mithani, Mallory Yawnghwe, Jenna Pryor, Matt Ward, Peter Keith, Laurie Wang, and the list goes on.
I thought timing-wise, I’d throw back to last year’s Top 40 where I was recognized!
And something a little less about me, lol—if you’re planning to be in the Vancouver area anytime soon, consider popping into Surrey area and eating along the Surrey Spice Trail! Surrey Tourism was in town this week to promote the Spice Trail (which I’ve had the pleasure of trying a fair bit of!) so it was a good reminder to throw back to my Spice Trail content. Delicious stuff.
Popular on my Blog Right Now
Here are the top four most popular posts on my blog this week:
- Edmonton Food Faves We Crave (2022) (Oct 2022)
- Travel Guide: 12 Foods to Eat in Maui, Hawaii (May 2019)
- Guide to Instagrammable Walls of Edmonton (June 2017)
- Edmonton Advent Calendars to Gift for the Holidays (Nov 2021)
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