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Good morning, Edmonton and surrounding areas! Happy Friday! ☀️
It is shaping up to be a hot one out there today, so keep the water bottle close and find some shade if you can this afternoon.
We have got downtown Edmonton digging in against a wave of restaurant closures, a Canadian mathematician making history, and wildfires tearing through southern Europe. Here is what is making news across Edmonton and the surrounding areas this Friday.
🏙️ Downtown Edmonton Retailers Dig In Despite Rash of Restaurant Closures
Why are downtown Edmonton shops sticking around despite the closures?
Longtime downtown shops like Audrey's Books and Henry Singer say construction, accessibility and safety concerns have hurt business right alongside the half dozen restaurants that have closed nearby, but both say they have no plans of leaving the core.
The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce says two businesses close downtown for every one that opens.
Ward Councillor Anne Stevenson points to half a billion dollars already invested in downtown revitalization.
A tough stretch for the core, with some longtime shops refusing to budge.
🔍 Search for Missing Calgary Boy Parker Wells Enters an Eighth Day
Has Parker Wells been found yet?
Not yet. Police say they still believe eleven year old Parker, who is nonverbal and has autism, can be found alive, with drone teams now using thermal imaging over waterways and riverbanks after he went missing from his day home on July 16.
Investigators are asking about vacant properties in a specific Thorncliffe area in northeast Calgary.
Hundreds of officers and trained volunteers remain part of the search effort.
Keep an eye out and keep him in your thoughts.
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🧮 University of Toronto Mathematician Becomes First Canada Based Fields Medalist
Who just became the first Canada based Fields Medal winner?
Jacob Tsimerman, who started his math degree at U of T at sixteen years old, was awarded the Fields Medal, mathematics' highest honour, for helping prove a problem that stumped mathematicians for decades, becoming the first scholar based at a Canadian institution ever to win it.
He helped prove the Andre Oort conjecture, opening up entirely new directions of research.
The Fields Medal is awarded once every four years to mathematicians under age forty.
Proof that a former teenage undergrad can go on to make history.
⛽ Gas Prices Climb Across Canada as Middle East Tensions Push Oil Past a One Month High
Why are gas prices climbing across Canada right now?
The national average gas price has pushed above $1.80 a litre, driven by crude oil hitting its highest level in more than a month as Ukraine targets Russian refineries and Houthi rebels disrupt Red Sea shipping.
Crude oil is trading above $92 US a barrel, up nearly six percent in a single day.
Analysts say another five to ten cents a litre could show up at the pump within the next week or two.
Worth planning your next fill up around.
🔥 Wildfires Kill Three Firefighters Across France, Italy and Spain, Force Thousands to Flee
How bad are the wildfires burning across southern Europe right now?
Two firefighters died battling a blaze near Bordeaux and a third fell ill and died fighting a fire in Sicily, as an extreme heatwave fuels wildfires across southern Europe that have already burned more land this year than the twenty year average.
Thousands have been evacuated from homes and coastal resorts across France, Italy and Spain.
France's burned area so far this year has already surpassed the record set in 2022.
A heavy reminder of how fast a hot dry summer can turn dangerous.
🤝 Top US and Russian Diplomats Meet in Manila to Try to Revive an End to the Ukraine War
Did the US and Russia make any progress on ending the war in Ukraine?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a thirty five minute meeting on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering in Manila, their fourth meeting since last year, with Lavrov saying Russia remains ready for a political settlement.
The talks built on the framework from last August's Trump Putin meeting in Alaska.
It was the two men's fourth meeting since 2025, after prior sessions in Riyadh, Kuala Lumpur and New York.
Worth watching whether the momentum keeps building.
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YOUR TURN 💌
What is something happening in your neighbourhood right now that we should know about? A business opening, a road that has been dug up for months, a community moment worth sharing. Hit reply. The best tips shape future issues.
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Edmonton local Weather
Day ⬆4° higher than historical avg. Night ⬆5° higher than historical avg.
