The Taproot Edmonton Calendar gets a major update

When we launched the Taproot Edmonton Calendar, we did it because we kept hearing the same thing over and over: it’s surprisingly hard to find out what’s going on in time to actually take part.

Since then, the calendar has grown into a core part of what Taproot Edmonton does. It powers event listings in The Pulse, the Events Roundup, and our other newsletters, it helps people plan their evenings and weekends, and we regularly hear from readers that it has become one of their favourite things we offer.

In November we launched a major update to the calendar that incorporates feedback from users, improves the user experience, and provides a stronger foundation for future enhancements.

What’s new in this release

This update is a long overdue refresh that brings the calendar in line with our news and vote sites, and adds a number of features that make it easier to find what you’re looking for. We have officially taken the calendar out of beta!

A cleaner, more cohesive design

The calendar now shares the same header and navigation structure as our news and election sites, so moving between them feels more seamless. It should be easier to jump from reading the latest news to finding upcoming events in the calendar.

We’ve also reduced duplication on the front page so you are more likely to see a wide variety of events at a glance, rather than the same listings repeated in multiple sections.

Multiple ways to view events

Everyone browses events a little differently, so we’ve added a layout toolbar to every page that lists events. You can now choose:

Cards: the visual layout you’re used to, with images.
Compact cards: a more streamlined view without images.
Table: a spreadsheet-style view that’s great for scanning dates, times, and locations quickly.
List: a simple, text-forward presentation.

Pick the layout that works best for you; the calendar will remember your choice, and you can change it any time with a click.

Search and better filtering

You can now search the calendar from the box at the top of every page, or use the dedicated search page to dig deeper. Today’s search is a straightforward keyword match on event titles, organizers, and locations, with some helpful shortcuts like “start:today” to zero in on what’s happening right now.

We’ve also expanded the filter options so you can narrow things down by criteria such as time of day, alongside the categories, dates, and locations that were already available. This should make it easier to find, say, family-friendly events on Saturday afternoons, or talks and panels after work.

Behind-the-scenes improvements

We have also made several technical improvements that will help us keep the calendar running smoothly as it continues to grow. These include:

Better handling of images to improve reliability and speed.
Spam filtering to reduce the number of inappropriate events submitted.

Why this matters to us (and, we hope, to you)

The Taproot Edmonton Calendar is not a side project. It is one of the most important ways we help the Edmonton region understand itself better.

Events are where ideas are shared, relationships are built, and communities take shape. A well-curated, reliable events calendar is part of the connective tissue that helps our community function. That’s why we’re continuing to invest in it.

How you can help the calendar grow

Here are some ways you can support and benefit from the Taproot Edmonton Calendar:

Use the calendar: Visit edmonton.taproot.events when you’re planning your week, or when someone asks, “What’s going on in Edmonton?”
Submit your events: If you host events in the Edmonton region, please submit them to the calendar. It is free and easy to do, and helps more people find out about what you’re doing.
Share it: Tell your friends, colleagues, and communities about the calendar and our Events Roundup newsletter so more people can discover what’s happening.
Support our work: If you’re in a position to do so, becoming a Taproot member helps sustain the calendar and all the other work we do to keep our community informed and connected.

What’s next?

We have several additional improvements to the calendar in the works, including:

Personalization options for Taproot members, such as saving events to a personal calendar.
Enhanced search and filtering capabilities, especially related to geography.
More ways to browse related events, such as guides for specific interests or themes.

We’re also excited about better integrating the calendar with our news site, to provide a more holistic view of what’s happening in the Edmonton region.

If you have feedback, spot a bug, or have an idea for how the Taproot Edmonton Calendar could serve you better, please get in touch.

Taproot launches an Events Roundup

If you’re looking for something to do, for business or for fun, you’ll find thousands of events to choose from in the Taproot Edmonton Calendar. You can filter that gigantic list by category or other parameters, but we’ll be the first to admit that it’s a lot. Plus, you have to go to the Calendar to see what’s there — what if a curated list of suggestions came to you instead?

