Persephone Theatre was created in 1974 as a non-profit organization dedicated to producing professional live theatre productions. In its early years, Persephone mounted productions both at the Mendel and the University’s Greystone Theatre.

In 1983, Persephone bought and renovated the Westgate Alliance Church into its own theatre. It was tucked into an unassuming residential area on the west side of the city. The theatre was large but seats were very narrow and felt cramped. The seats rose in stadium seating style in a very pronounced rise. One of my favourite shows I saw was Misery, a theatrical re-telling of the Stephen King novel and movie. The set was amazing in how it spun, allowing a fully fleshed-out house to appear from a bedroom, to a hallway to a kitchen.

Photo Courtesy Rich LaBarca under Creative Commons License

In 2007, Persephone Theatre moved to River Landing, on the banks of the South Saskatchewan. It is the first major building on the site and the audiences have been flocking to see the shows, selling out nearly every performance since. The new building has a lobby/bar area on both the upper and lower levels. Gallery space displays local artists on the upper level. The main theatre is tall, boasting 421 seats including a balcony area. As well, a second ‘black box’ stage is also available, allowing smaller productions or ‘edgier’ works to be performed.

Photo Courtesy Rich LaBarca under Creative Commons License

The Mendel recently announced that it would be moving to the River Landing area and that the new building would be wrapped around Persephone, creating an artistic synergy between the two.

A recent performance I attended at Persephone was Little Shop of Horrors, a musical parody of 50’s science fiction/monster movies. The acting and set design was top notch. Persephone is the destination spot for theatre lovers in Saskatoon.

Photo Courtesy SriMesh under Creative Commons License

Persephone Theatre
River Landing
100 Spadina Crescent East

306 384-2126

Saskatoon is not large enough to support an NHL team on its own, but with the ticket sales that have been racked up for the World Junior Championships it’s a no-brainer that the city could easily support some high priced tickets on a limited engagement. It also doesn’t hurt that about 80% of kids growing up in Saskatchewan have played hockey at some point in their youth.

Stay tuned hockey fans and let us see how this turns out.

Eleven Pipers Piping
Photo Courtesy Wendy Cooper under Creative Commons License

Stretching throughout 2.5 km, dozens of displays with tens of thousands of LEDs light up the night sky. Every year it seems as though one or two new displays are added while familiar favourites return. Some displays are animated such as penguins doing a ski jump and a huge Christmas tree with ringing bells. Oddly enough, some of my favourite of the lights are the huge fir trees lit up with tons of lights, glistening in the snow. When I lived in Silverspring next to the park, I could see these trees as I drove home every night. You can’t help but feel the Christmas spirit when you look at a scene like that.

Noah’s Ark
Photo Courtesy Wendy Cooper under Creative Commons License

Profits from the Enchanted Forest are shared between the Saskatoon City Hospital Foundation and the Saskatoon Zoo. So come out to get in the Christmas spirit as well as support a couple of worthy causes.

Candy and Presents
Photo Courtesy Wendy Cooper under Creative Commons License

The Enchanted Forest
Forestry Farm Park

John Mayer
Photo Courtesy P Keigan under Creative Commons License

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and run $57 – $99.50, Ticketmaster fee gouging included.

Amigo’s Cantina is one of Saskatoon’s landmark bars and restaurant. It’s basically been on the corner of 10th and Dufferin nearly forever and is well-known for the alternative bands that pass through on a near daily basis. If you’re looking to hear some amazing music, this is definitely one of the major destinations in the city.

Amigo’s specialty is Mexican food. You can get burritos, huevos rancheros, fajitas or tacos. Besides this, Amigos offers a variety of diner type food such as hamburgers, soups and salads. The food is much better than it has any right to be for diner food. This is probably because most things at Amigo’s appear to be made fresh daily.

The decor is a little sparse, mainly consisting of a wide open room with the stage upfront. Plants hang from the ceiling brightening things up a bit, along with some skylights. There’s a changing rotation of art for sale on the walls too, contributing to its ‘artsie’ feel. It’s a bar/restaurant, so it has a great ‘dive’ feeling to it. In the summer, Amigo’s has a cool alleyway outdoor deck. It’s tiny but feels like a little hidden paradise.You go to Amigos to hang out with your friends, have some great food and catch some music, not for the atmosphere.

