Parent Orientation 2010

Check out the video from this year's first round of Parent Orientation!

The next Parent Orientation is Saturday, August 28th. While there is no student track this time around, if your parents are interested, encourage them to check out the Parent Orientation website for more details and to register. If you haven't already, register for Student Orientation on September 6th and 7th. We look forward to seeing you there!

Podcast/Audio Tour Around the UofA

Are you interested in touring around the University of Alberta but can't come during the week and book a tour, or do you just want to be able to find your way around campus? Check out the Campus Ambassadors Audio tour of the University of Alberta!

All you need to do is download the tour from the Campus Ambassadors website, put it on your iPod or other mp3-playing device (not that anyone actually uses anything other than iPods...) and enjoy while Torrey (me!) and Cathy (the previous Campus Ambassadors' Coordinator) guide you around the UofA campus. Also available for download is a Companion Map, on which you can see the route we take.

This is a great option for individuals interested in the UofA campus who cannot book an in-person tour, or if you want to take your time and explore the campus on your own. Also, as this is a recent initiative, you would be on the cutting edge of campus-tour-related technology and we would love to hear your feedback.

If you take the tour, drop us a line at vitaminA@su.ualberta.ca to let us know how it went. If you want to book an in-person tour, you can also check out the Campus Ambassadors' website.

Edmonton Festivals in the Summer

There's a reason that Edmonton is known as the Festival City.

With over 30 festivals year-round, Edmonton has something to offer anyone and everyone, especially during the summer months. Festivals ranging from music to culinary to theatre can be found June through until August.

From June 29th to July 25th is the Freewill Shakespeare Festival, running Tuesdays through Sundays at 8pm. The festival takes place at the Heritage Amphitheater in Hawrelak Park, and this year they will be performing Much Ado About Nothing (on odd days) and Macbeth (on even days). The cost is only $15 for students, and if you attend on Tuesday night or the Saturday matinee, you can "pay-what-you-will". For information about this festival, please visit their website at www.rivercityshakespeare.com

Running from July 23rd until August 1st is A Taste of Edmonton, a culinary festival held in Downtown Edmonton that showcases dozens of Edmonton's best restaurants. The event also includes A Taste of Wine, A Taste of Beer, a street market, a pancake breakfast and even live entertainment. For more information, please visit www.eventsedmonton.ca

Also running from July 23rd to August 1st is Capital Ex, Edmonton's summer Carnival. Capital Ex is held at Northlands, accessible by the LRT, and is full of rides, live music, food and much more. Notably, the Canadian band Metric is headlining the main stage on July 30th at 8pm. Check them out:

For more information about Capital Ex, visit http://www.capitalex.ca

Finally, Running August 4th to 8th is the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, an outdoor music festival held in Gallagher park. This year, performers include Van Morrison, Calexico, Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip, Ben Harper, Jakob Dylan and Patrick Watson. For more information, please visit http://edmontonfolkfest.org/ and check out a full list of performers here.

We've only gone through a fraction of the festivals that Edmonton has to offer during the summer. Other notable festivals include the Edmonton Street Performers Festival, the Labatt Blues Festival, the Edmonton Fringe Festival, and SONiC Boom. For a full list of festivals, please visit the City of Edmonton site.

The Vitamin A Blog is Back!

After a lengthy hiatus, the Vitamin A Blog is back to bring you a student-eye-view of life at the University of Alberta. We are in the process of reconfiguring the Vitamin A program to better suit the needs of students coming to the UofA, so keep an eye on the blog for exciting developments and information throughout the summer as well as fun videos, blog entries and much more.

As well, remember that the Vitamin A Q&A service is available to answer any questions you have about life at the UofA, and can be found at www.su.ualberta.ca/QandA. If you have any ideas for the blog or even the program, feel free to send those in through the Q&A service as well since your input is appreciated and vital for helping the program better serve you.