If you don’t already know, Midnight Madness is happening tonight from 6PM until well, you guessed it, midnight. As part of the officially kicking off the shopping season, many businesses in the downtown area will be open until midnight, usually offering great deals and sales. You know the drill. There was a couple pages in the Medicine Hat News today announcing specifically what is on sale from most of the downtown vendors, although I am sure once you are down there, you will see the offerings for yourself.

Some of the non-shopping events include tree-lighting in Batus Park at 6PM with choir signing from Medicine Hat High School, free hay rides (6-8PM), and the Monarch will be showing a free children’s movie at 5PM, 6PM, and 7PM. The Medicine Hat Public Library is hosting a book sale until 8:30PM. The Esplanade is offering craft activities in its Discovery Centre from 6 to 8PM. There’s also a ton more going on than even listed here.

Coinciding with the event is the Downtown Medicine Hat Christmas Roving Art Reception which features local art and galleries, taking place in the Hive, Inspire Café and Gallery, and at the Esplanade.

Road closures will be in effect throughout Midnight Madness. Free parking will be available in all city-owned lots, as well as the Transit Terminal Parkade.

Midnight Madness takes downtown tonight Article on Medicine Hat News

Tonight, the Street Art Works Association is presenting “Tunnel Vision”: A public art project.

Tunnel Vision is a new public art project in the tunnel walkway which joins South and North Railway streets (under the tracks). This project features the work of many local artists who have are using the theme or genre of “street art”.

Tonight, Friday, September 30th at 6PM, the Tunnel Vision artists and members of Street Art Works Association will gather at South Railway Street and move through the tunnel to North Railway Street, to present the first installation of this new public art project. Artists will meet with members of the public and the media to answer questions about the project, their approach and creative process.

This event kicks off the Downtown Artwalk Roving Reception, which is also happening tonight from 7PM – 10PM as part of Alberta Arts Days celebrations.

Street Art Works Association – Mission Statement

Street Art Works Association strives to work with artists and stakeholders to beautify the City of Medicine Hat with various projects and installations for the benefit of the public, visitors and the producing artist.

The Friends of the Monarch are proud to announce the launch of the Monarch’s Centennial Celebration season. A number of events have been planned to celebrate the 100th birthday of this historic building and we wish to extend an invitation to the citizens of Medicine Hat to join us.

The first event is “THE MAJESTIC” which will take place on Saturday, September 24, 2011. Starting at 2pm on Second Street in front of the Theatre, a Vintage Car Show will feature vehicles that would have been on the streets in the 1950s. The 50’s theme continues at 5:30 pm with burgers, fries, and fresh made pie served in 50’s style by carhops. At 7:30 pm, the movie, “The Majestic”, starring Jim Carrey and telling a story set in restored theatre during the 1950s, will be screened in our beautiful theatre. At 9 pm we will move to the historic hall in St. Barnabas Church, another Medicine Hat treasure, to relive the sock hops of yesteryear. The ever popular “Kool Ray and the Hipkatz”, an 8 piece orchestra, will keep the crowd swinging and jiving. A swing/jive dance demonstration and dance competition will showcase some of our local dance “stars”. Downtown merchants have donated wonderful prizes that will be awarded for Best 50’s Costume, Best Dance Couple, and for some old fashioned “spot dances”. A silent auction and refreshment sales (including home-made floats) will help with the fund-raising to enable the restoration of the Monarch and its equipment. Car show, Dinner, Movie and Dance are all included in the $50 ticket price. Tickets are available at: The Monarch Theatre Box Office, Inspire Café, or by calling Judy at (403) 529-9231 or emailing Pamela@beinghumanservices.ca.

