Daybreak Alberta

As the sunset arrives earlier in the evening and the night slowly ebbs to being longer, their are some great opportunities for those who love to peer into the night sky. August month is prime time to get a look at things like the Perseid meteor shower on August 2, but for the rest of the month, planets and galaxies are still on full display. To find out more and to get some tips for star gazing, Russell spoke with read Don Hladiuk with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

As part of this week-end's discussion about August gardening, Russell also previewed a series of books that attempt to answer some common questions about growing vegetables in the prairies. During the month of August, it's also an important time to plant some late-season vegetables, and it's definitely a time to make sure you rid your garden of pests. Guides for the Prairie Gardener is a series of books written by Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau. Janet Melrose joined Russell from her home

It’s that time of year when everything is in season as home gardens and local farmers’ markets are brimming with an abundance of freshly-picked fruits and vegetables. If you’re feeling the pressure to enjoy or to preserve this bounty, don’t worry. Cookbook author Claire Tansey shares her idea and tricks with Russell Bowers for making summer's bounty last all year long. Claire Tansey is an author and cooking teacher and you can find more of her tips and recipes at Clairetansey.com. Her next cookbook, "Dinner, Uncomplicated," will be published in September.

The story behind Alberta’s craft beer boom is told in a new book called "Tapping The West," by Scott Messenger. What was just a few big-batch brewers in 2013 has exploded into dozens and dozens of small-batch breweries in all corners of Alberta. Author, Scott Messenger joined Russell from his home in Edmonton to discuss his award-winning book.

Romantic competition typically occurs among members of the same sex, for example when women compete with other women - or men competing with men - to attract the most appealing opposite-sex partners. Same-sex attracted individuals obviously exist, but what happens when gay men and straight women engage in romantic competition? That's at the heart of a study happening at the University of Lethbridge and the one of the researchers, Scott Semenyna spoke with Russell Bowers about the early observations.

The work of two Jasper artists will be featured this summer at the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum & Archives with the museum hosting a fundraising exhibit for the two artists who have found a home in the town and the gallery. Pascale Robinson is one of the artists and her painting, "Rose Marie’s Rock" is the creation of a scene that caught her attention halfway between Maligne Lake and the Sixth Bridge. Meanwhile, the other visual work is "Mother and Three Cubs," a piece created by Rico. The inspiration for her image comes from an experience she had at Old Fort Point seeing some local bears. The exhibit at Jasper Museum will run until October and as the art sells, a percentage of each sale will be donated to the museum. You can get more information by going to http://www.jaspermuseum.org/

August 1 is Emancipation Day, an event people around the world will be celebrating, and to commemorate the event in Canada, a Toronto-based actor and activist has founded a festival of music, spoken word and dance, called FreeUp! It will be a CBC ARTS special, streaming on CBC Gem starting at 11am MT on August 1. The host and festival organizer, Ngozi Paul, joined Russell to talk about the festival and the history of Emancipation Day.

The August long holiday weekend is normally when hundreds of thousands of people gather in Hawrelak Park for the Edmonton Heritage Festival. However, with COVID-19, this year's festival is going virtual on their website: heritagefest.ca. It features stories, photos and video clips of cultural performances and free recipes for dishes from around the world and it's where you'll a list of dozens of local restaurants offering up their food fare during the month of August for what they're calling Multicultural Month. Russell spoke with three people heavily involved in the festival. Luke Holcombe with the Edmonton Australian Football Club. Lydia Jimenez, the owner of Palabok House. And Ron Walker is with the Canadian Native Friendship Centre.

Daybreak's books reviewer, Angie Abdou (The Bone Cage, Home Ice) returns for July and this month, she has two very different books that both reveal the times we live in. She peers inside the pages of the novel "Mad Cow" by Alexis Kienlen, as well as, "What You Take With You" a memoir by Therese Greenwood.

On Wednesday, July 1 from 4-6pm, Russell Bowers is hosting a special countdown for Canada Day by putting Canada's biggest musicians on "The Musical Map of Canada," revealing who is the biggest selling artist from each province and territory. To chat about the artists, he will be joined by Andrew Mosker, CEO of the National Music Centre. Andrew and Russell also spoke extensively about the NMC, it's role in preserving the country's musical legacy, and the impact it's having with online programs all over the country during the Covid shutdown.