Edmonton Green Shacks are back, free summer shows added

Kids are in for a free summer of fun at Green Shacks across the city.

Edmonton’s Green Shacks opened for the summer on Wednesday and the program will run until Aug. 21.

The free drop-in program is geared toward children ages 6-12, but kids of all ages are invited to have fun through organized games, sports, crafts, and more. Kids younger than six years old can join with a parent or guardian present.

Green Shack leaders will take the kids through the scheduled programs in sessions that can run from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. or from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Some sites may have full-day hours. Special events and a list of activities can be found posted on the side of the Green Shack each week.

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Last week, city officials announced a free concert series will be added to the Green Shack program. The city and the Edmonton Arts Council (EAC) will host the shows five days a week at various Green Shacks with performances at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m..

The family-friendly shows will include performers like The Brasstactics, which was playing a show at the Green Shack in Keswick in south Edmonton on Wednesday morning.

The band consists of eight to nine musicians who hope to “grow the brass band culture” in the city and hope to inspire the kids that make it out to the shows this summer.

“What better way to introduce these kids to what we do and hopefully transition that into, ‘Hey, those guys see us and … we can do our own brass band’ or, ‘We can go into music,’” Matt Laird, also known as Dr. Sooz, with The Brasstactics told CTV News Edmonton before the free show.

Laird added the band has tailored their performances for the Green Shack shows to be more interactive with the kids.

“You’ll see a lot more engagement with the horn players and the drums, kind of introducing each instrument, what we do, how we do what we do, and we’ve got some cool little hidden tricks up our sleeves too,” he said.

“The kids can play along with us.”

The Brasstactics will play two shows each day on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week. A full schedule of performers and shows can be found on the EAC website.

Green Shack program leaders will be wearing blue shirts to make them easy to spot. Volunteer leaders may also be on hand to help.

A map of all the locations and hours can be found online. The program is open rain or shine, but may be cancelled during severe weather. If the air quality is 7 or higher, some locations may move indoors at nearby community leagues.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Klippenstein