You’re invited to Teatotaled, a whimsical tea party with exceptional food and drink offerings! Hosted by the High Street Social Club (HSSC) at Manor Casual Bistro (10109-125 St.), this event will take place on Sunday, March 24 at 6 pm.

Modelled after a classic High Tea (or “meat tea”, as it is sometimes known), guests are invited to have fun by modelling their attire in elegant, dressed-up styles.

Sample a variety of unique and unusual teas at the Manor Casual Bistro’s Teatotaled Tea Party.

This won’t be just any tea party — some unusual and exotic tea styles, such as Pu Erh & Lapsang Souchong, will be served. Guests try new flavours and learn more about this traditional beverage. Plenty of tea will be flowing and will also be used as ingredients to infuse the cocktails and food. The food will seek inspiration from local ingredients, as well as the classic High Tea dishes. Pendleton Rye and Compass Box Whisky are sponsoring the event, which means a great variety of cocktails will be served at very affordable prices.

As always, with HSSC events, the seating will be communal and a sense of community and social interaction with new friends will be fostered by the team! Not only is it a fun opportunity to try new food and great teas, but it is a great way to meet new people!

Tickets are $55 per person, which include all food, a greeting cocktail, and taxes/gratuities. Call 780-482-7577 to reserve tickets.

Looking for other great tea-spots in Edmonton? Read our article Tea Cozy to see our Top 5 best spots to enjoy a cup tea!

Shear Madness is the latest show being performed at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre, based on the longest running, non-musical play in American Theatre History.

The audience becomes a part of the performance during this hilarious, interactive comedy-suspense play, which invites viewers to help look for clues, interrogate suspects, and solve the mystery.

The play relies on its original format but is in no way outdated; it’s a fun one because it involves a lot of improvised and ad-libbed comedy that allows for unique and humorous interactions with the audience, as well as mentions of current events. For instance, one of the characters asked a guest sitting in the front row to describe an item she had just seen on stage. When she couldn’t recall, the character quickly smirked “what, are you not sitting close enough?”

Their jokes were witty and on-point with current local and pop-culture trends, as well as with local stereotypes and histories. There are also plenty of jokes that rely on wordplay and the audiences ability to notice why it’s funny that one of the characters had to clarify the kind of “pot” he was using; it may be silly, but you can’t help but laugh. The characters are not especially original (there’s a flamboyant male hairdresser and a gossipy, rich socialite, for instance) but their improvised humour is where the unique possibilities for a clever, entertaining show comes in to play. Every show is slightly different, and that’s what makes it a hilarious, entertaining play. We thoroughly enjoyed the performance, which had us laughing non-stop!

Before the show, which runs about two hours including an intermission, you’ll be treated to am elaborate, Indian-inspired buffet that includes a sushi bar and a plentiful dessert buffet.

Some language and content (mild sexual humour, references to violence) may be inappropriate for children; we’d recommend this show for audiences ages 16+. The dinner-and-a-show setting makes it a great, all-in-one evening out for any couple or group!

Shear Madness shows Tuesday through Sunday, through April 7, 2013 at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre (16615-109 Ave.) Tickets must be purchased in advance, and prices range from $59.99-$94.99, depending on day, time, and seat location. Call 1-877-529-7829 or visit www.mayfieldtheatre.ca to purchase tickets.

Enjoy the show!

Global Visions Film Festival is Canada’s longest-running documentary film fest that bolsters public awareness of global human rights and social and environmental issues, while also applauding the perseverance of the human spirit. Featured this year — you won’t want to miss it! — is How to Survive a Plague, a 2013 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary. This film reports “the story of ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group), two organizations whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time”. How to Survive a Plague will be shown on February 28 at 7 pm at Garneau Theatre.

A range of topics is explored by the festival films — everything from bullying to climate change to social justice through music is explored — and prior knowledge of the issues explored is not a prerequisite to enjoy them. Go see one or two — or all of them! — and be treated to an insightful, engaging story that may just shock and surprise you. The films are thought-provoking and, at times, challenging, but also incredibly entertaining and accessible.

Academy Award-nominated American documentary How to Survive a Plague will be shown during Global Visions Film Festival.

Films in the festival series will be screened February 27 – March 3 at the Garneau Theatre (8712-109 St.) and Art Gallery of Alberta (2 Sir Winston Churchill Square). Special guests who worked on the featured films will be present at some of the screenings for a panel or Q&A session following the show. Single tickets are $12 at the door, or discounted passes can be purchased in advance; for a complete list of films, showtimes, and ticket prices, visit globalvisionsfestival.com.

Canadian music business icon Bernie Finkelstein will be at Audreys Books ( 10702 Jasper Ave.) on Saturday, March 2 at 2 pm to sign his bestselling book True North – A Life in the Music Business, which was was named by Amazon.ca as one of the Top 100 Books of the Year in December 2012. Not familiar with the name? Finkelstein is major behind-the-scenes fixture of the Canadian music scene; he’s most notable for founding  True North Records, Canada’s oldest and longest running indie record label, that has been responsible for more than 40 gold and platinum records and received more than 40 Junos. Finkelstein has also managed several artists, including Bruce Cockburn. Finkelstein’s film Bruce Cockburn – Pacing The Cage will be screening at the Global Visions Film Festival as a part of SOUND & VISIONS, a special event that honours music in documentary. After the film screening, Bernie will participate in a panel discussion hosted by CKUA’s Terry-David Mulligan, to answer questions about the film and his career.

