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Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
What's up: Dirty Catfish Brass Band, night market, Ballet in the Park, Angela's Shadow, wildfire relief
SUPPLIED The Dirty Catfish Brass Band are at Blue Note Park tonight. SUPPLIED The Dirty Catfish Brass Band are at Blue Note Park tonight. Laissez les bons temps rouler avec le Dirty Catfish Brass Band, an ensemble that's been keeping Winnipeg dancing since its formation in 2011. This outdoor show — open to fans younger than 18 so long as they're with a parent or legal guardian — can serve as an introduction to the exciting world of New Orleans music, and might convince up-and-coming musicians to register for the brass band's summer camp program next month at the Winnipeg Conservatory of Music. From Aug. 18 to 22, students aged 13-19 with a minimum of one year's playing experience, can hone their skills on brass (trumpet, trombone, mellophone, sousaphone and tuba), saxophones, clarinets and drums, with guidance from the Dirty Catfish members. Registration is $375 at — Ben Waldman TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES The first Manitoba Night Market at Assiniboia Downs was held in 2017. TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES The first Manitoba Night Market at Assiniboia Downs was held in 2017. Manitoba Night Market returns Sunday with fun for all ages kicking off at 3 p.m. and carrying on into twilight. Over 140 vendors will be on hand peddling their wares, among them Hoovers' Cards, Blush Stitch Studio, Farmstead on the Red, Jacked Up Jill Coffee, Flying Pig Patch bakery, All For Loaves and Little Resin Heaven. There will be 20-plus food trucks on site serving up savoury and sweet treats, including Donut Forget Your Coffee, Tot Wheels, Wacky Waffles, Willy Dogs, The Churro Stop and Epic Street Grub. Wash down your street food with a cold one in the market's beer gardens, Manitoba Night Market will also feature live music stages as well as a kid zone full of all kinds of activities and games. For those looking for fresh ink, a tattoo pop-up will also be on site. Be sure to stick around after sunset to catch the fire show. Tickets for the rain-or-shine event are $10 at Showpass; parking is an additional $5. — Ben Sigurdson NIC ADAM / FREE PRESS FILES The Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Ballet in the Park returns to the Lyric Theatre for three nights starting Wednesday. NIC ADAM / FREE PRESS FILES The Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Ballet in the Park returns to the Lyric Theatre for three nights starting Wednesday. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Ballet in the Park is to summer in Winnipeg what Nutcracker is to winter: a beloved annual tradition. The annual al fresco performance is a once-a-season chance to watch the company and RWB School students perform for free, making it the perfect introduction to the art form. The two-hour mixed-repetroire program also means audiences will see a wide cross-section of ballet, from classical to contemporary. Program highlights include a remounting of Cameron Fraser-Monroe's groundbreaking T'əl: The Wild Man of the Woods, which made its world première at the Centennial Concert Hall in 2024. This is the first edition of Ballet in the Park under new artistic director Christopher Stowell, who will host. A suite of family-friendly activities are also on offer, including crafts and face painting, an interactive creative movement dance class led from the stage and food vendors. Registering for your free ticket at the RWB website will allow you to receive updates about what's happening before the show along with weather updates, since Ballet at the Park happens at the discretion of Mother Nature. You'll also be able to show your ticket at the information tent to receive a limited-edition button and be entered to win a full-season subscription. And be sure to go early to grab your spot on the lawn; this event is a popular one. — Jen Zoratti SUPPLIED Angela's Shadow stars Sera-Lys McArthur as Angela (left) and Renae Morriseau as her childhood nanny. SUPPLIED Angela's Shadow stars Sera-Lys McArthur as Angela (left) and Renae Morriseau as her childhood nanny. Ghostly premonitions, family secrets and racism drive the narrative of Angela's Shadow, an Indigenous thriller screening at Dave Barber Cinematheque. Set in Canada in the 1930s, the film follows Angela and Henry, a pair of young socialites with a baby on the way. Angela's previously unknown Cree ancestry is revealed during a visit to her childhood nanny's northern Ontario reserve. Supernatural encounters ensue and Henry's racism leads to a psychosis-fuelled murder plot. Angela's Shadow is director Jules Koostachin's second feature-length film. 'I wholeheartedly believe that Indigenous cinema is its own genre, a blend of comedy, sci-fi, drama, supernatural and thrillers. Our stories represent the strength of our diversity and our deep cultural connection to our communities,' Koostachin said in a media release. The Cree filmmaker and member of Attawapiskat First Nation will be in attendance for a Q&A on Saturday. — Eva Wasney SUPPLIED A wildfire south of Pimicikamak Cree Nation and the incorporated community of Cross Lake. SUPPLIED A wildfire south of Pimicikamak Cree Nation and the incorporated community of Cross Lake. As most readers know, Manitoba is in the midst of record-breaking forest fires. They've displaced more than 10,000 people. Lives have been lost, as have scores of homes as the fires have burned through over a million hectares so far. 'We need to get our people in hotels,' Garden Hill vice-chief Craig Munroe said last week; 4,000 people live in the remote First Nation, several hundred kilometers northeast of Winnipeg. 'It's coming so close to our houses and it's creeping into our community. I'm praying that it will not wrap around our whole community.' Munroe is organizing a fundraiser, which can be found online on GoFundMe as 'Garden Hill Anisininew Nation Fire Evacuation,' to help cover accommodations and essentials for displaced members of his community. These are just some of the ways people can support victims of the 2025 Manitoba Wildfires. The Canadian Red Cross and the Winnipeg Foundation also accept donations online, while the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, First Nations Family Advocate Office, Southern Chiefs' Organization, Morgan's Warriors accept non-perishable foods and other supplies at their sites. Check their websites for more info. — Conrad Sweatman
