The art show put on by the St. Albert Artist’s Guild is an anticipated event in my house. My husband and I attend together; but as soon as we get our ballots for people’s choice we become strangers. We each start in a different section, perusing the art in detail. If I turn a corner and see my husband, I immediately turn the other way. For us, one of the joys of the art show is comparing our ballots; and laughing at how different our taste is. After intense inspection of every piece we meet at one of the tables to compare the results. This year; when my husband sat down he said “If by chance our number one choice is mutual, I think we should purchase it.”  I agreed with this statement; our tastes are usually so different, I did not anticipate that my visa card would need to be withdrawn from my purse.  

And the envelope please....much astonishment on both of our parts when we realized that we had agreed not only on our number one choice, but on number three as well. Alas a red dot was already posted...

The Painters Guild Fall Art Show & Sale was last weekend in St. Albert Place. I always look forward to this show, it is a tremendous tribute to all the talented artists we have in the city and the area. This year my husband and I attended together, as in we entered the building together and left the building together, however, we took different paths to view the show. This works for us, as what I stop to admire, at times will only get a passing glance from him, and of course vice-a-versa.

 This year as part of the show they had a “People’s Choice” award. Armed with a golf pencil and a slip of paper we were asked to pick our top three. What a great way to really immerse your visitors in the show. We both took our job very seriously and carefully deposited our votes in the draw box. Of course, the first question you ask each other as you leave the building is “What three did you pick?” We were both very surprised to discover that our second choice was actually the same, a partial nude painting of a woman....

On Friday night I attended the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts Gala. I went last year for the first time and had a fabulous time so was looking forward to this year’s celebration. St. Albert Place is a delightful venue for a reception, both my husband and I enjoyed a glass of wine and some nibbles. I thought the croissant sandwiches were delicious and my husband literally chased the server across the floor in order to indulge in another meatball. However, the food and wine were secondary; the intent of the night was to celebrate the arts and it was a great celebration.

 

My favourite entertainers of the evening were Anna Marie Sewell and Jeff Stuart and the Hearts. Anna Marie is the Edmonton’s Poet Laureate for 2011-13, her combination of singing/poetry touched me, as did her bare feet that helped to tell the story. Jeff Stuart and the Hearts were upbeat; fun to watch and easy to listen to.

 

Mayor Nolan Crouse also added interest to the night by delivering his welcome in the form...