Art shows, hobby-afternoons, and more highlight the activities taking place in St. Albert this weekend.
1. Painters' Guild spring show and sale
The St. Albert Painters' Guild is hosting a show and sale all weekend at city hall.
The show, which opened at 9:00 a.m. this morning, runs till 9:00 p.m. this evening and from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, and from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.
There's also a reception with “light refreshments” this evening from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to give residents the chance to mingle and meet the artists involved.
The Guild's website shows that the organization has over 100 artist members, and more than 50 are participating in the show this weekend.
“A guild of talented, dedicated volunteers... have worked hard at getting the show ready, and ready it is!,” the organization posted on Facebook.
2. NeutralGround event at the Library
St. Albert non-profit NeutralGround is back at the Library on Saturday afternoon for a free hobby and activity session from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m..
“NeutralGround has been set up to help combat social isolation and foster community through shared hobbies and activities,” the event's website explains. “We are creating a safe, inclusive, indoor location for like-minded people to enjoy their hobbies, individually or as a group.”
“We are running monthly meetups in St. Albert to get to know the community, gauge interest and have some fun times doing what we enjoy.”
Event attendees can knit and crochet; play multi-player video games; play board games; take part in some role-play fun; help complete a team jigsaw puzzle; and more. Snacks are also provided and registration is not required.
3. City Nature Challenge
Local nature lovers shouldn't hesitate to get out and take pictures of all things nature in St. Albert this weekend for the City Nature Challenge, an international citizen science event.
As Gazette reporter Kevin Ma wrote earlier this month, St. Albert is one of almost 40 Canadian cities taking part in the Challenge, and it’s the first time that the city has officially taken part in the event.
“The event challenges citizens to identify all plants and animals they can in a set time period to enhance knowledge of urban biodiversity, with cities encouraged to compete for bragging rights,” Ma wrote.
“The challenge asks residents to use the iNaturalist app to photograph or record the sound of any living wild plant or animal they can find in a participating city between April 26 to 29, said Dan Belland, City Nature Challenge co-ordinator for the Edmonton region.”
Once participants have taken their photos, they must upload the photos to the app before May 5, and identify as many plants, animals, and animal noises they can.
“Data collected will be used by researchers to track global biodiversity,” Ma wrote.
4. Kids Night Out at Dynamyx Gymnastics Club
St. Albert's Dynamyx Gymnastics Club is hosting it's monthly Kids Night Out event on Saturday.
The event runs from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. with kids getting structured and unstructured time to play in the gym with the Club's coaches, as well as a pizza dinner before a movie is shown.
Registration is required and the cost is $40 per kid.
“This is a great opportunity for the kids to socialize and make new friends while the parents can enjoy four hours of child free time!” the Club's website explains.
To register, visit the Club's website here.
