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Lindork’s Lists #80 – Mural Fest, River Valley Contests, Sheep Sightings, New Soft Serve and more!
Newsletter for Sept 1 – 7, 2021
COVID cases are on the rise again and the indoor mask mandate is returning to Edmonton as of Sept. 3. Please be safe. Sanitize regularly, keep a distance, stay home if sick, get vaccinated!
As well, some deadlines may have passed for time-sensitive food/event recommendations. If you are a newsletter subscriber, you would get first dibs before deadlines pass.
Explore the #YEGWalkway in the river valley for a chance to win prizes
This summer I’m working with the Edmonton Commonwealth Walkway to promote their paved river valley trail and free app full of great Edmonton history stories. They are also running an interactive treasure hunt where you use their app to solve five clues / visit five locations along the river valley, and share about it on Instagram or Twitter for a chance to win prizes. If you explore and share by Sept 7, you’ll be entered to win a prize pack featuring passes to the Royal Alberta Museum, Fort Edmonton Park, TELUS World of Science, Alberta Aviation Museum, and the Muttart Conservatory! The clues are easy, the app is neat, and spending a couple of hours walking along the river valley is a really fun experience! Learn more.
Stony Plain Road has ‘Gone to the Dogs’ and invites you to as well
The Stony Plain Road Business Association is running a Gone to the Dogs event until Sept. 16 where if you explore certain walking paths in the neighbourhood, you can find QR codes to scan for discounts at Stony Plain Road businesses. You can also share a selfie at certain spots (dogs optional lol), to be entered for a grand prize draw!
Check out the Rado Alley mural festival on Whyte Ave
Local artist Grady Wallace (@g_radoriginals) is holding a Rado Alley mural festival on west Whyte this week (Sept. 4-6 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) at 107 St. and Whyte Ave (alleyway). There will be new Instagrammable Walls painted, music, and streetwear/vendors! An exciting addition to a district already full of great murals (have you checked out the Old Strathcona Mural Map yet?)
Check out the sheep of Fort Saskatchewan
If “ewe” you haven’t heard, Fort Saskatchewan is well known for using sheep to trim the grass at City parks for the last 30 years. This is an eco-friendly (and cute!) way to maintain the parks and it also means that visitors can come and see the shepherd and sheep dogs herding the flock of 50 sheep! You can visit and pet the sheep until Sept. 4 (last day Saturday) and then after that the sheep will be working at the parks until Sept. 22 (You can’t pet the sheep while they’re working so check them out before Saturday!) This would be a great little day trip to Fort Sask.
Get tickets to the first annual YEG Sausage Battle
The first annual YEG Sausage Battle takes place on Sept. 12 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. but I thought I’d give you a bit of a heads up in case tickets get sold out (and also I feel event organizers pain when everyone is last minute with their tickets lol). This is also a celebration of local shop You Need a BBQ’s one year anniversary, and a fundraiser for Team Canada at the World Butcher Challenge. Your ticket includes a sample of all sausages, one beer, and one vote, plus front row seat to a Black Box Butcher Battle! Fun times.
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
Indoor mask mandate is returning to Edmonton due to rising cases. Please safely support local.
Dig into delicious (and gluten-free) Thai food from Thairific (105 King St.)
As more people in my life become celiacs, I’m getting pretty good at finding gluten free dining spots that are still really good. Thai food is known for being fairly gluten-free, and Thairific in Spruce Grove is where my gluten-free friend Rachel and I enjoyed a delicious lunch this week. They have some great lunch specials (also great at dinner time too if you can’t head out during lunch).
Order the ‘haricots verts’ (deep fried green beans) from Chartier (5012 50 St.)
Have you tried French-Canadian restaurant Chartier’s ‘haricots verts’? It’s a signature dish at the restaurant, a tempura fried green beans dish with smoked maple mayonnaise and chilli maple syrup. It is absolutely phenomenal. I had it for the first time last week (along with their seafood poutine!!!!!) and a classic—their smoked meat sandwich. So good.
Try black sesame soft serve ice cream from Pablo Cheese Tart (10163 81 Ave.)
Melanie reports that Pablo Cheese Tart is now offering colourful new soft serve ice cream—black sesame and strawberry—and it looks amazing! They also have excellent tarts if you want to swing by for some sweet treats this week.
Check out Kingsway Mall’s menu and Instagrammable outdoor dining space
Have you checked out Kingsway Mall’s Eat n Seek Instagrammable outdoor space (hand-painted by artist Nicole Wolf with designs by Chris Provins)? I was invited by Kingsway to try some of their food court menu out on the #EatNSeekYEG dining space, located in the mall’s west parking lot by Entrance 1. If you go this weekend for back to school shopping (Sept 3-5), the mall is offering free custom tote bags featuring limited edition art by local artists when you show receipts that you’ve shopped there!
Head out to the Camrose Outdoor Farmers Market (Downtown Camrose along 49 Avenue between 50 and 51 St.)