Polymaths at Amigo’s Cantina
Photo Courtesy Scott Woods-Fehr under Creative Commons License

Live music plays several nights a week, especially on the weekend. Amigo’s maintains a MySpace page showing what’s coming up

Come for the food, stay for the music and the drinks. Amigos is a local institution. It switches effortlessly from lunch to supper to a bar to a live entertainment venue. There’s something for everyone, no matter what your age.

Amigo’s Cantina
Corner of 10th and Dufferin

306 652-4912

Today the Blades continue to draw in fans of hockey of all ages. Members of the team regularly volunteer in the community and the team often supports worthwhile causes. If you’re looking for hockey in Saskatoon, the Blades are the ones to see.

The Saskatoon Blades
Credit Union Centre

The Cupcake Corner is a small business located on 8th St. next to Jysk and across from the Centre Mall. Its claim to fame is making cupcakes and then covering them in rich, tasty icing. I think everyone has fond memories of cupcakes from their childhood and this is the place to relive those memories.

There are regular sized cupcakes and mini ones. As well, there are two types of cakes to choose from – chocolate and vanilla. The Cupcake Corner then adds such toppings as banana, lemon, strawberry or chocolate icing. Some are then given sprinkles or shavings or tiny chocolate chips. Other ‘premium’ cupcakes are injected with fillings such as raspberry or peanut butter & jelly. The cake is light and fluffier than you would expect, and the icings are amazing.

Photo Courtesy The Cupcake Corner

I’ve gone a couple of times now to try their different varieties and so far my favourite must be the chocolate cupcake with lemon icing. It was the best lemon icing I’ve ever tried and was a definite treat.

The Cupcake Corner also specializes in catering for weddings and other special events. This is a boutique business that is overdue in Saskatoon and compares well with other specialty food stores in the city.

The Cupcake Corner
10-3311 8th St E. (next to Jysk)

306 933-3385

30 minutes outside of Saskatoon in the middle of seemingly nowhere, lays a converted Texaco gas station which has been made over into a restaurant. From its unassuming appearance you would never expect the unbelievable food, service and friendliness of the owner and staff. The Hole in the Wall is, bar none, the best restaurant that Saskatoon and area has.

I know that is saying a lot, but there is so much to be said for this place. The owner Nelson Urteaga and his family have created an oasis for food lovers in the middle of the Saskatchewan prairie. A little of the mystique most likely comes from traveling through grid roads to an out of the way place on a food pilgrimage. But the true reason for the Hole in the Wall’s success (having been featured numerous times in Oberon Press’s Where to Eat in Canada) is its food.

The old Texaco station has been converted into a Spanish-style villa complete with wrought ironwork, tiled pictures and rough hewn tables that you would find in South America. The pink plastered walls and ornamentation come across as homey, not off-putting and add warmth to your visit.

A group of friends joined us on our last trip to the Hole in the Wall which is becoming an annual occasion. We ordered the ‘El Presidente’ which is a 5 course tasting menu, including 3 appetizers, soup, salad, 3 main courses and dessert. For our choice of appetizers we chose campecinos (cream-cheese stuffed sweet prunes wrapped in bacon and broiled), pastelitos (puff pastry w/ jalapenos, brie and apricot) and empanadas with home-made salsa. The soup was a butternut squash, perfectly smooth and satisfying with a swirl of cream. We then took a breather with a palate cleanser consisting of a lime sorbet. After this, our main courses came: pollo escondido (pesto-grilled chicken breast in phyllo w/ cranberries and sun-dried tomato feta), orange roughy (whitefish pan-fried with fresh orange juice and tarragon) and costilla de la casa — the best marinated ribs I have ever eaten.

Photo Courtesy Hole in the Wall

As an aside on the ribs — they are as close as you can get to pure meat as every minute amount of excess fat has been trimmed from them. Seasoned with lemon and other seasonings, each bite is a delight and you end up fighting among friends over how many you each can have.

Coffee and dessert (a creamy mango sorbet with chocolate swirls and a sugar-dipped fried tortilla wedge) followed.

