Latest news with #JOHNWOODS
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
What's up: Pride celebrations
This year's Pride Winnipeg theme is 'Rise in Pride, Stand in Strength.' The organization's annual festival kicks off at The Forks from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The festivities include three stages of live entertainment, family-friendly activities, an artisan market and an LGBTTQ+ community zone. Food trucks, beer gardens and a substance-free area will be on site. Main stage performers include Ami Cheon, Bannock Babes, Sebastian Gaskin, Bicycle Face, Hera and Bobby Dove. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Pride Winnipeg's annual festival, rally and parade take place this weekend. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Pride Winnipeg's annual festival, rally and parade take place this weekend. Gather in front of the Manitoba Legislative Building at 10 a.m. on Sunday for a rally, followed by the Pride Parade, which begins at 11 a.m. on Memorial Boulevard with marchers and floats travelling eastbound on Portage Avenue to The Forks. The parade will be livestreamed on CTV Winnipeg with accessible indoor and outdoor viewing areas inside and in front of Canada Life Centre at 300 Portage Ave. ASL interpreters will be on hand during the rally. — Eva Wasney Iiiiit's Saturday Night Pride! With Jaylene Tyme! INSTAGRAM Drag queen Jaylene Tyme hosts Rainbow Resource Centre's Pride Weekend party. INSTAGRAM Drag queen Jaylene Tyme hosts Rainbow Resource Centre's Pride Weekend party. The veteran Vancouver drag artist — who was crowned Miss Congeniality in Season 5 of Canada's Drag Race — is headlining Rainbow Resource Centre's Pride Weekend party at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Tyme, a Two-Spirit Indigenous trans woman and advocate, uses her platform to empower her community and raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women, the '60s Scoop (of which she is a survivor) and truth and reconciliation. Canada's Drag Race fans will no doubt remember her show-stopping finale dress inspired by the Every Child Matters movement. Joining Tyme on Saturday is Cake, Rainbow Resource Centre's drag-artist-in-residence, and local performers Kymera and Jamie Allwood. DJ Princess Die will keep the dance floor packed all night. The event is 18+. — Jen Zoratti DAN DANIELSON PHOTO Club Happenings is hosting a Rainbow Rave. DAN DANIELSON PHOTO Club Happenings is hosting a Rainbow Rave. Dig out your dancing shoes for the ultimate Friday night Pride party; there's no better place to be. Dance your heart out to sets by an all-queer DJ lineup and feast your senses on electric drag performances. The night of queer joy, fierce beats and dazzling self-expression features headliner DJ Sydney from Toronto with local powerhouses NotMyAuthority, KvLTBABY, Dov and Inflo. Promising genre-defying sets that move from house and techno to bass, bounce and beyond, make sure you're prepped for the long-haul during this seven-hour rave extravaganza. — AV Kitching MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Meet at Upper Fort Garry tonight for a queer history walking tour. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Meet at Upper Fort Garry tonight for a queer history walking tour. For the next month, nearly every corporation, police service and level of government in Canada will be flying the rainbow flag, but less than 40 years ago, when Winnipeg had its first pride parade in 1987, participants still felt compelled to mask their faces with paper bags to protect their identities. It's a reminder that Winnipeg's queer history is one of persecution as well as celebration, a legacy represented in the city's queer walking tours. Join local cultural historian Britt Bauer tonight for the Winnipeg Queer History Walk, a free tour from Upper Fort Garry through downtown and the Exchange District. No registration needed — just show up with comfortable walking shoes. The Winnipeg Architecture Foundation also has a self-guided Winnipeg Queer History Tour, which covers resource and health centres, clandestine cruising spots, early gay bars and social clubs (did you know that Gio's was originally called the Winnipeg Gay Community Centre?). Visit for more information. —Conrad Sweatman LAUREN SIDDALL PHOTO Good Neighbour Brewing Co.'s patio turns into Queer Gardens this weekend. LAUREN SIDDALL PHOTO Good Neighbour Brewing Co.'s patio turns into Queer Gardens this weekend. Vintage threads, comedy, a queer-themed beer garden and drag queen karaoke: Sherbrook Street businesses have come together to throw a host of events as part of this year's Pride festivities. The West Broadway Pride block party kicks off tonight with a drag party at Good Neighbour Brewing Co. starting at 6 p.m. and a free Fruit Roll-Up Comedy