Arts Roundup
Oct. 1, 2026
Remembrances poured in following the death of Sean Paul Arceta, a "real-life superhero," as the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival put it. He performed as B-Boy Pharush and YEG Superman, and served as a social worker at iHuman Youth Society, a charity built on the healing power of art. "Sean's legacy lives on through the community he helped build, the art he shared, the people he advocated for, and the many lives he touched," reads his obituary. The 38-year-old leaves a son, Maverick, for whom friends have launched a GoFundMe.
BusyRawk, whose given name is Branden Cha, was a friend and collaborator of Arceta's. He posted a poignant message, saying he was proceeding "with care and gentleness with each step, and being able to sit and allow different emotions to exist with me without judgement. While also keeping an eye on when I need to rest."
BusyRawk is unveiling a long-planned mural about grief on Oct. 3, the same day as Arceta's funeral. "Let's not lose sight that it will be a day we MUST be present in the moment for Sean," the artist wrote, adding that Arceta was a supporter of his Black Tortoise of the North mural at King Thunderbird Centre at 10740 99 Street NW. "He is so proud of me," Cha said. The mural event at the Boyle Street Community Services facility has a packed program, including visual, musical, and other forms of art. But perhaps most notably, the event had already set aside spaces for grieving, in keeping with the Black Tortoise's role in Chinese mythology as a guide for the departed.
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Music
- Winterruption has added a Northern Arts Conference to its 2027 programming. The conference will run Jan. 21 and 22 at the CKUA building on Jasper Avenue and include more than 25 industry speakers. The festival is expected to announce its full line-up Oct. 8.
- CFCW was named large-market radio station of the year at the 2026 Canadian Country Music Association awards presented in Saskatoon. The promotions for Carl Dean by St. Albert's Hailey Benedict won the award for the innovative campaign of the year. Amber Bauer was named keyboard player of the year.
- Johwanna Alleyne, owner of Mojo Jojo Pickles on Whyte Avenue, has started a monthly vocal jazz jam at Koselig Brew Pub in Ritchie. The next installment will take place on Oct. 26.
- Melafrique is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Lead singer Riwo Egor said the band is working on an album and hopes to tour in 2028.
- Juno winner Ruth B., who was born and raised in Edmonton, spoke to CBC Edmonton's Radio Active about her new album, Peace to Make.
- Acoustic punk musician Duane Regretzky spoke to Altyeg Music Magazine about Punksgiving, an annual event returning to Red Deer on Oct. 12. "Any chance to play shows with my Alberta friends is the very best," he said. "Canadian heritage moments abound."
- The Starlite Room has increased the capacity for Rubbed Raw's album release show on Nov. 5, which will also feature Home Front and Australia's STERÖID.
- TEED, the producer and DJ formerly known as Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, will play a show at Double Dragon on Nov. 6.
- Dropkick Murphys announced a 2027 North American tour that includes a Feb. 16 stop at the Edmonton Convention Centre, and country singer Riley Green is bringing his That's Just Me Tour to Rogers Place on April 8.
- Death from Above 1979 postponed its fall tour to 2027, moving its Edmonton show at Midway Music Hall from Nov. 3 to March 23. The Canadian rock duo said it wanted the tour to support a new album but had not yet been in the studio.
- Exclaim! marked the 35th anniversary of Nevermind with an oral history of Nirvana's 1991 Canadian tour. The band spent the day exploring West Edmonton Mall before its only Edmonton show, at The Bronx. Local punk-metal band Zero Tolerance opened, and bassist Aaron McMillan said it was that band's last show before it disbanded.
- University of Alberta musicologist Alexander Carpenter examined whether the popularity of Quebec math-rock duo Angine de Poitrine and Rush's reunion tour signal a prog-rock renaissance.
Visual arts
- Paityn Savoie, a Métis/Cree artist known as WÂPOSHPYII, has completed a mural called They Gather Together on the north exterior wall of the Citadel Theatre. "Ultimately, I hope the mural reminds people to take a moment out of their day to indulge in art and beauty; a piece that people can pause in front of, observe, and connect with in their own way," the University of Alberta-educated Savoie said in a Citadel release.
- Heraa Khan told the Edmonton Arts Council about When the Fish Flew, her first public art commission. The two murals for Zoie Gardner Park in northeast Edmonton draw on Indo-Persian miniature painting. They are expected to be installed later this year.
- The Art Gallery of Alberta celebrated the opening of the McLennan Foyer, a second-floor gathering space named for longtime supporters Rod and Mona McLennan. The foyer was funded through donations to the gallery's AGA Always campaign.
- Sherwood Park designer Mia Celestina showed metal and pop-tab creations at Runway 7 Fashion Week in New York and was a finalist for sustainable fashion. She told the Sherwood Park News that larger centres such as New York City and Toronto offer opportunities that are harder to find in Alberta.
- Chinese-Canadian photographer Morris Lum, author of Chinatowns Tong Yan Gaai, came to Edmonton to document changes in Chinatown around the Quarters LRT stop. He presented the images at the International Chinatown Conference.
Theatre and dance
- Reviewers gave positive notices to the Citadel Theatre's season-opening production of Murder on the Orient Express. The Edmonton Journal's Liane Faulder called it "an entertaining and impressive ride," while BroadwayWorld's Sarah Dussome described the show as an "atmospheric, tightly plotted production." It runs in the Shoctor Theatre until Oct. 11.