I worked with Go East of Edmonton and Tourism Camrose to visit the city last week, and enjoyed taking in their downtown outdoor farmers market, which runs every Thursday night from 4-7 p.m. Take a little day trip (it’s just 1 hour south east of Edmonton) for the market, plus, go boutique shopping and listen to live music right in their historic downtown.
Ate 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
In this new section of Lindork’s Lists, I shout out to support small businesses that aren’t necessarily food/restaurant or event-based.
In this week’s Small Business Spotlight, I’m shouting out to:
Oodles of Doodles, a home-based business where owner Summer Halabi creates custom, fun, affordable, and educational crayons! These are non-toxic, handmade in Edmonton. Summer also creates crayons as gifts, loot bags, party favours and more. Kids can get the coolest things these days—crayons in the shape of your name, for instance! Learn more about Oodles of Doodles on Instagram.
If you’re a small business owner who could use a shout-out, or know a small business who could use some awareness, let me know and I’ll try to feature them in this new section. You can email me suggestions / reply to this email.
Join me on an Instagrammable IKEA Walk
I’m excited to partner with IKEA Edmonton to host an Instagrammable Walls of IKEA Walk during their IKEA Family event taking place Thursday, Sept. 16!
There are two time slots, 5 p.m. start or 6:30 p.m. start.
It’s FREE to attend, but limited spots are available so you have to register. Masks on the walk (as it is indoors) is mandatory (but you can take it off for photos!)
I’ll take you to a few different IKEA rooms and furniture where we’ll take fun photos you’ve maybe always wanted to take in store but didn’t feel like you could.
I’ll share about Instagrammable Walls, photo poses and photo taking tips and we’ll just hang out!
Attendees will get a coupon for $20 off a purchase of $100 or more and one attendee from each walk will also be surprised with a $25 IKEA gift card. The IKEA restaurant will also be offering one free kids meal with one adult meal that Thursday night.
Coming This Sunday: Q&A with Lanie Bishop
Every other Sunday, I profile a new “interesting person” in a Q&A series just for paid newsletter subscribers. The next person I’ll be profiling on Sunday, Sept, 5, 2021 is Lanie Bishop, a local power lifter, pole dancer, and human rights advocate.
Here’s an excerpt from our Q&A:
“I think if you are on social media, you have a platform. It might not be the biggest one, but people are listening to what you post. As a queer woman of colour, it’s become incredibly (and sadly) clear to me that they are still some people who hold hateful and dangerous ideas about marginalized and racialized folks. I hope by sharing my own experiences mixed in with the posts I find on what platforms I have, I can start getting others to challenge their own understanding of the world around them.”
– Lanie Bishop
To get the full Q&A, plus a Q&A every other Sunday, access to exclusive paid subscriber-only giveaways, and to support the work I do, upgrade!
No pressure of course! These weekly emails for free subscribers (you!) will continue to be sent out.
New on the Blog
Head south of Edmonton to find some Central Alberta food gems! As an Alberta on the Plate ambassador, new on my blog, I put together a Central Alberta food itinerary you’re welcome to copy! Visit restaurants in the region that highlight local Alberta ingredients.
Also new on the blog: the third video in my summer Travel Alberta series is out now—featuring an amazing wildlife tour with Joe Urie of the Jasper Tour Company!
Watch my video on how to experience wildlife safely (and in a super fun and educational way) with the Jasper Tour Company in Jasper, Alberta!
Other Relevant Edmonton Summer Blog Posts You May Be Interested In:
Last Weekend to #ExploreABWithMe and Win!
Thanks to AMA Travel and the Banff Lodging Co., if you Explore Alberta and share your Instagram or Twitter posts using the hashtag #ExploreABwithMe and tagging me @lindork by Sept 6, 2021, you’ll be entered for a grand prize 2-night stay at the Banff Lodging Co.!
Whether it’s exploring your backyard, day trips, camping or other weekend getaways in Alberta, I’d love if you used my travel blog guides to help plan your summer exploration, and I’d love to see where you get up to in the province!
In addition to the Banff Lodging Co. grand prize, I’ll also select 20 people who will win $10 gift cards to the Italian Centre Shop (just the right amount to pick up a famed Italian Centre Shop Panino, perfect for road trips!
Discount Codes You May Want To Use
- Get 15% off premium, locally-made dog treats MYLZ Treats using my code LINDORK15
- Get 50% off your first hair cut at Frenchie’s Hair when you mention Linda Hoang referred you.
- Get 10% off online or in-store purchases from Camper’s Village using code LINDORK
- Get 10% off any Big E Tours using code lindasgift by Sept. 30, 2021
- Get 10% off your VespaYEG rental using my code LINDORK10
- Get 10% off any kit or tour from Chef Table Living using code LINDORK10
- In September, get $50 off a comprehensive car detail package at Bubbles using code BUBBLESLINDORK
See even more discount codes from great local businesses!
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The full Lindork’s Lists includes:
- Things to Do This Week
- Food to Try This Week
- Walls of the Week
- Interesting Thing on the Internet
- Social Media Did You Knows
- Promo Codes / Discounts
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