The Society of Friends of the Monarch Theatre is a not-for-profit society with our objectives being to promote and fundraise for the Monarch Theatre. The theatre website address is www.themonarch.net

There’s only half an hour left before the parade starts downtown to officially kick off the start of the 2011 Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede. In a press release that was sent out earlier this month, it was mentioned that the normal route would change due to road construction. You should go enjoy the festivities If you are lucky enough to have today off, or are employed by somebody that will let you go a long with the 10,000 others that attend every year. From the press release concerning the route change:

The Parade route will follow 1st street westbound to 6th avenue, then a left turn on to 6th avenue, a left turn onto second street, a right turn onto South Railway, a right turn onto 3rd street all the way to 4th Avenue and then right towards the Medicine Hat Public Library where the Parade will disperse. Parade floats, vehicles can then use River Road to get back to the set up areas if needed.

Read more on the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede website.

View the Brochure .PDF

View the Route .PDF

The Clay Trade will have its official Grand Opening during the Dowtown Artwalk. The night will include refreshments from Big Rock Breweries, treats and live music by Ron Mason.

We will feature works by local artists and artists in residence from Medalta.

Some of the artist’s include:

Les Manning, Jane MacKay, Hedy Stabler, Koi Neng Liew….

When: Friday June 10th 7 PM – 10 PM

Where: 628 2nd Street SE

Visit www.theclaytrade.ca for more information or call 403-529-9109

Follow us on twitter (@clay_trade) and on Facebook

Inspire Studio and Gallery on 2nd Street downtown has expanded to include a wonderful café. I’ve gone there a couple times in the past week and was greeted with great service each time. I am excited to see that they carry The Pop Shoppe drinks along with my favourite flavour, black cherry. According to our server they will have wireless internet available in the future as well. I will list the hours below but I was particularly excited to see that they are open until 10pm on Wed-Fri.

If you plan on checking it out around lunch time I would arrive a little early as the place was packed and a couple people were waiting for a table to open up. Not to mention the parking on 2nd street seems to be in much higher demand. The portions may seem small to some but the food we had was quite good and I was full afterwards anyways. Our club sandwiches cost us $7.00 while our soup and salad (I chose the julienne carrots with a citrus/cumin dressing) were an extra $2.00. I meant to take a picture of the menu as well but alas, I forgot. Some other items were a vegetable shepherd’s pie or baked potato with various toppings including chili. They have an assortment of delicious looking deserts as well. Definitely going back to try the apple cake next time.

The atmosphere of the café is quite welcoming as well. Since it is a part of the Inspire Gallery there is a lot of interesting and diverse art peppered throughout the café. I was impressed with the condition of the old floors and the red tables and white walls provide a really nice contrast.

Also, here are the hours the gallery and café are open (taken from Inspire Studio and Gallery facebook page):

“Inspire Studio & Gallery has moved into its new location and Inspire Café is now open at 669 (Studio)-675 (Café) 2nd Street S.E. Studio hours are Tuesday to Saturday 12:00-5:00pm. Café hours are Mon-Tues 9:00am-5:00pm, Wed-Fri 9:00am-10:00pm, Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm and Sunday 11:00am-4:00pm.”

If you want to read more about how the café came to be here is an article in the Medicine Hat News from December of last year: http://www.medicinehatnews.com/life/12292010.html

The Hive Artists’ Hub has a subsidized artist and/or artisan studio available starting April 1, 2011 for a 6 month term. The application deadline is March 15, 2011. Application is open to artists and artisans of all mediums excluding ceramics. To apply or for more information, contact Susan Knight at 403.504.5371, susan@hivehub.ca, online at hivehub.ca, or in person at 569 2nd Street SE in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

The Hive Artists’ Hub is a Canadian Badlands Ltd. initiative, under the supervision of the Historic Clay District. Located in downtown Medicine Hat, the facility has five artist and/or artisan studios which are subsidized through the Rural Alberta Development Fund. Short and long-term opportunities are available for artists, who will also have access to professional development opportunities and storefront gallery.

