Rhonda Shand — A History of Edmonton’s Streetcars – They Still Live!!!
Ever wondered how Edmonton started with using streetcars and light rail vehicles as a form of mass transit? Well look no more! In 1908, regular streetcar service began in Edmonton at 7 a.m. on Monday, November 9th, with both Cars 1 and 2 operating between the car barns on Syndicate Avenue (95 Street) and 21st (121) Street. Strathcona service began Friday, December 4th and used the Edmonton Inter-Urban Bridge (now called Low Level Bridge). Streetcar service ended on September 1, 1951 with a ceremonial “Last Run” with invited guests on Streetcar Number 1 from 97 Street and Jasper Avenue to the loop at 109 Street and 84 Avenue where almost 1,000 people gathered to bid farewell in wet rainy weather. Regular streetcar service continued for a few hours thereafter. Then on September 2 at around 1:00 A.M., Car 52 made the final run across the High Level Bridge with five passengers ending almost 43 years of streetcar service. In the time between then (starting in earnest in 1980) and now the Edmonton Radial Railway Society (ERRS) has been acquiring, rebuilding, restoring, and operating fully operational vintage streetcars at both Fort Edmonton Park and the High Level Bridge.
Bio: Rhonda Shand is a proud member of the Edmonton Radial Railway Society (ERRS) and will become more active in operations, maintenance, and project restoration later this year. Rhonda is qualified to operate 50% of the streetcar fleet including the “crown jewel,” Edmonton #1 at Fort Edmonton Park. This is an independent presentation sanctioned by the ERRS where Rhonda will talk about the present streetcar collection plus future plans for the two routes and the fleet. Self described as the “Jedi Enchantress of ALL Things Electron,” Rhonda is an electrical engineering graduate from the University of Alberta and is a Wiccan, moonshining electrical engineer with a ham radio licence and military reserve background. Relevant work experience includes the Edmonton Valley Line South East presently in operation and the Edmonton Valley Line West presently being built, as a Lead Systems and Integration Engineer with Parsons.
Mackenzie O’Neill — “A Child of Earth and Space:” How Soviet Propagandists Humanized Space Technology During the Space Race
This talk explains how Soviet propagandists humanized space technology, such as probes and rovers, during the Space Race. I outline the history of the Soviet Space Program and trace how journalists and graphic artists anthropomorphized machines such as the Lunokhod-1 Rover. My research also argues that this tactic of imbuing life into space technology was not a consistent trend but changed in frequency throughout the course of the Cold War. I analyze articles from Soviet newspapers and examine caricatures by graphic artists within the USSR to demonstrate how such machinery became “human.”
Bio: Mackenzie O’Neill is a Graduate Student in History at the University of Alberta. He focuses on the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, as well as the Soviet-Era Russian History.
Nathan Lamarche — Are you sure?
We may be strangers, yet a part of you cares, because any relationship has a level of empathy. Where some individuals in the government might care, Canada, the state, has no capacity for empathy. Generative Artificial Intelligence is a representative of the state and the elite class, yet acts like it has empathy. My talk will focus on state-fueled certainty, uncertainty in rebellion, and how AI exploits empathy and manipulates certainty in order to exert the control of the state.
Bio: Nathan Lamarche is an Otipemisiwak Michif Master of Arts student in English at the University of Alberta whose research interests revolve around empathy and understanding, including Indigenous perspectives and experiences in fiction, subaltern and queer literature, and the disenfranchisement of the working class in post-imperial landscapes. In their spare time, they tend to their several thousand isopod friends, and when not otherwise writing or doing research, you can probably find them buried days deep in the mountains backcountry hiking, cooking very strange meals, and brewing mead out of pinecones.
At our November show, you’ll see talks on Mars rovers, how Taproot Edmonton helps foster community interest, and the way things used to be… in alternate universes.
When: Thursday, November 27th at 7:30pm
(Doors & bar open at 7pm, with drinks available all night)
Where: Backstage Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Mack Male — When Curiosity Meets Code: Building the Taproot Survey
What if civic curiosity could be translated into algorithms? Let’s unpack how Taproot Edmonton turned voter questions and candidate answers into data-driven connections that helped thousands of Edmontonians find their match at the ballot box. Along the way, we’ll explore the patterns the data revealed and the lessons we learned from building it.