Winnipeg Free Press
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
What's up: Red River Ex, Wild & Wonderful Words, Ukrainian festival, VVonder, Grad Walk 2025
NIC ADAM / FREE PRESS files Of course you want to go faster. The Red River Ex opens Friday and runs for 10 days.. NIC ADAM / FREE PRESS files Of course you want to go faster. The Red River Ex opens Friday and runs for 10 days.. Tickets $10-18; ride-all-day wristbands $60 at Hold on to your hats, it's that time of year again! The annual June fair is back with carnival rides and games galore, as well as a plethora of food trucks slinging all manner of fairground faves. Fill your tum with Philly cheese steaks, ice-cream tacos, fried pop tarts, Flamin' Hot Cheeto pickle pizzas, caramel apple nachos, barbecued meats, pickle fries and grape jelly-glazed crispy chicken served in a waffle cone. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. Friday with activities taking place at Kiddie-Land, Kids' Stage and the free Family Fun Zone. If you're there for the music, the first band on the Central Park Stage, Motley Crue tribute act Looks That Kill, start at 5:30 p.m. while Red Barn Stage's music starts 15 minutes later as You and What Army play a 45-minute set. A full day of begins on Saturday when gates open at noon. Head straight for the rides, but remember to snag a spot before the Caribbean Day parade starts at 3 p.m. near Central Park Stage. And mark your calendars if you're looking for savings — there is free gate admission for one hour only from noon to 1 p.m on Sunday. Festivities continue throughout the week with different themes running each day until the fair wraps up on June 22. Check for more information and updates. — AV Kitching Local authors will convene at Sookram's Brewing Co. (479-B Warsaw Ave.) on Wednesday as part of the fourth Wild & Wonderful Words reading event. Mike Deal / Free Press files Have a drink and listen to Ariel Gordon read Wednesday at Sookram's. Mike Deal / Free Press files Have a drink and listen to Ariel Gordon read Wednesday at Sookram's. Hosted again by creator and local author Sheldon Birnie (Where the Pavement Turns to Sand), the event will feature a pair of established writers and a couple of up-and-coming authors. In the former category is Winnipeg's Ariel Gordon — author of essay collections Fungal and Treed as well as volumes of poetry (Stowaways, Siteseeing) — and Mitchell Toews, author of the short-story collection Pinching Zwieback. The pair will be joined by writer/musician Antonio Marrazas Luna and Zoë Mills. After Wednesday's event, the series takes the summer off before returning in the fall. The event is free and all ages; in addition to serving up all kinds of beer, Sookram's also offers non-alcoholic options. — Ben Sigurdson Eva Wasney / Winnipeg Free Press files Pick up some perogies at the Ukrainian Village Festival this weekend. Eva Wasney / Winnipeg Free Press files Pick up some perogies at the Ukrainian Village Festival this weekend. Budmo! Winnipeg's inaugural Ukrainian Village Festival is bringing the spirit of Ukraine to The Forks this weekend with three days of community, connection and culture. Enjoy family-friendly activities, live music, dance performances and interactive workshops at CN Field. And definitely go hungry: baba-approved homemade borscht, perogies, deruny (potato pancakes) and cabbage rolls will be on offer, as well as a variety of traditional Ukrainian drinks such as medovukha, a honey-based alcoholic beverage, uzvar, a non-alcoholic compote-style winter punch, and kvas, a sweet-sour ale. — Jen Zoratti Supplied VVonder releases its new album Friday at Blue Note Park. Supplied VVonder releases its new album Friday at Blue Note Park. Give VVonder three minutes of listening time, and the Winnipeg quartet is bound to fill it with perfectly crafted catchiness. Led by the acrobatic vocals of Micah Braun, with groove-ready harmonies by Steve Martens, Joey Penner and Nate Sheridan, VVonder — prefixed by two Vs but pronounced with a single W — has spent the last three years finishing its followup to 2022's Now and Again, a squeaky clean jangle-pop time capsule about the messiness of living. Free Press reviewer John Kendle called the band's sound a perfect distillation of upbeat indie rock and melodic psychedelia, name-dropping both the Beatles and ELO. Those comparisons aren't overblown, but VVonder has still flown under the national radar. Could that change with Stumble On, a sophomore record whose name gives a directive for unexpected discovery? Based on the strength of lead tracks Don't Turn Around, Dr. Says, Shanana, My Choice and Invisible Man, it's safe to assume VVonder has added a dozen timeless tunes to its catalogue, and one can hope a much-deserved breakthrough is around the corner. See what all the fuss is about Friday at the Blue Note, where VVonder will be supported by openers Juvel and the Full Benefits. — Ben Waldman What started as a pandemic work-around has become a North End tradition. Students, family, friends and civic-minded Winnipeggers are invited to get together today for the North End Grad Walk, a neighbourhood celebration of local high school grads. Kicking off at St. John's High School and wrapping up at R.B. Russell, where a community barbecue and party await, walkers will stop along the way at the Bell Tower and Children of the Earth. 'One year the mayor, Scott Gillingham, came out and served hot dogs to the students and community,' writes organizer Michael Champagne on his blog. 'But most important of all the guests, were the smiling parents, the neighbours and, of course, the graduates themselves.' The loud, proud celebration includes an award portion, with $500 memorial bursaries going to two students, one from R.B. Russell and one from St. John's. — Conrad Sweatman