For more information, interviews or visuals, contact:

Susan Knight – Artists Incubator Director
The Hive Artists’ Hub
403.504.5371
susan@hivehub.ca

Quentin Randall – Marketing Coordinator
Historic Clay District
403.529.1070
quentin@medalta.org

Down Right Crafty - Indie Craft Fair

Saturday, August 28th – 10am to 4pm - BATUS Park
(downtown on the corner of the 500 block of 2nd Street SE)

This is not your mama’s craft show, we’ve got unique items you wouldn’t find at most traditional craft shows. Featuring the handmade wares of crafters from Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Calgary and surrounding area. You’ll find amazing jewelry, clothing, plush items, handmade beauty products, accessories, fine art and more!

There will be a Kids Craft Corner and free lemonade, so bring the whole family and end your summer on a high note!

For more information or to book a table visit www.downrightcrafty.ca

Downtown Medicine Hat is a drag. Shops open and close regularly, driving around to find a parking spot is most often a nightmare and the only way to go between North and South Railway Street on foot is through a dilapidated underground walkway. Currently there are a number of plans in the works to revitalize downtown. One plan of which includes removing planters, at the cost of a huge sum of money, to make a few more parking spaces which probably will not return on the investment of spending so much for so little. Other plans fizzle out or are rejected by vote.

In reading Ticked and Tickled on the Medicine Hat News, one resident complained about how the Railroad is still in town. This gave me an idea: As the railroad is supposed to be moving its operation to the town of Dunmore, why not rip up the tracks and make a mall? A mall would help downtown immensely. It would help relieve the congestion of traffic headed towards Walmart on a daily basis, create many jobs, create an area for people to park in, and most importantly, unify the North and South Railway Streets. The railroad station could also be turned into a dozen cool shops.

The immediate problem I can foresee is that malls usually start off with a few chain stores, such as a Walmart, Zellers, The Bay, Safeway, and so forth. There may not be enough room for a typical square style mall, so an elongated one would be the best choice. Perhaps two chain stores on either side with strip malls and a big parking lot in between. Another possible idea could be a two story mall that could accommodate many more stores with a big underground parking lot, though, Medicine Hat may not be big enough for another large scale mall.

Another issue is that Medicine Hat is not considered big enough for some stores, but as the town just keeps getting bigger, a new mall may encourage new business. Some businesses would, of course, do better in a mall setting, such as Empire Gaming, which tanked due to poor location. It may have greatly thrived in the setting of a mall or in the heart of downtown.

Thoughts?

Looking for the Spectrum 2011 post?

I have already posted about All the Colours of the Spectrum, but what about the main event? This year it taking place over the following dates:

• Friday 4-10PM (June 4th)
• Saturday 11AM-10PM (June 5th)
• Sunday 11AM-4PM (June 6th)

The main Spectrum event contains a huge amount of art, sports, dance, music, food, festivities and other performances (including the magic of Trevor Moore). In fact, I think this post has been tagged with the most categories a single post has ever received. The following is a list of stage performers (which are free, by the way):

Friday, June 4th

4:00 – 4:45 – German Harmony Band
5:00 – 5:45 – Amy Nelson
5:45 – 6:30 – The Magic of Trevor Moore
6:30 – 8:00 – Scott Ward – Hypnotist
8:15 – 9:15 – Kool Ray and the Hip Kats

Saturday, June 5th

11:30 – Amy Nelson
12:00 – Walk a Mile in her Shoes
12:30 – Amy Nelson
1:00 – Medicine Hat’s Got Talent
2:00 – Dance Connection
3:00 – Master’s Extreme Makeover
4:30 – 5:30 – The Straight Jackets
5:30 – 6:30 – Blacksmith Jones
6:45 – 7:45 – The Magic of Trevor Moore
8:00 – 10:00 – Jazz – Lyle Rebbeck

Sunday, June 6th

12:00 – Gas Town Riot
1:00 – Medicine Hat’s Got Talent
2:00 – Dance Connection
3:00 – Quintet

Besides performances, there’s also a ton of other activities and events to keep you busy: THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »