Beakerhead

Phew, another great Beakerhead and quite a busy one at that.
This year we planned for it to come around and were looking at the schedule months in advance (good thing because one event we did, Taste, sold out in August) and I’m pleased we got in there early to get our tickets!
Top 10 of Beakerhead 2015 for me (in no particular order):
1. Wondering around SO many of the inner city neighborhoods I realize I don’t spend a lot of time in. I was in… Bridgeland, Inglewood, Eau Clare, Belt line, Sun alta, Kensignton, East Village, Stephen’s Ave ect. I discovered the city has developed some beautiful spaces that connect these areas while I wasn’t looking so it was nice to wonder around and be drawn into a place I’ve always-​wanted-​to-​go or haven’t been to in forever. The nice weather also helped but I think I wish I had a bike as walking was getting tiring by the end of the weekend… next year bring the bike.
2. On beakerstreet I bought a fabulous airplant «jellyfish» that I love and my plant murdering kitties can’t mess with it and a rainbow unicorn soap that smells like cherry blossoms because all of that is just awesome. I realize these come from stores I have in my city year round but I never found them so that’s a win.
3. Taste. Ghostriver was back with a new sense this year: taste and it was at the river café. So it was like cool theater, delicious food semi dining in the dark (which I still have not done but still really want to try…)
4. Engineered Eats. This year they had an eggs theme which was thrilling because many of the items ended up vegetarian so I almost got around to all venues with cool food. Gelato on fire? yup. Eggplant that tastes like bacon? yup, eggs as a major ingredient in a «banana split» you bet. Molecular Gastronomy is just awesome and I’m pleased at home many placed in our city have the courage to give it a go (even if it’s just one week a year and they are generally more conventional).
5. Flaming skeeball. I don’t feel I even need to explain what that’s awesome because fire + anything is probably awesome (as long as it’s well controlled and suppose to be happening).
6. Baron Building. The art and inventions inside were cool but I liked actually being allowed into the space. We spent more time that we expected just looking at the half torn apart historical building.
7. Astronaut Ice cream at the Rock n’ Roll opening night reception. Stemming deeply from feeling deprived of this ever time I’m at a science center gift shop or NASA or whatever, I look at the Astronaut ice cream and want it but then decide, I shouldn’t… it’s for kids… it’s probably just like_​_​_​_​_​or whatever else and I’d never had it and then there is was at the reception so I was way to excited for that… not to over shadow the cosmic cosmos, real astronaut and giant pickles in bags… but dehydrated ice cream was awesome. Oh and the verdict is I would prefer REAL ice cream but it’s pretty amazing in my mouth and now I know!
8. Giant inflatable bunnies. These would be terrifying if they were real but they were so cute and squishable (literally)
9. In a lecture series of wonderers, I learned about what it would be like if I were crazy and wanted to eat bugs (and not the ground up floor kind like they were cooking with at beakerhead but the gross ones with claws attached), what it might be like to conduct experiments with surprise alligators like could eat me that I had never considered and have more compassion for mountain lions (they are not just cute and murderous) along with some other things I can’t unhear. For a series of lectures it was more fun than I expected.
10. I took part in the coffee shop theatre production and although the show was great, it was entertaining enough just to see the public walk in for a caffeine fix and notice some 30 odd people being totally bizarre and look like they might have walked into a candid camera show.
Only 51 more weeks until Beakerhead…

I am reluctantly giving this festival three stars instead of less. Downtown parking even marginally near to the Saturday night festivities on 10^th ave. and 14 Street was very challenging. Then, pretty well all there was to experience was trying to manœuvre through the crowds of people while maybe being able to view something from a distance. This was my limited experience. If. I was to attempt this again then I would arrive early in hopes of actually being able to enjoy the festivities. I know this is only a small part of the festival. I am open to trying other parts of the festival in hopes of actually having an worthwhile experience.

I’m giving this festival five stars because I think everyone should know about it for next year, and what’s left of it this year. If you want completely new experience and you are a geek or can access your inner geek, this place is for you. From fascinating lectures to plays you take in blindfolded, even a flying jellyfish, this festival has it all. There’s a cat that projects art from its eyes with lasers, a fire breathing octopus, and a drum workshop with momentum drumming, one of whose members is from Stomp. This place is a haven for all things thought. You should absolutely hey dorm there the next chance you get. Oh, they have science buskers too, where you can extract DNA, paint with e. coli.