There’s so much going on this weekend, and with the Family Day Holiday (did you know it’s only celebrated in four provinces in Canada?) there’s plenty of time to take in many of the special events going on in the city!

All-Ages Activities

ATOM Invitational Family Day Hockey Tournament | West Edmonton Mall | Feb 16-18 | FREE
Visit the Ice Palace during regular mall hours and watch hockey teams from across Western Canada compete in a showcase of skills and sportsmanship. www.wem.ca

Telus World of Science | Feb 15-18; Fri – Sat 10 am – 10 pm; Sun – Mon 10 am – 7 pm | Rates vary for General Admission, STAR WARS Identities, and IMAX; call 780-451-3344
Spend a day viewing five exciting galleries and full-dome shows, plus see the exclusive STAR WARS Identities exhibition. The brand-new IMAX movie Rocky Mountain Express opens February 15 and explores the breath-taking views of the west coast with spectacular aerial cinematography. www.telusworldofscienceedmonton.com

Which side will you choose? Find out your STAR WARS identity at the TELUS World of Science!

Royal Alberta Museum | Feb 18, 9 am – 5 pm | FREE
In addition to 4 exciting featured exhibits and 3 permanent galleries, enjoy a showing of the movie Ice Age at 10 am, and educational talks about the Arctic at 12 pm and 2 pm. Free admission is only applicable on Family Day, February 18 www.royalalbertamuseum.ca

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The Silver Skate Festival takes place February 15-24, 2013, and offers a variety of FREE sport and recreational events and attractions for guests of all ages. This festival celebrates the beauty of winter, and also embraces the contributions of arts, sports, and culture to a thriving winter climate. This year marks the 23rd Anniversary of this annual event, making it the longest running-winter festival in Festival City!

Photo courtesy of the City of Edmonton

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It’s nearly impossible not to have heard about UK pop music phenomenon One Direction. Their 2010 album Up All Night debuted at Number 1 on the US Billboard charts, making them the first UK group in US chart history to do so with their first album. Since then, their popularity continues to grow with a second number-one album, hundreds of millions of YouTube views, active social media followings, numerous awards, sold-out arena tours, and, of course, their sought after merchandise.

Cardboard cutouts of the One Direction boys hang out at the 1D World Store in Edmonton. Cutouts are available to purchase for $35 each.

In order to give their millions of fans around the world an opportunity to purchase exclusive One Direction merchandise, temporary retail stores known as “1D World” have begun to open in major cities around the world. The original store had its debut in Australia, and now faithful Edmonton “Directioners” will have the opportunity to shop 1D World with an exclusive, limited-time store opening.

The 1D World retail store will open in West Edmonton Mall (8882-170 St.), next to Galaxyland, on Saturday, February 2 at 9 am, and will be open through February 18 daily during regular mall hours (Mon – Sat 10 am – 9 pm; Sun 11 am – 6 pm). Directioners can line up at the mall starting at 6 am on February 2 for the Grand Opening.

This is an exclusive opportunity for Western Canadian Directioners, as it is only the third 1D World store to open in Canada. The store is over 4000 square feet, and will have over 125 items of exclusive merchandise not even available at a One Direction concert! Jacob Porpossian, consultant for the PR firm representing the store, said that Edmonton was an “obvious choice” to open a 1D World store because fans in the city have a very strong social media presence and there was clearly a demand for a One Direction-related event.

WHERE Edmonton attended the opening of #1DWorldYEG (as it’s known on Twitter – band members Liam, Harry, and Niall have all tweeted about the store using this keyword hash tag), where fans had been lined up since 3am to be among the first guests to shop the store. Fans made sure to make the most of their wait, singing their favourite One Direction songs (having faithfully memorized all of the lyrics). When asked what they were hoping to buy at the store, an eager fan responded “Anything. Anything and everything that I don’t already own, I will buy. I’ve saved my money for this. I’ll probably come back to shop a few times while the store is open.”

Well, there is certainly a lot for fans to buy! There are plenty of small novelty items like jewellery, journals, press-on nail decals, calendars, posters, stationary, caps, scarves, mittens, and t-shirt. Then, of course, are the most creative and coveted items like life-size cardboard cutouts of each boy, quilted sports jackets made to look like the ones the boys famously wore during their “Up All Night” tour, and the incredibly popular One Direction “onesie” one-piece loungewear, modelled after the ones the boys have sported on numerous occasions.

The coveted One Direction “onesies” are available for $120 at 1D World Store in Edmonton.

Where Edmonton has an exclusive One Direction prize pack to give away to a lucky fan! To enter: Follow @whereedmonton on Twitter and tweet us the name of your favourite One Direction song!  Only one entry per Twitter account. Contest closes on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 11:59 pm MST. All entries will be included in the draw for the prize pack, valued at $50 CDN.