Nelson could not be a more charming host. When he’s not in the kitchen cooking, he often personally will come to your table, pour your wine himself and thank you for coming. He is the most down-to-earth person and really makes you feel like you are an honored guest.

The ‘El Presidente’ tasting menu and the bottles of wine we had added up to a bill of about $90 per person. Yes, it is expensive for Saskatoon but for the quality of ingredients, food and service you get, I think it is one of the best deals around.

Since everything is cooked to order, your meal will not be quick. This is not only a meal but an experience. Expect your evening to be a leisurely paced 3 – 4 hours. Bring your friends and be prepared to be amazed.

Photo Courtesy Hole in the Wall

Hole in the Wall Restaurant
Shields Townsite
Go East at Dundurn
Take the first left
Take the next right and continue to the Hole in the Wall
Map of directions on web site

Reservations Required – 306 492-4804

Calories was the first place in the world where I learned my love of amazing desserts.

The first time I cracked the crust on Calories’ crème brûlée and tasted the creamy interior that melted on my tongue, I was hooked. The caramelized sugar ontop with its smoky burnt flavour combined with the cream made my heart race.

Yes, that’s a little overdramatic, but that’s how I also feel about Calories.

Calories is an institution in Saskatoon, just steps away from the Broadway theatre. It is in the city’s top tier of restaurants, serving seasonal food with a French flair. The evening ambiance is romantic with attentive service and the food is exceptional. A recent menu item was all-natural chicken ficassee, with eggplant, capers, garlic, peppers & tumeric served with spinach Spaetzle. I haven’t had the chance to try it but admit it, doesn’t that sound great?

The focal point for every visit to Calories though has to be their display case of desserts. As soon as you open the door, there they are right in front of you. You’ll always find a variety of cheesecakes, tortes, pies and the beforementioned crème brûlées. Depending on your mood, you can either enjoy a light tasty treat, or dig into serious chocolate decadence. It’s impossible for me to emphasize just how good their desserts are!

Photo Courtesy Calories

One other thing I’ve always liked about Calories is how they use their walls to promote local artists. Before this became popularized in Saskatoon, Calories was hanging paintings on their walls that you could purchase. Everything from pastoral landscapes to ‘out there’ modern art has been featured at one time or another.

Make sure to check out one of Saskatoon’s culinary jewels. Your stomach will thank you.

Calories Bakery and Restaurant
721 Broadway Ave.

306 665-7991

It’s hot, it’s summer and you know what that means — the lines will be snaking out the door at Homestead Ice Cream. Homestead expanded a few years ago by building across the street from their old location which is now occupied by Las Palapas. Their new location allowed them to have a decent sized patio area while having a relatively spacious interior. The interior has a 50’s diner feel to it with a checkboard floor and a genuine old tyme jukebox.

Homestead makes its own ice cream in small batches, in dozens of different flavours. Some of them are definitely targeted at children such as Harry Potter themed ice creams (shhh, don’t tell J.K. Rowling). All your favourites are there, from a variety of chocolates, vanillas, cookies ‘n cream to the much more exotic. I’ve personally tried their olive and the avocado flavours, not being able to resist. (The result — interesting but not likely to give Ben & Jerry any concerns.) You can have your ice cream in a variety of cones or dishes and other types of ice cream treats like sundaes are present too.

Photo Courtesy Kim Schmidt – SneakyFoxProductions

Another claim to fame is Homestead’s “Dog’s Breakfast”. This concoction contains 14 scoops of ice cream, 2 bananas, cookie crumbs, nuts, sprinkles, whipped cream and a cherry, served in a dog’s dish. There’s 2 ways to approach this monster: Share it with friends or go wild and try to eat it yourself in the shortest time possible. The current record holder is “Paul” who ate it in 6 minutes and 10 seconds. Having contacted him, he tells me he plans on trying to best that record this summer. Stay tuned. In the meantime, watch the video of his world record shattering event.

Homestead Ice Cream & Cappuccino
910 Victoria Avenue

306 653-5588

Photo Courtesy Sheila Steele under Creative Commons License

The coffee and teas offered are good and fair trade coffee is always available. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about getting tea in a big glass mug, but I do like their specialty coffees including ones with Saskatoon berry syrup. Free wi-fi is available as well as beans to purchase to take home.

