Jane’s Walk | Edmonton
Jane’s Walk is an annual festival of free citizen-led walking conversations inspired by Jane Jacobs.
On the first weekend of May every year, Jane’s Walk festivals take place in hundreds of cities across the globe. Jane’s Walks encourage people to share stories about their neighbourhoods, discover unseen aspects of their communities, and use walking as a way to connect with their neighbours.
Created in 2007 in Toronto by friends of the urban thinker Jane Jacobs, the annual series of free, volunteer-led urban walks has grown from 27 to over 500 walks, from Calgary to Canberra and Sao Paulo to Saskatoon.
There are many walks across Edmonton. For more information and to register, visit https://janewalksyeg.wordpress.com/
A selection of this year’s walks near Strathcona:
Mill Creek Ravine Sweat
Walk Leaders: Thea Pruuli Williams (Estonian Sauna Knowledge Keeper) & Eugene Slonimerov (Urban Memory Researcher) from Arts Sweat Edmonton
Date & Times: Saturday, May 2nd, 9:55 AM, 11:55 AM, 1:55 PM, 3:55 PM
Location: W.C. “Tubby” Bateman Park (8724 97 ST NW)
Description: Join a walking meditation and a sauna ritual in the ravine. Participants will experience sweat sessions with an Estonian sauna knowledge keeper in a mobile tent sauna. Groups are limited to 8 registered participants at a time.
Dress to walk trails. Wear a swimsuit or light cotton clothing underneath. Please bring a towel, slide-on shoes, robe, and water. Do not wear jewelry or watches. Changing tent onsite. Please be advised that there are no public washrooms nearby.
Old Strathcona Eastside – Ever Evolving
Walk Leader: Nathan Binnema
Date & Time: Saturday, May 2nd, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM (2.5 hours)
Location: At Tubby Bateman Park (8724 97 ST NW). Gather around the “Buffalo Mountain” art installation
Description: “Old Strathcona Eastside- Evolving” will trace the impact that community organizing has had on the neighbourhood, as well as on the development of the city as a whole, linking local activism to Jane Jacobs’ famous actions to stop freeway proposals in New York and Toronto. Along the way, we will also take note of some features of historical interest, and visit a new cohousing development. We will wind up at a commercial node, where new businesses have come to occupy old buildings.
Accessibility: Start & finish are accessible by Bus, and Bike with a walk to the start. On street parking is available.
Prioritize Whyte Ave!
Walk Leaders: Ryan Jacques & Jade Charlery Vidmar from the grassroots coalition, Prioritize Whyte Ave
Date & Time: Saturday, May 2nd, 3:00 – 4:30 PM
Location: 106 St / Whyte Ave
Description: A walk down Whyte, from 106 St to 101 St, to reflect on redevelopment opportunities in the public realm. Trees, benches, patios, and more! We’ll discuss how to build a Whyte Ave that prioritizes people and transit! This ride will include a short ETS bus ride from 101 St to 96 St, so please bring your ARC Card or money for transit fare. At the east end of the Ave, we will continue the walk and discuss Whyte Ave in the context of the French Quarter.
Accessibility: Start & finish is accessible by Bus or Bike. Paid on-street parking is available. Route is all via City Sidewalks, plus a short bus ride.
Our River Valley Relative
Walk Leader: Nika Paziuk – Indigenous Initiatives Coordinator, Edmonton Heritage Council
Date & Time: Saturday, May 2nd, 12:00 – 1:30 PM
Location: ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞ Indigenous Art Park (10380 Queen Elizabeth Park Rd)
Description: Join Nika for a walk in Edmonton’s beautiful and vast river valley, recounting storytelling pieces of the Indigenous peoples who have taken care of these lands since time immemorial. In partnership with the Edmonton Heritage Council’s Commonwealth Walkway app, you’ll learn about the historic relational role that the North Saskatchewan River has played for those who call amiskwacîwâskahikan home.