A screenshot from the Aug. 22 edition of Taproot’s new Events Roundup.

That’s the idea behind the new Events Roundup, which you can now sign up to receive every Thursday afternoon. It’s somewhat similar to our other weekly roundups, but the focus is on listings rather than news items. Every edition kicks off with a recommendation, followed by upcoming events on a certain theme, some listings for the week ahead, and a few suggestions that are further ahead in the calendar.

Social media platforms ate up the advertising that used to support listings in the mainstream and alternative media, and they took away a lot of our attention, too. But the algorithms are increasingly unfriendly to both event organizers and event-goers. So let’s bypass all of that with a local, vetted, comprehensive listing that’s free to use and free to peruse. And let’s make it easy for you to know what’s going on with a tight, informative roundup of listings delivered directly to your inbox.

“I would have gone if I had known!” is a common lament. The Events Roundup is one more way to we can help you prevent those blues.

If you’re new to Taproot, subscribe for free today! If you’re already a subscriber, click the “update preferences” link in any email from us to add the Events Roundup to your selections.

The Taproot Edmonton Calendar will transform how Edmontonians discover local events

We created the Taproot Edmonton Calendar to tackle a significant challenge within our community: the fragmentation and inaccessibility of local event information.

We have heard repeatedly that people struggle to know where to look for information about upcoming events. And when they do find out about events, it is often too late to participate. That’s a problem because events are a vital part of our community, bringing people together, fostering connections, and supporting local businesses and organizations.

We set out to address this challenge by creating a high-quality, comprehensive, and easy-to-navigate calendar of events taking place across the Edmonton region.

Taproot picks at the Taproot Edmonton Calendar on May 7, 2024.

Is it really that hard to find local events?

Despite the wealth of events taking place in Edmonton, many people do indeed struggle to discover and participate in them.

Last year, we surveyed 350 people in our community and found that 65% of respondents rated the current experience of discovering events to be either poor or fair. Just 9% told us the experience was very good or excellent. Additionally, 53% of respondents said they frequently or always discover interesting events too late.

Here are just a few of the responses we received:

“It’s difficult finding out what is happening in the city. Sometimes I find out the day it starts, and it’s too late to attend.”
“When I am looking for something specific, I can find things, but when trying to browse casually it can be hard to find anything.”
“I usually know about big events and events in my direct community, but often miss out on finding new things.”
“You have to search numerous websites and be very curious and have the time to do both.”
“It often feels like my knowledge of upcoming events is limited by whether I see it on social media or not.”

Our research revealed several other insights, too. Aside from friends and family, the most common way that respondents told us they discover events is through email newsletters. But email newsletters have their own discovery challenges, and the more you subscribe to, the harder it is to keep up. Facebook and other social media platforms were not far behind as a source, but with those tools, you’re at the mercy of the algorithm to surface events that might interest you in a timely fashion.

When asked about existing event calendars and listings, respondents told us they are often incomplete, difficult to navigate, and lack accurate information. Many people also expressed frustration with quality, noting that many sources are “noisy” and filled with irrelevant or uninteresting events.

How does the Taproot Edmonton Calendar fix this?

Our goal is for the Taproot Edmonton Calendar to be that single, curated, and accessible service that helps people discover and participate in local events.

We took an important step toward that goal by launching the calendar in beta in December 2023. We focused on building a solid foundation with a clean, user-friendly design, and some initial tools for categorizing and filtering events. The calendar builds upon our existing web platform to help ensure it is accessible and responsive, which means it works well on any device.