Grab a table with a friend or watch life pass outside on stools surrounding the windows. The outdoor tables are filled on hot, sunny days.

Broadway Roastery
614C Broadway Avenue

306 652-5558

The site has a ¼ mile drag strip which is sanctioned by the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association), and celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2006.

Besides a couple of major events, SIR hosts regular point series races which is where racers accumulate points towards a year end championship. Another popular series is the Street Legal program which provides an alternative to street racing for car enthusiasts. You can sign up and see how your ride compares to others in a safe and fun setting.

Photo Courtesy silverfoot99

SIR (Saskatchewan International Raceway)
13 KM South of Saskatoont

306 955-3724

The Saskatoon International Fringe Festival is one of the best attended annual festivals in Saskatoon. The 10 day event draws large crowds down to the Broadway area for alternative theatre performances from local, national and international individuals and groups. It typically runs from the end of July into the first week of August.

During the festival, Broadway Ave. is routinely blocked to vehicles and opened to pedestrian traffic. People walk up and down the street, stopping to grab food from street vendors or watch a street performance. Buskers of all sorts and ages perform trying to get the audience to throw them a few coins. Down 11th St., a beer garden is set up with a stage for those who want to rest and have a few drinks while being entertained. A small ’shopping village’ is set up selling everything from homemade jewelry, t-shirts or lava lamps. Get your fortune told or a henna tattoo. Everything alternative and bohemian is there to experience.

Photo Courtesy Matthew Smith

The main focus of the festival though is the performances in the multiple venues throughout the area. Although the locations can vary by year to year, generally the main stage is located at the Broadway Theatre while smaller venues such as the Refinery, the Off Broadway Dinner Theatre and the Victoria School are also used. To attend a performance, you need to buy a nominal charge for a Fringe button which helps pay the cost of running the festival. After that, fringe performances are somewhere around $10 a ticket, with 100% of the receipts going to the artist. The festival finds billets for the performers who travel across the country or from around the world on the fringe circuit, performing their show.

The shows vary in content. Some are comedies, some are musical and some are heartbreaking dramas. You never exactly quite know what you’re walking into. The shows are often given risqué names to pull in the curious and yes, sometimes nudity and profanity are spliced into the show. Note – there are always warnings beforehand when these are present and there are new ‘kid-friendly’ fringe shows as well.

Photo Courtesy Daryl Mitchell under Creative Commons License

To be honest, some of the worst drama I have ever seen has been at the Fringe — shows that grate on you, make you look at your watch and think fondly about your last trip to the dentist. These generally are in the minority and can be avoided if you just ask around or read the reviews in the paper or online. By doing this you will also find the great shows — the ones that astonish and delight you and give you memories that can carry on for years afterwards.

I’ve become a big fan of T.J. Dawe with his hour-long monologues delivered at blistering speeds. Susan Jeremy from New York put on a show called PS 69, detailing experiences in teaching in a New York public school. And who could forget the One Man Star Wars show, where Charles Ross re-enacted all the parts of the Star Wars series in a hilarious and incredibly athletic hour.

Make sure to catch the Fringe. It rates at the very top of my ‘must-see’ list in Saskatoon. Get out, support the performers and have a fun time in the spectacle.

Photo Courtesy Daryl Mitchell under Creative Commons License

Saskatoon International Fringe Festival
25th Street Theatre Centre
Various Venues – Broadway Area

306 664-2239

Photo Courtesy Daryl Mitchell under Creative Commons License

Though the commercial center of the new city had shifted to the west side, Nutana remained the center of activity on the east bank with Broadway Avenue as its main street. It enjoyed a boom period prior to World War I, when many of its landmark buildings were constructed. The neighbourhood went through several boom and bust cycles surrounding the two World Wars. By the mid-1950s, the area began a decades-long decline; new subdivisions, malls and chain stores drew people away.

In the mid-1980s, local merchants and community groups banded together to revitalize the neighbourhood. Today, Nutana is a vibrant and desirable neighbourhood; Broadway Avenue is alive with plenty of interesting independently-owned shops, restaurants and annual events. Sample the fine cuisine at Weczeria, the Broadway Cafe or Las Palapas; shop for cheese and fresh salads at the Bulk Cheese Warehouse, or coffee and tea at McQuarries; or catch a movie or live show at the Broadway Theatre. It’s a neighbourhood rich in history with a wide range of activities to suit anyone’s tastes.