Edmonton Weather: Friday July 24
Friday starts off sunny and already warm, climbing into a hot afternoon near 30C that will feel closer to the mid thirties with the humidity, with a heat warning in effect for the region so keep water and shade close by. Skies stay mostly clear into the evening with just a small chance of a stray shower, settling toward a low near 17C overnight.
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Events Happening in Edmonton and Surrounding Areas
Friday, July 24
⚾ Edmonton Riverhawks Margaritaville Beach Party 🎟️ Details
🗓 Fri Jul 24 · ⏰ Evening, 📍 RE/MAX Field, 10233 96 Ave NW,
Themed ballgame with tropical beach vibes.
🎤 Post Malone + Jelly Roll Stadium Tour 🎟️ Details
🗓 Fri Jul 24 · ⏰ 7:30 p.m. 📍 Commonwealth Stadium, 11000 Stadium Rd NW
Major stadium concert with multiple openers.edmonton+1
🏁 NASCAR NAPA 300 (Edmonton Int’l Raceway) 🎟️ Details
🗓 Fri Jul 24–Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ TBA. 📍 244047A Township Rd 464, Wetaskiwin
Weekend NASCAR Canada Series racing.curiocity
🎭 Crowd Worked at Grindstone Theatre 🎟️ Details
🗓 Fri Jul 24 · ⏰ Evening. 📍 Grindstone Theatre, 10019 81 Ave NW
Improvised stand‑up built on crowd interaction.
🎮 K‑Pop Club Night at The Rec Room South 🎟️ Details
🗓 Fri Jul 24–Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ Late night. 📍 The Rec Room South Edmonton
High‑energy K‑Pop DJ dance night.
🔥 4 Elements Dining Experience at HALO 🎟️ Details
🗓 Fri Jul 24 · ⏰ Evening. 📍 HALO Bar | Bistro, Nisku
Immersive multi‑course dinner with projections.
Saturday, July 25
🥕 Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 8 a.m.–3 p.m. 📍 10310 83 Ave NW.
Indoor, year‑round food and makers market.osfm+1
🥕 Downtown Farmers’ Market 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 10 a.m.–3 p.m. 📍 104 St, north of Jasper Ave
Outdoor downtown market with local vendors.edmonton
🥕 Bountiful Farmers’ Market 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 9 a.m.–4 p.m. 📍 3696 97 St NW
Large indoor south‑side market with food stalls.exploreedmonton
🥕 South Common Farmers’ Market 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 10 a.m.–4 p.m. 📍 South Edmonton Common area
Seasonal outdoor market with fresh produce.infoedmonton+1
🥕 124 Grand Market (South) 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 10 a.m.–3 p.m. 📍 2110 101 St NW
Neighbourhood market with food trucks and makers.exploreedmonton
🌾 St. Albert Outdoor Farmers’ Market 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 10 a.m.–3 p.m. 📍 5 St. Anne St, St. Albert
Large outdoor market with hundreds of vendors.edmonton.taproot
🌾 Spruce Grove Market at the Elevator 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 10 a.m.–2 p.m. 📍 120 Railway Ave, Spruce Grove
Small‑town style market by historic elevator.edifyedmonton
🌾 Stony Plain Farmers’ Market 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 📍 5008 51 Ave, Stony Plain
Community market with local growers and crafters.edifyedmonton
🧘 Rooftop Yoga Flow & Brunch 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 10–11 a.m. 📍 Ice District rooftop, 10332 103 St NW
All‑levels rooftop class plus brunch.
🍻 Establishment Brewing Patio Takeover 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ Afternoon–evening. 📍 Frank’s Pub
Tap takeover with craft beer on the patio.
🎉 Summer Block Party on Rice Howard Way 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 1–6 p.m. 📍 Rice Howard Way Entertainment District
Downtown streets with patios and live music.edmontondowntown
🎵 Music on Stony Plain Road 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 6–8:30 p.m. 📍 10126 150 St NW
Free outdoor concert with local musicians.edmonton.taproot
🗣 The Breakdown AB Live 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 7–9:30 p.m. 📍 10045 156 St NW
Live taping of Alberta politics podcast.edmonton.taproot
🎤 Post Malone + Jelly Roll (Night 2) 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 7:30 p.m. 📍 Commonwealth Stadium, 11000 Stadium Rd NW
Second night of the stadium concert run.concerts50
🧩 The Locked Library: The Book Case 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ Evening slots. 📍 Stanley A. Milner Library
Large‑scale escape room inside the library.
