The second annual Edmonton Resilience Festival is less than a month away! This year, our festival will take place from April 29 to May 1. The hub of programming will return to the Boyle Street Plaza with a handful of events happening at other venues citywide. Read on for a sneak peek at this year’s lineup of skill-sharing workshops and conversation cafes. A full description of each workshop is available at edmontonresiliencefestival.com, and tickets for this year’s paid workshops (plus any free workshops requiring preregistration) are now on sale on Eventbrite.
However, what do we mean by resilience? There are many different types of resilience. Personal resilience, often referred to in sports headlines and self-help articles, includes the emotional, physical, mental and social resilience of individuals. Organizational resilience is usually used as a business buzzword. The resilience of ecosystems and communities is referred to when discussing emergency management planning, disaster recovery or adaptation to environmental challenges.
Essentially, resilience is the quality that makes a community or ecosystem strong, healthy and able to bounce back from unexpected changes. Communities that are resilient can cope well with the effects of possible challenges posed by climate change, energy scarcity, economic volatility, social inequality, environmental degradation, and other unforeseen risks and hazards.
The Edmonton Resilience Festival includes community-submitted workshops, conversations and events that contribute to personal, group and global resilience. It’s our belief that community resilience requires us not only to care for ourselves and help our neighbours, but to build trust and co-operation between community members. By coming together to celebrate and share skills and ideas through the festival, we will create a stronger, happier community which will increase our capacity to work together and to adapt to coming changes.
While some of the hands-on workshops are ticketed in order to cover event expenses such as the building rental and workshop materials, we’ve been able to ensure that most of the activities at the Edmonton Resilience Festival are free to attend, thanks to our instructors’ generosity in donating their time. In addition to the workshops and conversation cafes listed below, free events also include family-friendly indoor and outdoor activities, and the Community Connections Fair showcasing the work of community organizations and local makers.
Stay tuned … we expect to have a few additions to the schedule!
This year’s Edmonton Resilience Festival includes the following ticketed workshops:
- Beyond Bollywood (Ashley Anjlien Kumar)
- Bike Repair 101: Hands-on Intro to Bike Maintenance (Chris Chan, Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society — class at BikeWorks North, 9305 111 Ave. NW) – SOLD OUT
- Building a Bee Hotel to Protect Pollinators (Rebecca Ellis, Edmonton & Area Land Trust) – SOLD OUT
- Chair Yoga (Ashley Anjlien Kumar)
- Cider Making and Fermenting (Joshua Buck, Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton)
- Creating your own Backyard Food Forest (Katie Ingram and Sheniz Wilkie)
- Creative Adventuring: Finding Inspiration in your Everyday Surroundings (Stephanie Medford)
- Detox Your Home with Essential Oils (Judith Lam Tang)
- Drum Journey (Deborah Bortscher)
- Fabulous Fermentation: Fermented Foods & Drinks (Jana Sacco)
- Growing and Using Herbs for Health and Resilience In Edmonton (Dionne Jennings)
- Hawaiian Hula (Tracy Thorne)
- How to Create a Healthy Vegetable Garden (Michael Victoria Moore) – SOLD OUT
- How To Make Kombucha and Water Kefir (Gillian Kerr)
- Indoor Worm Composting for Beginners (Andy Williams)
- Introduction to Beekeeping (Dustin Bajer) – SOLD OUT
- Local Herbal Tea Making (Carrie Belcourt, Mother Earth Essentials)
- Make Your Own Freezer Jam (Carol Cooper, Fruits Of Sherbrooke)
- Marketing to the World from Edmonton (Marissa Loewen)
- Medieval Spinning, Viking Weaving, and Ancient Carving Techniques (Dan and Janet MacMullin, All Saints Medieval) – CANCELLED – see: Spinning With A Drop Spindle
- Meditation, The Resilience Process (Marlene Skaley)
- Natural Dyeing (Deborah Merriam)
- Net-Positive Shelters (Kurtis Ewanchuk)
- New Beginnings: Life Coaching (Teressa Johnson)
- No-Sew (Toothbrush) Rag Rugs (Nadine Riopel)
- SalvagED: What’s in Your Fridge (Carley-Jane Stanton, Alder Food Security Society and Kathryn Joel, Get Cooking — class at Get Cooking, MacEwan University City Centre Campus, Student Residence, 11050 104 Ave. NW) – SOLD OUT
- Sausage Making (Natalie Pepin)
- Sourdough Surprise: Naturally Leavened Biscuits, Waffles and Muffins (Owen Petervine)
- Spinning With A Drop Spindle (Maryann Borch)
- Strategies and Tools for Resilient Food Growing in Edmonton (Claudia Bolli)
- Tanning Hides (Natalie Pepin)
- Tiny Homes: How to Build and Live in Tiny Homes (Kenton Zerbin)
- Wildcrafting (Jana Sacco)
- Willow Basket Weaving (Maryann Borch) – SOLD OUT
Attendance at free workshops and conversation cafes will be on a first-come-first-served basis, unless otherwise noted:
- Building Sustainable Communities (Shanthu Mano and Godo Stoyke, Carbon Busters) (preregistration required) – SOLD OUT
- Connected and Capable Neighbourhoods – The Abundant Community Initiative (Howard Lawrence)
- Edmonton’s Water: Why Headwaters Matter (Alison Ronson, CPAWS)
- Environmental Rights, Human Rights (HealthyYEG and Environmental Law Centre)
- Farm On Wheels: Crowdfunding and Urban Agriculture (Emilio Gagliardi)
- Financial Literacy (Linda Mak, Money Mentors) (preregistration required)
- Food4Good food hub announcement (Ashley Thompson, Food4Good)
- Hosting the Happy City (Wesley Andreas & Jill Robertson) (preregistration required)
- How Pesticides are controlled in Canada and why we might want change (Pesticide Free Alberta)
- How to Pop: Temporary Retail or Art Installations to Boost or Bump your Biz (Marissa Loewen)
- Humanity’s Greatest Task (& The Simple Complex Joy of Planting Trees) (Kurtis Ewanchuk)
- Personal Resilience and Preventing Burnout (Deepika Mittra)
- Resilient Voices – Drop-In Choir (Karen Porkka)
- Rocket Stove Building Demonstration and S’mores (Kenton Zerbin)
- Screening Room: An Evergreen Island
- Screening Room: In Transition 2.0
- Screening Room: Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective
- Screening Room: The Economics Of Happiness
- System Change, Not Climate Change (Mike Hudema)
- Try a Mindful Meal (Michelle Brewer)
- Transitioning to a Vegan Lifestyle (Val Gargagliano, Voice For Animals Society)
- Women’s Leadership and Political Participation (Bev Esslinger and Janis Irwin)
- Your Role In Reconciliation (Miranda Jimmy, Reconciliation In Solidarity Edmonton)
Tickets for this year’s ticketed workshops and any free activities requiring preregistration are now available. Ticket quantities are limited, so please don’t wait until the last minute to reserve yours.