- The Rubaboo Arts Festival, a multidisciplinary arts festival showcasing Indigenous music, dance, and theatre, returns to Beaver Hills House Park until Oct. 11. Christine Frederick, artistic director of the festival and the Dreamspeakers Festival Society, spoke to CBC's Edmonton AM about what attendees can expect.
- Horizon Stage Performing Arts Centre in Spruce Grove is hosting auditions on Oct. 5 to participate in a production of The Frog Prince by Missoula Children's Theatre. Roles are open to children from kindergarten to Grade 12, with no experience needed. Selected participants pay $100 for the workshop and play.
Books and publishing
- University of Alberta professor Janice Cindy Gaudet compiled Visiting with Aunties: Stories about Indigenous Women's Kinship, a collection of stories and testimonials from Cree and Métis aunties. Gaudet teaches and researches Indigenous studies in education and holds the Canada Research Chair in Métis kinship and land-based wellness.
- Sumaiya Matin spoke to CBC Edmonton's Radio Active about her children's book, Parsa's Pithas, which centres on a mother and daughter making a traditional Bengali dessert.
- Retired Edmonton police officer Apollo Kowalyk will discuss his crime novel, The Iron Pig, at Bailey Books on Oct. 10. He wrote the book using journals from nearly 25 years with the Edmonton Police Service.
- The Writers' Guild of Alberta published its September Controversy at Noon panel on whether literary merit is subjective. Panelists included Matthew James Weigel, Shawn Hamm, Anne Logan, and Jael Richardson of the Festival of Literary Diversity.
Screen industries
- Cody Lightning's film Smudge the Blades opened the 40th Edmonton International Film Festival. Shot in Edmonton, it follows an all-Indigenous youth hockey team. It won an award at the Toronto International Film Festival, which Lightning dedicated to his mother, filmmaker Georgina Lightning, who died on Sept. 5.
- The Edmonton International Film Festival jury named three Grand Jury Award winners in its short film categories, which are eligible for Oscar consideration: Icelandic documentary Postcards, Canadian animated film Soul Catcher, and French live action film Fiction.
- Alexandra Lazarowich spoke to CBC Edmonton's Radio Active about her documentary, Turtle Island Rap, which screened at the Edmonton International Film Festival. Lazarowich is the director of the acclaimed short documentary Fast Horse.
- Funny Money: The Dane Cook Story, a documentary from Score G Productions, got its world premiere in Santa Monica and began rolling out on U.S. and U.K. rent-or-buy platforms on Sept. 29. The film will have its Canadian premiere as the closing-night film of the Edmonton International Film Festival on Oct. 3.
- Model and filmmaker Lexus Morgan shared the story behind her film about vitiligo, a condition she was diagnosed with as a child. In Her Skin is available through the CBC Creator Network.
- The Edmonton Short Film Festival partnered with Audreys Books for its third annual Truth & Reconciliation Pop-Up Screening and Author Event. "The older I get, the more I understand how important it is that Indigenous people have the opportunity to tell their own stories," organizer Daniel Foreman told Alberta Native News.
- Rosche Rheeder and Ricardo Rheeder of Lucid Rain Studios shared what they experienced at Gamescom in Germany on the Good Game Edmonton podcast. They said there were hour-long lineups to try INFERIUS, the studio's first-person horror game.
More headlines
- The University of Alberta said a burst sprinkler head caused water damage to Convocation Hall in August but did not damage the Casavant pipe organ that is slated to move to a church in Picture Butte. Advocate Andy Grabia, who outlined the organ's historical significance on Speaking Municipally, said the university has not been clear about the damage or the organ's condition. Nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition to keep the organ in the hall.
- St. Albert's Little White School is showing the Hear Our Voices: Michel People and Residential Schools exhibit until Oct. 2. It features video testimony from former Michel Band members and descendants.
- Actor and community leader Jesse Lipscombe was a guest on the Season 4 premiere of Unlonely with Dr. Jody Carrington. The two discussed empathy, resilience, hope, and what acting teaches about human connection.
- Fort Edmonton Park will screen a Halloween film at the Capitol Theatre each Tuesday in October: Scream on Oct. 6, Friday the 13th on Oct. 13, Rosemary's Baby on Oct. 20 and Carrie on Oct. 27.
Happenings
Here are some events coming up soon:
- Oct. 1: Retro Craft Night: 1940s edition starting at 5:30pm at Royal Alberta Museum
- Oct. 1: 'NICE' District Comedy Night starting at 8pm at Banquet
- Oct. 1-10: 2026 CFR Backroads Sessions at various locations
- Oct. 2: Strips and Giggles, a Comedy Show starting at 7:30pm at Varscona Theatre
- Oct. 3: Art, Story & Circle: An Indigenous Art Park Gathering starting at 11am at ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞ Indigenous Art Park
- Oct. 3: Generations starting at 7:15pm at Parkview Community Hall
- Oct. 3: Mariachi Loco starting at 8pm at Yardbird Suite
- Oct. 3-4: Harvest Art + Book Fair at ArtsHub Ortona
- Oct. 4: Script Salon: Pieces by Jezec Sanders starting at 7:30pm at Holy Trinity Anglican Church
- Oct. 7: Monica Miller Memorial Lecture featuring Lisa Moore starting at 7:30pm at MacEwan University (Allard Hall)
- Until Oct. 11: Rubaboo Arts Festival at various locations
And here are more to keep in mind:
- Oct. 17: Triangularity at Citadel Theatre
- Oct. 17-18: Edmonton Short Film Festival at Landmark Cinemas 9 (Edmonton City Centre)
- Oct. 21: No Lonely Writers: Library Write-in at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.
This roundup was sponsored by ATB.
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