Mack is the co-founder and CEO of Taproot Publishing which helps communities understand themselves better. The company’s flagship digital news outlet is Taproot Edmonton. Prior to becoming an entrepreneurial journalist, Mack spent more than a decade working in software development.
How student led clubs are essential in impacting and shaping the future of the space industry. We’ll dive into how our own club, SPEAR functions and nurture industry ready talents. We’ll also explore how student led clubs like ours promote curiosity around space as well!
SPEAR (Space Exploration Alberta Robotics) is an engineering club at the University of Alberta focused on designing and building Mars-style rovers for space-inspired competitions. Composed of students across various engineering disciplines, SPEAR takes part in international competitions like the Canadian International Rover Challenge (CIRC) and the University Rover Challenge (URC). Through hands-on experience, collaboration, and innovation, the team works on real-world engineering challenges, contributing to advancements in robotics and representing the University of Alberta on the international stage.
For more than two thousand years, authors have been looking back on the past and asking themselves “could history have happened otherwise?” But it’s only in the past few decades that alohistorical musings have been recognized as their own genre. Let’s look at what’s commonly called Alternate History.
Olav Rokne is a six-time Hugo shortlisted blogger and since 2019 has served on the jury of the Sidewise Award for Alternate History literature.
Nerd Nite Edmonton is back for spooky season. Come join us for drinks and spooky merriment. Come show off your costume and you could win tickets! Hear about AI horror, creepy crawlies, and a third mystery topic the night before Halloween.
When: Thursday, Oct 30th, at 7:30pm
(Doors & bar open at 7pm, with drinks available all night)
Where: Studio Theatre at Fringe Theatre Adventures
Bree Taylor — When The Flesh Mask Slips: Analog Horror and Artificial Intelligence
Horror reflects the anxieties and fears of the context in which it was written. Analog Horror, an emerging sub genre online, has risen in popularity with increasing usage of generative AI. This talk will illustrate the ways in which AI models like ChatGPT play on our fears around nostalgia, relationships, and entities that seem human – but something isn’t quite right.
Bree Taylor is a queer settler, writer, and poet living on Treaty 6 territory. She earned her B.A. from the University of Alberta, where they won the L. June Kelly Prize in Introductory Poetry. In 2022, they were a finalist for the Dell Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing, and in 2025 they were the recipient of the UBC Peliplat Prize. Their fiction has appeared in Quagmire Magazine and Polymorphic. Bree is pursuing her MFA at the University of British Columbia, where she is writing a queer horror novella as her thesis.
In his own words, “all of my favourite bugs are the most horrific ones”, so sit down and hear about terrifying creepy crawlies from an honest-to-goodness learned entomologist.
Ilan Domnich is an entomologist finishing his Master’s at the University of Alberta. When not outside looking at bugs, Ilan can be found at home working on his art and caring for his many plants and animals. He is also a Nerd Nite veteran who has entertained attendees before with his infectious (insectious?) charm.
Ethan Zapach — Growing and Breeding Mushrooms at Home + Helpful Tips to Avoid a Zombie Apocalypse
Bring your nitrile gloves, 70% isopropyl alcohol, and a smile, because we’re heading down the rabbit hole of home mycology! Growing mushrooms at home can provide you with a hack for seemingly unlimited extra food, a wide variety of medicine, or a one-on-one visit with your creator. After you talk to God, you can try role playing as your new friend by breeding novel mushroom strains – just be sure to close the door to your lab before something gets out…
Ethan Zapach is an amateur mycologist and a Director for the Alberta Mycological Society. He spends as much time as he can out in the woods looking for obscure mushrooms to add to his collection and attempt to cultivate indoors. Ethan currently lives in Athabasca, working in science communications and environmental restoration. He also makes freelance documentaries, educational content, and mycology-related videos that can be found on his YouTube channel.
