On lazy summer afternoons, a lively mix of Edmontonians join the hustle and bustle that is Whyte Avenue. What a great place to stop and watch the world go by.
Photograph by: Candace Elliott, The Journal, Edmonton Journal
This isn't a tourist's guide to Edmonton. You will not
find this list in Fodor's. This is an Edmontonian's Edmonton -- a
selection of little things that can easily be taken for granted. They're
the silver lining in our winter clouds, the bunnies in our backyards,
and the sights, smells and tastes of our favourite spots. They're the
moments that make us feel lucky we found this place.
And every week until July, we'll highlight one more awesome thing about Edmonton you may never have noticed.
You can keep up with the series here in the LifeStyle section, on Facebook at facebook.com/edmontonjournal,or at edmontonjournal.com/52reasons,where you'll also find an interactive map of the reasons so far, and have a chance to comment on our choices. E-mail ideas to jfong@thejournal. canwest.com.
REASON 49: PEOPLE-WATCHING ON WHYTE AVENUE
A young picket-fence family rolls by with a stroller, a toddler and dog.
A retired couple with their arms linked passes a kid with a foot-high mohawk dyed electric blue.
Two teenage girls in flip-flops and polo shirts giggle.
The beefy guy with the buzz cut and tattoo sleeve does not look impressed.
Stop at any corner of the Whyte Avenue strip on a nice day and you will see Edmonton.
The crowd waiting for the light to change is as diverse a cross-section of our population as you'll find anywhere in the city because Whyte is -- if not officially or geographically -- the heart of our city.
When the Oilers make it to the Stanley Cup finals, when Canada wins gold at the Olympics, we congregate on Whyte with our blue and copper jerseys and Maple Leaf flags.
But even on days when neither is happening, Whyte is still where the hipsters and the yuppies, the young and the old, the buskers and the BMW-drivers, the blue collars and the white, collide, meet, and mingle.
That microcosm makes for prime people-watching, an activity we suggest doing one of two ways:
- - With a scoop of Marble Slab ice cream -- two if you're feeling sassy. Then take yourself, your cone, and your walking partner on an ice cream dream of a stroll west down Whyte to the University of Alberta campus.
Be sure not to skip the Tim Hortons between 105th and 106th streets, where at any given time, you'll find a significant segment of Edmonton's biker population. End with clean-cut Frisbee-tossing students at Corbett Hall.
- - While sitting on a patio. For the lazier among us, there's also letting people come to you. Sit back and watch the world go by at The Black Dog (for a bird's-eye view), O'Byrne's (for those who prefer the slightly quieter western end of Whyte), Starbucks or Second Cup (for coff ee-lovers), or the mother of all people-watching patios, Julio's Barrio.
Home to local independents catering to every style, want, need and taste, Whyte is where you go. It's where you go when you want to buy something distinctly Edmontonian for friends who don't live here. It's where you go when you want to find out what's hot and what's happening.
But, most of all, Whyte is where you go when you want to be with people (and watch them).
And every week until July, we'll highlight one more awesome thing about Edmonton you may never have noticed.
You can keep up with the series here in the LifeStyle section, on Facebook at facebook.com/edmontonjournal,or at edmontonjournal.com/52reasons,where you'll also find an interactive map of the reasons so far, and have a chance to comment on our choices. E-mail ideas to jfong@thejournal. canwest.com.
REASON 49: PEOPLE-WATCHING ON WHYTE AVENUE
A young picket-fence family rolls by with a stroller, a toddler and dog.
A retired couple with their arms linked passes a kid with a foot-high mohawk dyed electric blue.
Two teenage girls in flip-flops and polo shirts giggle.
The beefy guy with the buzz cut and tattoo sleeve does not look impressed.
Stop at any corner of the Whyte Avenue strip on a nice day and you will see Edmonton.
The crowd waiting for the light to change is as diverse a cross-section of our population as you'll find anywhere in the city because Whyte is -- if not officially or geographically -- the heart of our city.
When the Oilers make it to the Stanley Cup finals, when Canada wins gold at the Olympics, we congregate on Whyte with our blue and copper jerseys and Maple Leaf flags.
But even on days when neither is happening, Whyte is still where the hipsters and the yuppies, the young and the old, the buskers and the BMW-drivers, the blue collars and the white, collide, meet, and mingle.
That microcosm makes for prime people-watching, an activity we suggest doing one of two ways:
- - With a scoop of Marble Slab ice cream -- two if you're feeling sassy. Then take yourself, your cone, and your walking partner on an ice cream dream of a stroll west down Whyte to the University of Alberta campus.
Be sure not to skip the Tim Hortons between 105th and 106th streets, where at any given time, you'll find a significant segment of Edmonton's biker population. End with clean-cut Frisbee-tossing students at Corbett Hall.
- - While sitting on a patio. For the lazier among us, there's also letting people come to you. Sit back and watch the world go by at The Black Dog (for a bird's-eye view), O'Byrne's (for those who prefer the slightly quieter western end of Whyte), Starbucks or Second Cup (for coff ee-lovers), or the mother of all people-watching patios, Julio's Barrio.
Home to local independents catering to every style, want, need and taste, Whyte is where you go. It's where you go when you want to buy something distinctly Edmontonian for friends who don't live here. It's where you go when you want to find out what's hot and what's happening.
But, most of all, Whyte is where you go when you want to be with people (and watch them).