Edmonton’s getting more colourful this weekend, and it’s not just because the summer sun came back this week.
Mural Massive returns for its fourth year this Saturday, and what started as a COVID-pivot to outdoor events has turned into a city-wide art project with a backyard event at The Grindstone Theatre. “When we as a theatre company couldn’t really do much, we decided to throw an outdoor block party, and with it, put up a whole bunch of murals around our west Ritchie and Old Strathcona neighbourhoods,” says Joses Martin, director of Mural Massive.
The festival will continue its mission of beautifying Grindstone’s surrounding area, with murals set to go up at the Scotiabank building on Whyte Avenue, City Fit Shop on 81st Ave and Trust Law on 80th Ave. But this year’s festival is on a mission to expand its territory by sending local artistic soldiers across the river, fully loaded with cans of spray paint and their imaginations to Numo Cannabis on 107th Avenue downtown. As always, the murals are accessible on a “Choose Your Own Adventure” style route, but you can also show up at The Grindstone on two wheels for a festival-organized bike tour at 4 p.m.
Or you could just show up to party. Musicians and comedians will have you moving and laughing starting at 2 p.m. on two Grindstone stages, including the outdoor Mural Garden Patio Stage which, as the name implies, is “surrounded by a whole bunch of the murals that were painted in previous years of Mural Massive that we used to create all the fencing for our back patio.”
It’s a charming spot that sums up the festival and theatre’s mandate of creating space for as many different types of art as possible. “My favourite thing about the festival is the interdisciplinary collaboration of artists. Curating the event is always really fun for me, because I get to pull together great comics, bands and solo performers, whether it’s rap, acoustic music, or live electronic production. We get to show off the folks that are engaged in The Grindstone community as well as curate artists from around city that people might not necessarily be aware of.”
Take a mural tour then catch Carter & the Capitals, comedian Sunee Dhaliwal and all their openers Sept. 2 at The Grindstone Theatre.
