Price of preserving city's good name: $32

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Emergency surgery or not, Krista Deonarine wasn't about to miss her wedding to Jim Morden.

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Randy Bachman (above) will perform at a Les Paul tribute in New York City.

‘I came out of rehearsal and my bike seat was gone!" says Toronto actor Rosemary Doyle, who pedals every day to practices for My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding.

 The Winnipeg Studio Theatre's new play opens Thursday at the the Tom Hendry warehouse theatre. "When I first moved into my neighbourhood in Toronto it was quite rough, so I'm a little street smart. First, I went walking down the street, asking people where they'd go to sell somebody's bike seat. Then, I walked my bike to Mountain Equipment Co-op on Portage. I was complaining that I live 10 kilometres from rehearsal and the man I'm billeting with had lent me his bike."

Out of nowhere this man who looked like God or an angel, with snow-white hair and a bit of a beard, said, "Put this lady's bike seat on this credit card. I want people to know Winnipeg is a good place." And it got even better, says the actor. "They didn't have the right pole to go with the bike seat, so they called Gooch's (Bicycle & Hobby Shop) who were closing, and they said they'd stay open late for me to put it on. I rode over without the seat, and when I got there they said, 'Come on in. We've been waiting for you...' Friendly Manitoba is correct!"

Yours truly tracked down "God." Ross McGowan, president and CEO of CentreVenture Development Corp., confesses it was he, all right. "She was distressed! I said, 'Excuse me. We can't have this happen. My apologies!' She was from Toronto and I thought, 'Thank God I could do this. All we need is somebody going back to Toronto with this story! For $32, you can buy a lot of goodwill for the city.' "

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IN OVERDRIVE: Bachman & Turner are making a rare, intimate appearance in New York City at the 180-seat Iridium nightclub in a few weeks. They're helping celebrate famous musician Les Paul's birthday with Big Apple media and entertainment big names like Thunder Bay-born Paul Shaffer, band leader for the Late Show with David Letterman.

Les Paul was born June 9, 1915, and became famous as a musician and musical inventor, playing a 10-year weekly gig with his trio at The Iridium for 10 years until 2009, when he died at age 94. As his first tune, Randy Bachman is doing a song taught to him in person by the guitar great in Winnipeg when he was only a lad of 17. "Les Paul was playing the Rancho Don Carlos nightclub on Pembina Highway, and Bachman was too young to get in the door," says Bachman & Turner's manager Gilles Paquin. "But Randy went anyway, and got to watch the show from the kitchen." The kid was in luck. Paul not only answered his questions, but taught him the chords to How High is The Moon, which was a hit for Paul and his wife Mary Ford. "He was a big influence on Randy, and they kept in touch over the years," says Paquin. "When Les died, his widow actually called to tell Randy."

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WEDDING: When stunning bride Krista Deonarine married her groom Jim Morden last Saturday, it was nothing short of a miracle. She'd had emergency surgery for a bowel obstruction at Health Sciences Centre less than a week before her wedding. Bandaged and braced by a beautiful lace-up dress, she had enough support to walk down the aisle and enjoy her beautiful wedding at the Winnipeg Art Gallery and reception at The Fairmont.

"My nurse Miranda helped me practise walking down the aisle on the ward," said Deonarine, and she's one tough girl -- a respiratory therapist at St. Boniface General Hospital and high-performance coach for Synchro Swim Manitoba. She wasn't about to miss her own wedding but the honeymoon went by the wayside. "We're having a Stay-at-Home-y-Moon and resting up." Husband Jim, who works at Pavilion Investment House says, "It was really scary and terrible for Krista. But, she was determined to go with Plan A and she got better every day. As much as the wedding day is about the couple, it's about the bride," he said, sweetly.

Got tips, events, sightings, unusual things going on? Call Maureen's tip line at 474-1116, email maureen.scurfield@winnipegfreepress.com or send mail to The Insider, c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg R2X 3B6

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 9, 2012 B2