Photo Courtesy Daryl Mitchell under Creative Commons License

Planet S Magazine is Saskatoon’s bi-weekly free newspaper, featuring news, arts and entertainment. Launched in 2002, it is one of the places people turn when they want to know what’s going on in the city.

An issue contains local, provincial and international news. Depending on your political slant, one of the best/worse things about Planet S is a nearly total left-wing view of the world. There is little left-right balance and the paper wears its allegiances openly and proudly.

Whether or not you agree with its politics, the rest of the paper is guaranteed to entertain. A weekly food review reveals some of Saskatoon’s best restaurants. Local and out-of-town filmmakers, musicians and artists are interviewed about their upcoming shows in the city. There is also a popular “City Events” section at the end of the paper detailing movie and theatre listings, galleries and museum shows as well as other events around the city on a day-by-day basis.

One of the most popular features Planet S runs is the annual “Best of Saskatoon” issue. Readers are able to submit ballots in dozens of categories from “Best Bartender” to “Best Piercing Shop” to Best Place for an After-Work Drink. Or if you’re having trouble with your significant other, how about “Best Break Up Spot”?

Planet S can be found throughout Saskatoon at various businesses and instituions or in newspaper dispenser boxes downtown. Alternately, a good portion of the paper can be read online at their website. And did I mention it’s free?

Planet S Magazine
Various Locations

Located in the middle of the roundabout at the base of the Victoria bridge, “The Founders” by sculptor Hans Holtkamp stands as a fitting tribute to the two men who are considered Saskatoon’s founding fathers.

John Lake was the leader of the Temperance Colonization Society, a group of Methodists from Toronto wanting to establish a “dry” settlement on the prairies. In 1882, he met with Chief Whitecap of the Dakota First Nation who suggested the site of present-day Nutana to establish his colony. From that early meeting of two leaders came the foundation of the communities of Saskatoon, Nutana, and Riversdale which eventually amalgamated to form Saskatoon.

The bronze statue, being twice life-sized, weighs nearly 6000 pounds. Besides the historical context, it emphasizes the importance of working in co-operation with first nations people to build a strong and vibrant community.

The Founders – Chief Whitecap and John Lake

Base of Victoria Bridge

Sushiro is a definite gem in Saskatoon. Being a landlocked province, you wouldn’t expect to find sushi so fresh that you can practically taste it swimming (and I mean that as a compliment). Located on 10th St. E in the Broadway district, Sushiro has become a local institution for the sushi-loving hipsters. Sushiro makes its sushi to order meaning you won’t be eating something that’s been sitting for hours in a fridge. It brings flash-frozen fish in, using what is needed for each order. I’m not a sushi expert but apparently this is something that all quality sushi resturants do, meaning that Saskatoon can have sushi that is just as good as a sushi restaurant on the coast.

Photo Courtesy Luke Siemens under Creative Commons License

The restaurant has clean, simple lines with bleached blonde woods. Tables dot the concrete floor, with booths on one side of the restaurant and a sushi bar around the preparation area. The dishes used are of different glazed potteries, making each tray of sushi that comes out look like art. It was here at Sushiro where I began my love affair with edamame (steamed soybeans with coarse salt — yum).

Sushiro has a wide variety of different types of sushi from maki (rolled in seaweed) to nigri (clumps of rice with fish ontop) to inari (pockets made of fried tofu with different toppings inside). Some of my favourites are the spicy tuna rolls and the cobra maki with the crisp shrimp inside. I also love the smoked salmon with cream cheese inari. It’s almost more of a dessert than a main course. If you’re more adventurous, you can order BBQ’d eel or octopus. For those with simpler tastes, the ever present California rolls can be had as well.

A variety of sakes, Japanese beers and Canadian and international wines will complement your meal, along with teas (try the cherry grean tea, or the amazingly simple and tasty ginger and honey tea) and specialty martinis (I want to try the Hello Kitty).

Sushiro
737B 10th Street East

306 665-5557