Showcase at 8 p.m. at The Handsome Daughter. The crew at Chips Vintage are promising a special guest performer at 8 p.m., as well as 20 per cent off all in-store goods plus some limited-edition merchandise, with all proceeds going to Sunshine House. End the night back at The Handsome Daughter with live band karaoke and local drag queens. Tickets are $10 plus fees at Brightly coloured beers will be flowing today through Saturday at the Good Neighbour/Next Door patio, dubbed the Queer Gardens in honour of Pride. Beat the heat with the new quartet of Good Neighbour's Gaytorade sour brews featuring Slay Queen Orange, Electric Bear-y, Fruity Punch and Fierce Grape flavours. The Queer Gardens also hosts an acoustic set by Snackie on Friday and a sold-out Saturday brunch in collaboration with the Winnipeg Humane Society. — Ben Sigurdson
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Cannibal chronicle
Dauphin-raised playwright Sophie Guillas's appetite for small-town folk drama and queer fables emerges in How They'll Tell It, a gossipy dish set in a fictionalized resort community in her home province. Premièring tonight at the West End's Gargoyle Theatre, the first full-fledged production by the What If Theatre Company brings the audience to the shores of Waska, where a once-bustling tourism industry has withered away and died. What killed it was the type of trauma that envelops a community's total history — think Waco, Texas or Aurora, Colo. — and to a certain extent dictates its future reputation and atmosphere. In Waska, a cannibalistic spree in 1985 still reverberates decades later, with the wounds still open and painfully fresh, even for the generations born long after the police tape disappeared. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Maia Woods plays Celia and Jade Janzen is Ivy in How They'll Tell It, a local production premièring at the Gargoyle Theatre this week. After meeting the entire cast — Jade Janzen, Josh Pinette, Maia Woods, David Lange, Angela Robbie and Laurie Monk — on the first page, the story then shifts to one of Waska's abandoned, derelict cabins, where Ivy (Janzen) polishes off her own version of the property's backstory to interested buyers: whether its accurate, and whether accuracy in storytelling is even possible, defines the narrative that afterward unfolds. 'So much of the play has to do with community reception and who owns storytelling,' says What If's Cali Sproule, who directs, designed the set and serves as dramaturge. In a small community, says Oakbank's Sproule, information travels at lightning speeds, often without verification or sufficient interrogation — the printed legend maintains a lasting dominion as it spreads across the regional map. Guillas, who holds a master's degree in English from the University of Western Ontario, is a devotee of British playwright Caryl Churchill, and in her scholarship has focused on the intersections of queer history, horror stories and 'lady cannibalism.' Her thesis, which fed directly into the script, began as a slasher novel entitled What's Eating the Victorians? JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Laurie Monk as Jenny and Angela Robbie as Doreen. She and Sproule — who served as assistant director to Herbie Barnes on David McLeod's Elevate: Manaaji'idiwin at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre — have been working to bring the story to stage for the better part of two years. Last year, the company held a staged reading as part of the Village Conservatory for Music Theatre's Festival of New Works. With additional support from the Canada Council for the Arts and from the Gargoyle, a theatre dedicated to the development of new work, the production runs until June 8. At last year's Fringe Festival, Guillas and Sproule, who met through the University of Manitoba's Black Hole Theatre Company, collaborated on 40 Below, earning a three-fish review from Rory Runnells, who called the production 'sufficiently sturdy.' As a poet, Guillas has been published in The Fiddlehead, and her short fiction has appeared in FreeFall Magazine. Next up for the duo is the creation of a medieval murder mystery called The Garden Hermit, which recently received funding from the Manitoba Arts Council. photos by JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS From left: David Lange, Angela Robbie and Jade Janzen star in How They'll Tell It, a local production about a small town with a cannibalistic history. If you value coverage of Manitoba's arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. Ben WaldmanReporter Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University's (now Toronto Metropolitan University's) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben. Every piece of reporting Ben 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.
