Edmonton Gurning Festival APRIL FOOLS! (4/1/2016)

It's spring! And what could be a better excuse for skipping out of work a bit early on a Friday afternoon than a chance to check out the inaugural Edmonton Gurning Festival. The festival will be held downtown in Churchill Square. Rumour has it that the political and cultural elite of Edmonton will be taking part in the fun, which should be quite a sight!

What's gurning? To gurn means to produce a distorted facial expression. A typical gurn will involve projecting the lower jaw as far forward and up as possible, while covering the upper lip with the lower lip. However, other variations on this gurning approach are rather common, and extra points are awarded to gurners for demonstrating creativity.

The English have a longstanding history of gurning excellence. The World Gurning Festival is held every year in Egremont, Cumbria, as a traditional part of their annual Crab Fair. The Crab Fair can be traced back to as far as 1267, and its storied gurning competition to at least the 1800s.

If you would like to enter into the Edmonton Gurning Festival, you will be able to sign up on arrival at the festival. Please be aware that wearing make-up is not allowed if you plan to enter the competition (however, manipulating false-teeth is allowed, in case anybody wears any). Other than that, in accordance with the rules of the World Gurning Festival, the basic format for the competition is that contestants will have to put their head through a horse collar and 'snarl like a dog, look savage, and distort the countenance'. Winners will proudly have a photo of their gurn displayed in the local media, and the grand prize winners will represent Edmonton at the World Gurning Championships, which will take place in Egremont, Cumbria, England in mid-September.

We will meet just outside the Second Cup coffee shop, which is at the NW corner of the Edmonton Public Library’s downtown branch (100 Street & 102 Avenue), at 4:30 pm. This is just across the street from Churchill Square. Both Ryan and Ian will be wearing blue ballcaps, to help you recognize us.

Here's a bit more about the history of gurning, drawn from the offical website of the Egremont Crab Fair:

To gurn means to 'snarl like a dog, look savage, distort the countenance'. This competition is extremely popular and is the highlight of the whole Crab Fair for most people. Contestants have to pull a grotesque face through a horse collar, known as a braffin.

Through the centuries the event has been reported by newspapers under various titles. In 1852 it was described as Grinn for tobacco, in 1884 it was more colloquially known as Grinning for 'bacca. In the twentieth century it became Gurning through a braffin and is now known as the World Gurning Competition.

The origin of gurning is obscure. It is reported to have originated from the mockery of the village idiot - the townsfolk would throw a horse's collar over him and make him pull funny faces in exchange for a few pints of ale. How much truth lies in this story is questionable. Another stories include when a drunken farmer arrived home to find a most discontented wife, he shouted "stop gurning, woman!" and thrust a horse collar over her head. At this her facial expressions, to say nothing of the language, became even worse!

The use of tobacco became common in the 17th century, and was either chewed or powdered and inhaled as snuff. It is probable that Grinning for 'bacca originated from these times - certainly it was described as an ancient tradition by the Cumberland Paquet in 1852.