🎭 Spelling Bee (Relaxed/CC Performance) 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ Evening. 📍 Citadel Theatre
Relaxed, captioned version of the musical.
🎉 Chinatown After Dark 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ Evening. 📍 Chinatown (multiple streets)
Night‑market style food and street culture.
🎧 Beach Bash at The Starlite Room 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ Late night. 📍 The Starlite Room, Indoor beach‑themed DJ party.
🪑 Anecdote Coffee Tasting 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 2‑hour session. 📍 West Block, 14055 West Block Dr NW
Guided tasting of specialty coffees.
✍️ Free Ekphrastic Writing Workshop 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ 2‑hour workshop. 📍 10130 100 St NW
Free creative writing session based on art.
⚾ Riverhawks Wizards, Wands & Magic 🎟️ Details
🗓 Sat Jul 25 · ⏰ Evening. 📍 RE/MAX Field, 10233 96 Ave NW
Wizard‑themed baseball night with extras.
🌸 Taste of Edmonton, running through July 26 🎟️ Details
📅 Daily through Jul 26 · ⏰ 11:00 AM to late · 📍 Sir Winston Churchill Square, Edmonton
STORY CORNER 📖
What would you do if you found something that was never meant for you to read?
Nine years ago, a maintenance crew doing routine work along a quiet stretch of the river valley trail near Laurier Park found something tucked into a hollow at the base of an old cottonwood tree. It was a small waterproof notebook, swollen slightly at the edges from years of weather, held shut with an elastic band that had gone brittle and grey. Instead of throwing it away, one of the crew members opened it, expecting nothing more than a lost hiker's grocery list or a forgotten trail map.
What he found instead was page after page of handwriting, dozens of different hands, going back more than a decade. Someone, nobody ever figured out who, had started leaving the notebook there on purpose, along with a stub of pencil tied to a string, and a single instruction written on the inside cover in careful block letters: WRITE SOMETHING TRUE, THEN LEAVE IT FOR THE NEXT PERSON.
People had. Strangers who never met each other had used that hollow tree as a kind of confessional. There were entries about grief, about falling in love on the very bench nearby, about a father teaching his daughter to ride a bike a few hundred metres up the path. Some entries were only a line long. Others ran for pages. The crew member could not bring himself to remove it. He put the notebook back exactly where he found it, told no one at work, and started checking on it himself every few months just to see who else had found it.
Word spread slowly, the way things do along that trail, through dog walkers and early morning runners and the odd curious kid. By the time a woman named Denise stumbled across it three summers ago, the notebook was already on its fourth or fifth volume, the older ones carefully bagged and kept safe by whoever had appointed themselves the unofficial keeper of the tree. Denise almost did not stop. She was having one of those mornings where you walk fast and look at nothing in particular. But something about the handwritten sign zip tied to the trunk made her slow down.
She sat on the bench, opened the notebook to a random page near the middle, and read an entry that made her go very still for a long time. It was dated eleven years earlier. It was signed with just an initial. And the handwriting, the particular slant of the letters, the way the person crossed their sevens, was unmistakably her late husband's.
She had never known he came here. She had never known he wrote at all, not like this. In three short paragraphs he had written something he never once said to her out loud in twenty two years of marriage, something about fear and gratitude and how he hoped, whoever found this, knew they were loved more than they realized.
Denise has gone back to that tree every week since, not to search for anything else. She says she is not sure she wants to. Some mornings she just sits with the notebook closed in her lap and watches the river go by. She still has not decided whether to add her own page, and if she does, what she would even say back to a man who cannot read it.
The notebook is still out there, if you know where to look. Nobody has ever come forward as the person who started it.
Have you ever stumbled across something small that completely rearranged how you saw a person, or a place, or a whole stretch of your own life? Hit reply. I read every single one, and this is exactly the kind of story I want to hear.