Here are a few of the features we’ve built into the calendar so far:

Rich event details: Every listing includes the essential information you need to know, such as the date, time, location, a brief description, and a link to learn more. Where possible we also include images, links to tickets and livestreams, pricing information, and more.
Categories and tags: We established nine top-level categories to help you find events that match your interests. We’ve also added tags to help you filter by more specific topics.
Related events: Most event listings also include a list of related events, so you can easily discover other events that might interest you.
Taproot picks: Our team curates a list of events we think are particularly interesting or relevant. These Taproot picks are featured prominently on the calendar.
Basic filtering: You can filter events by category, date range (such as “today” or “next week”), city, and whether the event is in-person or online. You can also see all events taking place at a specific location, or organized by a specific organization.
Flag for review: Despite our best efforts, we know that mistakes happen. If you spot an error or have a concern about an event listing, you can flag it for review by our team.
Event submission: We’ve made it easy for event organizers to submit their events to the calendar. All we need is a URL and our system and team do the rest. It’s free, quick, and easy.

We have lots of ideas for how to improve the calendar further. Based on feedback from early adopters, we’re already working on new layout options, search, more robust filtering, and personalization features, among other things.

One of the first improvements we made this year was to integrate the Taproot Edmonton Calendar into The Pulse and our weekly roundups. Now you can find a curated selection of upcoming events in each newsletter, and you can click through to the calendar to see more.

But most of our effort over the past few months has been focused on growing the number of events in the calendar. We now have thousands of events listed, and we’re adding more every day. About 20% to 25% of our listings are for events that will take place at least 30 days from now, to help you plan ahead.

Why Taproot?

We believe Taproot is uniquely well-positioned to tackle this challenge. Our mission to help people understand their community better perfectly aligns with the goal of the calendar. Over the past few years, we have developed sophisticated systems and processes to support the curation of local information, including events. And we have a growing team of talented individuals who are passionate about informing and connecting Edmontonians, including Debbi Serafinchon who is our point person for the calendar.

But perhaps most importantly, this is a challenge that we have experienced ourselves. We know how frustrating it can be to miss out on an event because you didn’t hear about it in time, and we know how hard it can be to find events that match your interests.

Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham wrote last year that “if you’re making something for people, make sure it’s something they actually want.” The best way to do that? “Make something you yourself want,” he wrote.

That’s what we’re doing. We’re building the Taproot Edmonton Calendar because it’s something we want, and we believe it’s something our community wants too (and our research backs that up).

We’re excited by the opportunity to boost our impact as part of the connective tissue that makes the city work. The calendar reflects our ongoing commitment to not only inform the city but to be an active participant in its story, weaving together the many threads that make Edmonton a great place to live, work, and play.

How can I help?

We encourage you to check out the Taproot Edmonton Calendar and start using it to discover local events. If you like what you see, please help us spread the word by sharing the calendar with your friends and family.

We are committed to keeping the calendar free for everyone to use, but there are real costs associated with building and maintaining it. If you’re in a position to support our work, we would love to have you as a Taproot Edmonton member. Your membership helps fund the calendar and our broader mission of supporting local journalism in Edmonton.

If you’re an event organizer, we encourage you to submit your events to the calendar. It’s free, quick, and easy, and it helps ensure that your event reaches a broader audience.

If you’re a business or organization that wants to work with us to support the calendar, we would love to hear from you. We offer a range of sponsorship opportunities that can help you increase your visibility while supporting a vital community resource. Please reach out to us to discuss how we can collaborate to keep Edmonton vibrant and well-informed.

Lastly, we welcome your feedback and ideas for how we can make the calendar even better. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your thoughts.