Winnipeg Free Press
15-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bass Pro Shops cuts 78 Winnipeg office jobs
Bass Pro Shops cut nearly 80 Winnipeg office jobs Wednesday, citing 'changing market dynamics.' The Missouri-based company merged with Cabela's eight years ago. The brands made a restructuring decision resulting in 78 positions being eliminated, an email signed by Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops Communications reads. Cabela's has its Canadian corporate office at 25 De Baets St. in Winnipeg. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Cabela's, which merged with Bass Pro Shops in 2017, has laid off 78 workers in Winnipeg. 'This new structure is intended to promote unity and consistency between U.S. and Canadian operations and better and more efficiently support our people and our customers,' the joint statement reads. It didn't answer how many staff remain at the Winnipeg office or which positions were affected. The terminations represent a 3.1 per cent reduction of the company's 2,438 Canadian workforce. Staff working in the company's 16 Canadian stores aren't affected, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's said. Every employee leaving will receive severance, extended benefits and transition support, the statement noted. 'The decision to eliminate any staff position is something the company considers with great care,' Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops wrote. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'We know we have the best professionals in the industry. At the same time, Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops are steadfast in our commitment to deliver the absolute best value in the marketplace and this requires us to remain efficient.' Bass Pro Shops announced its plan to acquire Cabela's for roughly US$5.5 billion in 2016. At the time, Cabela's had 85 outlets, mostly in Canada and the western United States. Bass Pro Shops, meanwhile, had 99 stores and Tracker Marine Centres largely found in the countries' eastern sides. Bass Pro Shops now counts almost 200 retail stores and marine centres across the continent. Cabela's first opened its flagship store in Winnipeg, at 580 Sterling Lyon Pkwy., in 2013. The sign changed to say Bass Pro Shops last year. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle 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.
Winnipeg Free Press
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba, Ottawa say $4.8-B lawsuit over Lake Winnipeg should be tossed
The Manitoba and federal governments denied any wrongdoing as they asked a court to reject a lawsuit filed by First Nations over the effect of sewage spills and pollution on Lake Winnipeg. In separate statements of defence, the two levels of government say their conduct didn't harm the First Nations. The First Nations claim in the lawsuit, launched a year ago, that decades of pollution that ended up into the Red and Assiniboine rivers, which flow into Lake Winnipeg, have caused physical, psychological, social and cultural harms to their communities. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES The lawsuit was launched after more than 200 million litres of raw sewage got into the Red River when a municipal sewer pipe broke in February 2024. The suit was launched after more than 200 million litres of raw sewage got into the Red River when a municipal sewer pipe broke in February 2024. The $4.8-billion lawsuit, filed in the Manitoba Court of King's Bench by eight First Nations, names the municipal, provincial and federal governments as defendants. The plaintiffs were Black River, Berens River, Brokenhead, Hollow Water, Kinonjeoshtegon (Jackhead), Misipawistik (Grand Rapids), Sagkeeng and Poplar River. Bloodvein, Dauphin River and Fisher River Cree First Nations have since signed on as plaintiffs. In its submission, the province says the nutrient load in Lake Winnipeg — increased nitrogen and phosphorous, which contribute to increasingly frequent algae blooms — can be blamed on various sources, including climate change, agriculture, urban and industrial development as well as wastewater, and it would be 'challenging' to attribute it to one source. Manitoba argues, on top of its environment and water legislation, it has various programs to monitor the lake and surrounding communities. It said it isn't responsible for promises made in treaties that were signed by the federal Crown. The province asserts it exercises due diligence and takes appropriate regulatory action to deal with the City of Winnipeg's sewage spill infractions, including by pursuing charges under the Environment Act, as it did in response to the February 2024 spill. The province argues the City of Winnipeg is responsible for its wastewater system and must inform affected communities when there's a sewage spill. The province notes that water quality in First Nations is a federal responsibility. Further, the province says, parts of the claim are barred under the Limitations Act. It filed a cross claim against the city. The federal government, in its statement of defence, acknowledges the effect of sewage on the lake, but says other sources in the watershed have also polluted the water. It argues it has gone to considerable lengths to study and improve the health of the lake as a matter of public policy. Ottawa says the city must adhere to federal regulations on pollution and the senior level of government investigates and pursues regulatory actions when rules aren't followed. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up Last month, Ottawa slapped the city with a federal Fisheries Act charge in connection with the 2024 spill. The City of Winnipeg, in court filings last week, argued the 2024 incident and other sewage spills have little effect on pollution in Lake Winnipeg, while the blame for water-quality issues falls to the province and Ottawa for not providing enough money to upgrade Winnipeg's sewer system. The city argued other sources predominantly affect the lake and that reducing or eliminating contributions from the municipal sewer system would not restore Lake Winnipeg to its natural condition or eliminate the issues, as the First Nations alleged in their lawsuit. The city argued the other two governments have jurisdiction to regulate effects to Lake Winnipeg. It launched cross claims against the two senior governments. Erik Pindera Reporter Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press , mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik. Every piece of reporting Erik 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.
