August Events

I did a post about the Calgary Stampede in "Yipee-Ti-Ay!" and followed it up with "Speaking Of Events, Here's A Few In July", so why not another post of some Alberta events and fun activities taking place in August?

For starters, there's the Edmonton Folk Festival taking place Aug 9-12. This festival may seem like it could be a repeat of the Calgary Folk Festival held earlier in the Summer but the line-up is very different and, depending on your musical tastes, may be even better. I mean.... Lord Huron, Michael Franti, Ry Cooder, Tash Sultana....hell, I'm going to Edmonton!!

photo courtesy of Explore Edmonton

Maybe you could just stay in Edmonton for a few more days and catch  Fringe Fest, taking place at various venues in the city's Old Strathcona district from Aug 16-26. As the website states "With more than 1,600 performances, 38 venues , two outdoor stages, four patios, and 65 vendors, there’s something for everyone."

photo courtesy of Fringe Festival

If the Stampede didn't give you enough of a fix for your country roots, then how about a weekend of twang at Country Thunder on Aug 17-19th. I'm not a country music guy but it seems like the man acts for this gig are fairly big names in this music genre, so pull on your boot straps and two step on over to Prairie Winds Park in N.E. Calgary.

photo courtesy of Country Thunder Music Festivals

What's that you say? Too much pop culture and not enough classical music in your life? How about some refinement at the Banff Centre International String Quartet Festival taking place at the end of August and beginning of September. Not only do you get to enjoy the sweet stringed sounds but how can you go wrong with some time spent in our beautiful Rocky Mountains!

photo courtesy of the Banff Centre International String Quartet Festival

Juristic Murder!

So, if you read my post about some of the newly appointed "Juridical Persons", you'll know that the Yumana River in India is now considered "a person" but is also declared dead by environmental groups due to extreme pollution. Does that mean that murder has been committed? 

The question was raised in an interesting article I read while researching the topic of juridical persons. As written in online version of The Guardian, the fact that it is people who are responsible for the blatant polluting of the Yumana, whether they be the individuals who dump their garbage, the people who own the factories that dump their toxic waste, or the people in the government who do nothing to deter or prevent those who do pollute.

photo courtesy of  David Gilkey/NPR

photo courtesy of Om Prakash Singh

As the preceding photos show, this horrific abuse of the river occurs constantly, mostly in Delhi. Though only 4.96 % of the 1376 km long river actually flows within the borders of the city itself, the city accounts for 80% of the pollutants, including about 1 billion litres of raw sewage. And that's daily! Horrors!!

So, if the river is classifies as dead because it cannot support any aquatic life, could it's death be considered as murder?

Juristic Person

Did you know that there is such a thing as a "juridical person"  which typically have been the classification of things like corporations, co-operatives and sovereign states, though in recent years a newer group of other such non living entities have been granted status as a person.

 

"Juridical Personality" is a basic fundamental of legal fiction relevant to the philosophy of law but has typically only ever been considered in regard to the aforementioned types of entities. However,  with the Maori people of New Zealand considering the Whanganui River as their ancestor, the government designated the sacred water as a juristic person, giving it legal rights. Similarly, the Ganges River and it's major tributory the Yumana River in India, , are considered holy and were also granted this legal status. There is a move to do the same to the Himalaya Mountains, though this has not been officially declared to date.

Speaking Of Events, Here's A Few Taking Place In July!

After posting about my visit to the Calgary Stampede in "Yipee-Ti-Ay!", I was thinking about some other Alberta events and thought it would be good to share some of the fun activities a person could enjoy this July.

How about checking out the "Wild Mountain Music Festival" up in Hinton. This 3 day music festival takes place on July 13 - 15th, and features an eclectic mix of musicians with the likes of Tom Cochrane and Red Rider or the Family Stone!

photo courtesy of Wild Mountain Music Festival

And for the foodies, there's the Taste Of Edmonton coming up during the week of  July 19th - 27th. You can pre-buy a sheet or two of tickets which can then be used at the many booths and food trucks that will be set up in specific areas in the Capital Plaza.

photo courtesy of A Taste Of Edmonton

If you didn't make it up to Hinton for their music festival, or you want to see more great musicians, how about the 4 day Calgary Folk Fest coming up in the week of July 26th - 29th. We've attended this festival for so long that it's hard to remember just how many years we've been going, though maybe being there for when the stage was at the opposite end of the park might be a clue. haha. This "folk" festival is more like a collection of world musicians and is always a great time.

Friday 13th Port Dover

There were some attempts to get a Friday 13th event going here in Alberta, probably influenced by a long running and well attended motorcycle gathering that takes place in Port Dover, Ontario. 

Of course, The Port Dover Friday 13th event has been going on for 37 years now and no doubt it was  something that evolved over the years to become the big, bad ass rally that it is now. It doesn't hurt that the officials of Norfolk County have embraced the event and work to making it a welcome one. 

A motorcyclist named Barry Radu has been trying to get a gathering going out in Cochrane for the past 5 years, so maybe the gathering is building and we'll see quite a few more bikes out there this year. check out the story about Barry in the Cochrane Now publication, and maybe go mmet him in person tomorrow! 

A little hanky panky is always expected :)

This is a well attended event

An aerial view

Narrow streets and lots of bikes

Yipee-ti-ay!!

Yup, it's the middle of Stampede Week here in Calgary and the city is in full swing with events galore!

Of course, living by Scotsman's Hill and having the Stampede as a neighbour can wear on a guy after 10 non-stop days of action. But after almost 40 years of living there, we still enjoy the occasion and make it part of our lives, taking in the events and watching the fireworks.

On Sunday we went down to the Stampede grounds to check out the Chuck Wagon races and sip a few brews, even though the latter is way overpriced. Still, it's a bit of a tradition for us and our friends, especially since one of them celebrates a birthday on this day. 

We had a great time, saw lots of people we know, made some friendly bets on each heat, and then strolled the midway afterward, looking for some of the crazy new food fads. I had the foot long pizza dog and must say it was pretty tasty.

The birthday gal with Stampede royalty

Just before the chucks start, the flag is displayed during the national anthem 

We found a quiet spot to watch the nightly fireworks

All quiet in the Indian Village