Winnipeg Free Press
02-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba regulator proposes fast-track for U.S. physicians
Facing the second-largest doctor shortage in Canada, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba has launched a review to make it easier for American-certified physicians to become licensed in Manitoba. 'We understand the pressures in Manitoba to get more physicians into practice. So we are constantly looking for ways that we can cut down on red tape or facilitate safe changes to a process that might have worked historically, but doesn't meet our modern demand,' said Dr. Ainslie Mihalchuk, registrar for the Manitoba physician watchdog. The proposed changes would allow physicians from the U.S. to apply for Manitoba licences if they have completed an accredited residency program and hold certification from the American Board of Medical Specialists and have an independent or full licence to practice with a U.S. state medical board. NIC ADAM / FREE PRESS FILES Dr. Ainslie Mihalchuk said the restrictions are costly, time-consuming and a disincentive to doctors applying to practise in Manitoba. NIC ADAM / FREE PRESS FILES Dr. Ainslie Mihalchuk said the restrictions are costly, time-consuming and a disincentive to doctors applying to practise in Manitoba. If all goes to plan, internationally trained doctors could be working in Manitoba by June. Similar policies are in place in several other Canadian provinces, including British Columbia, which changed regulations in February. Mihalchuk and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba looked east and west of Manitoba and, to remain competitive in the market, began the process to loosen regulations. 'If Manitoba is an outlier, that's not good for us,' Mihalchuk said. Current regulations dictate that individuals must first apply for provisional registration, which places limitations on their ability to practise medicine (such as requiring supervisors, assessments, and practice location restrictions). Mihalchuk said the restrictions are costly, time-consuming and a disincentive to doctors applying to practise in Manitoba. 'We went to them and said we think that this is a safe thing to do (and) it would make us attractive to physicians from the States that we know are interested in potentially practising in Manitoba,' Mihalchuk said. The regulator said it is generally accepted among Canadian medical boards that American physicians are as competent and safe as their Canadian counterparts. Doctors Manitoba applauds the proposed changes. After launching recruitment efforts late last year, the doctor advocacy organization said there was interest from physicians south of the border but Manitoba's restrictive licensing requirements for internationally trained doctors was a barrier. 'We want to make sure that every physician practising in Manitoba is practising of the highest standard,' said Doctors Manitoba CEO Theresa Oswald. 'But there are ways to do this that have proven to be more accessible and more rapid than has been the case in Manitoba.' Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. In December, the group took the unusual step of launching its own campaign to target health-care providers in North Dakota, Florida and other states where providers could find their practice in jeopardy under U.S. President Donald Trump's policies targeting the health-care system. Since taking office, Trump has signed off on ending federal support for gender-affirming care, exiting the World Health Organization and no longer recognizing transgender and non-binary identities. 'We know here in Manitoba that that (doctor-patient) sanctity is respected and that evidence and science have to be at the forefront,' Oswald said. Oswald estimates between 40 and 50 doctors have expressed interest in coming to Manitoba, which the organization has referred to the province's recruitment and retention office. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Thursday the province is actively engaged with about a dozen foreign doctors to receive their Manitoba certification. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES The province has hired more than 1,600 net-new health-care workers since April 2024, including 600 nurses, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES The province has hired more than 1,600 net-new health-care workers since April 2024, including 600 nurses, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said. Asagwara accused the previous Progressive Conservative government of not taking the necessary steps to improve patient care or use a patient-centred approach. 'Our government is laser-focused on making health care better for Manitobans, and that means making sure that we have the health-care professionals and experts in our province to provide that care,' the minister said. In March, Shared Health launched a similar recruitment campaign south of the border in an effort to bring American nurses to Manitoba. The initiative was to offer asylum to working nurses worried about their ability to care for patients, while addressing the province's nurse shortage. At the time, Asagwara said the recruitment and retention office had worked to make transferring U.S. nursing licences to Manitoba easier. The province has hired more than 1,600 net-new health-care workers since April 2024, including 600 nurses, Asagwara said. Provincial figures on nurses hired through the recruitment campaign were not made available before press time. The NDP campaigned on a promise to hire 400 new doctors within five years prior to winning the 2023 election. No update was provided Thursday on the status of that objective. Nicole BuffieMultimedia producer Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College's Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom in 2023. Read more about Nicole. Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