Fringe Roundup Review: 2018 Edition

The 2018 Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, known as Fringe ‘O’ Saurus Rex, took place August 16-26 and featured more than 1600 live theatre performances across 38 venues. It was another record-setting year with more than 817,000 visits to the festival grounds (up 9,000 from 2017), 133,276 tickets sold generating $1.46 million in box office revenue (up 10% from 2017), and 419 sell out performances.
“I think the numbers truly speak for themselves this year, with record setting ticket sales, our efforts to put the theatre back into the festival have clearly resonated with Fringers,” says Artistic Director Murray Utas. “We work hard to create a space for artists to get their work to the masses, in an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and we think we’ve done that. We are thrilled with yet another successful year and can’t wait to explore more incredible theatre headed our way in 2019.”
Here’s what the growth in Fringe ticket sales looks like over the last 15 years:
Once again, Taproot published a daily Fringe Roundup during the festival, written this year by Mel Priestley. In addition to highlighting the reviews and headlines as they came in, Mel featured a different Fringe topic in each edition. She also made use of the festival’s Randomizer button to select a new show to review each day.
Here’s a look back at our coverage for 2018:
August 16 – The Fringe has begun!The festival kicked off with the opening ceremonies at 7pm at the ATB Financial Outdoor Stage. The ceremonies were be hosted by Fringe Theatre artistic director Murray Utas and artistic associate Hunter Cardinal, and featured 20 Fringe artists and taiko drum group Booming Tree.
August 17 – KidsFringe expandsThis year, KidsFringe moved a few blocks east to the Strathcona Community League (10139-87 Avenue). Mel’s first review was of Big Ol Show, “one of the Fringe’s more popular shows, and one that received a lot of early buzz.”
August 18 – Fringing on the streets: outdoor performancesEveryone’s first Fringe show is probably an outdoor performance. In this edition, Mel reviewed Beers About Songs, “Ryan Adam Wells’ heartfelt musical storytelling show.”
August 19 – Eat your way through the FringeThe Fringe received about 50 applications from food vendors, about half of which made it in. From Mel’s review of Maybe Baby: “What starts out as fun voyeurism quickly starts to feel not so fun, maybe even wrong.”
August 20 – Daily Discount ticketsThe Daily Discount Booth was introduced a few years ago as a way for people to see shows for less than the usual price of a ticket. Every day of the Fringe, tickets to a different set of shows are available at discounted rates. In this edition, Mel reviewed Buyer & Cellar, “the Edmonton debut of Jonathan Tolins’ off-Broadway hit.”
August 21 – Fresh and fabulous Fringe findsPart of the charm of the Fringe is browsing through all the artisan tents scattered throughout the grounds. There were over 40 artisan vendors at the Fringe, some of whom have been Fringing for years and others who were brand new to the festival. Mel reviewed Balls of Yarn, an “unapologetically odd” show that “you can send your friends to if they want to see something more out-there.”
August 22 – Imbibing at the FringeGrabbing a drink in the beer tent between shows is one of the best parts of the Fringe. There were three booze tents on site. From Mel’s review of One Thousand Flowers Blooming: “Putting my phone in a microwave was a Fringe first for me.”
August 23 – Browsing books at the FringeBooks probably aren’t the first thing that come to mind when thinking about the Fringe, but the festival actually has some great options for bibliophiles. In this edition, Mel reviewed Thunderprov, which is “long-form improv punctuated by a number of mini, non-sequitur scenes riffed off some aspect of the main event.”
August 24 – Digging through the festival archivesFringe ‘O’ Saurus Rex was the 37th incarnation of the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. The first festival was held in August 1982 and was founded by Brian Paisley, who was the artistic director of Chinook Theatre at the time. From Mel’s review of An Anthology of Ghastly Tales: “The first bit is definitely the spookiest and I would have enjoyed a couple more honest attempts for a good scare, but the campiness was fun too.”
August 25 – How much does it cost to do a Fringe show?Staging a Fringe play costs more than you might think. Even a simple one-man show requires a fairly big chunk of cash, so performers need to budget carefully. In this edition, Mel reviewed WASP, “a play written by Hollywood funny guy Steve Martin.”
August 26 – Holdovers make the Fringe last a little longerEvery year, the Fringe selects a half dozen shows for its Holdover Series and gives them an extended run for another few days after the end of the festival. This year’s holdovers run from Wednesday, August 29 to Saturday, September 1. Mel’s final review was of Eddie Poe. “Even if you haven’t read a word of Poe, there’s a lot to like about Eddie Poe,” she wrote.
That’s a wrap on the Fringe Roundup for 2018. Thanks for reading along. Enjoy the holdovers!