The Pulse
July 19, 2024

The July 8 reopening of Mill Creek Pool came just in time to offer people relief from extreme heatwaves, setting up a swift return to popularity for one of Edmonton's original and most missed outdoor pools.

"People were just thrilled that it was open and that they were back in their pool and thoroughly enjoying it," Shauna Graham, site coordination and operations supervisor for Edmonton's outdoor pools, told Taproot about the reopening. "I'm happy it's open, and it was perfect timing. If we had gotten that heat one week earlier people would have been banging on the door to be let in."

The City of Edmonton closed the Mill Creek Pool in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, following upon a 2018 decision to allocate money to refresh it. The closure allowed the city to update the pool's electrical and mechanical systems, and to renovate the pool itself.

The pool has been a fixture of Mill Creek Ravine for at least 70 years. It opened in 1953 and at the time cost $150,000. A swimming spot at the location dates back further, though, to 1917, when people dammed Mill Creek itself to make a spot to swim at. That pre-dates Edmonton's first public swimming pool, which opened in 1922 as South Side Pool but was renamed Queen Elizabeth Pool in 1939.

Graham said that Mill Creek Pool was long the favourite of residents of the surrounding neighbourhoods (Bonnie Doon, King Edward Park, Ritchie, and Mill Creek), and only started to lag behind when the city started renovating its other pools.

In 2009, the City of Edmonton updated Fred Broadstock Outdoor Pool, in Britannia Youngstown, redoing the dive tank, splash pool, and its entire basin. In 2011, the city moved Queen Elizabeth Pool from Queen Elizabeth Park Road (the current location of Indigenous Art Park ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞) to Kinsmen Park, where it's now located along with Kinsmen Spray Park. In 2018, the city opened Borden Natural Swimming Pool, also a site with a long history of a pool.

Graham said now that Mill Creek Pool has been renovated, it can return to popularity.

"It was the busiest for years and I think it was the place to go, right? Summer came and you wanted to go cool off or swim, it was a place to go and hang out. We're trying to ensure that we continue with that," Graham said.

• KDays runs July 19-28 at the Edmonton Expo Centre and surrounding exhibition grounds. It's the festival's 145th anniversary and the third year of a decade-long "reimagining strategy," said Jessie Radies with Explore Edmonton. The festival launches with a Premier's Breakfast from 9am-12pm on July 19, where the first 5,000 attendees will get free breakfast and festival admission. People with an Edmonton Public Library card or TELUS World of Science membership get free admission on July 21, and those with an Arc card get free admission on July 23. This year's musical acts include Theory of a Deadman, K'naan, Metric, Simple Plan, Ja Rule, and Ludacris. CTV News wrote a guide to attractions and transit options.
• The Edmonton Police Commission unanimously passed revisions to its public input policy in response to what commission staff call "defamatory, derogatory, and demeaning" comments toward the commission and police staff. The revisions, which are detailed in a briefing, require speakers to submit a summary of their topic in advance, conduct themselves in a "professional and courteous manner," and refrain from making allegations or disparaging remarks about commission members or police staff. Additionally, commissioners and police staff will no longer respond to questions from presenters. Instead, they will be told to email the executive director, who will "assess the correspondence for possible reply."
• Arts journalist Fish Griwkowsky wrote a piece exploring the influence and achievements of painter Alex Janvier, who died on July 10. Over his life, Janvier developed a unique style blending Indigenous and modern art elements, and his works have been displayed across Canada and the world. Three of his works are currently up at the Art Gallery of Alberta as part of the AGA100 celebration, while his mosaics and murals can be seen at Rogers Place, the Muttart Conservatory, the Stanley A. Milner Library, Strathcona County Hall, and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta chamber. Alex Janvier School in west Edmonton lowered its flags in his honour, and many public figures shared tributes following his death.
• Members of the media visited the new Boeing 737NG flight simulator at the Edmonton International Airport, which was recently installed by airline Canadian North, to learn about how the technology helps train pilots. The centre is in Edmonton because the city is a hub for Canadian North's western Arctic operations, which serve many communities for whom planes are a "lifeline to the south," the Canadian Press reported.
• To mark National Drowning Prevention Week, the City of Edmonton is reminding everyone to be safe around water. Last year, park rangers did 7,500 safety compliance checks, up 33% from 2022, the City said. The Lifesaving Society is promoting a different type of safety intervention each day from July 21-27.
• Root for Trees, the City of Edmonton's volunteer tree-planting program, is partnering with Tree Canada to run a tree-planting event called Let's Get Dirt-y in the Cameron Heights neighbourhood from 3pm to 6pm on July 20. The event will include a demonstration and two hours of planting trees, followed by free food and entertainment for volunteers. Space is limited, and participants are encouraged to register.
• Former Alberta cabinet minister and lawyer Tyler Shandro has been found not guilty of professional misconduct by a three-person Law Society of Alberta panel. Shandro was facing reprimand for three citations, the first of which revolved around an emotional exchange with a doctor on the doctor's driveway in 2020, when Shandro was serving as health minister during the COVID-19 pandemic. Committee members wrote that Shandro's behaviour didn't reach a level deserving sanction. Two other former Alberta cabinet ministers — Jonathan Denis and Kaycee Madu — are also facing sanctions from the law society, with decisions in those cases still pending.

Here are some events happening this weekend in the Edmonton area.

• July 19: Chamber VIP Lounge at Taste of Edmonton starting at 2:30pm at Churchill Square
• July 19: AI Innovation Challenge — Business Booster Workshop Series starting at 3pm at the Northern Alberta Business Incubator Society
• July 19-21: Afro-Caribbean, Roots & Drums Festival at Union Hall
• July 19-27: Jubefest at the Jubilee Auditorium
• July 19-28: KDays at the Edmonton EXPO Centre
• July 19-28: The Innovation Zone at KDays at the Edmonton EXPO Centre
• July 19-28: Rubaboo Arts Festival at the Workshop West Playwright's Theatre
• July 20: Community Garage Sale starting at 10am at the Sherbrooke Community League
• July 20: Vintage & More Outdoor Market starting at 10am at Ibon Antiques and Collectibles
• July 20: Reuse Centre Swap Events: Movies starting at 10am at 6835 83 Street NW
• July 20: City Farms Self-Care Day Event starting at 10am at City Farms
• July 20-21: Edmonton Carnaval 2024 at 9210 118 Ave NW
• July 20-21: Sherwood Park Highland Gathering at Broadmoor Lake Park

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Aug. 6-10: Rock'n August at St. Albert Place
• Aug. 8: DIY Backpack Repairs at 6835 83 Street NW
• Aug. 8-11: Edmonton Folk Music Festival at Gallagher Park

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.