Raising their voices

Folk fest donates leftover food to Siloam Mission

Thousands of meals will be served at Siloam Mission this week thanks to a massive food donation from the Winnipeg Folk Festival.

More than 4,200 pounds — about two tonnes — of surplus food from the four-day festival that wrapped up Sunday was delivered to the mission on Monday.

The donation, consisting of prepared food, protein, dairy and fresh produce, is expected to provide enough ingredients to prepare about 6,000 meals for people experiencing homelessness and poverty.

“We are part of the Winnipeg community and when we can give back, we do,” said folk festival executive director Valerie Shantz.

Toys ‘R’ Us closing Polo Park store

Embattled toy retailer Toys “R” Us is closing its store in Winnipeg’s Polo Park area.

Staff hung signs sharing the news — and advertising liquidation pricing — on Friday. The signage does not indicate when the store, located at 1445 St. Matthews Ave., will close for good.

A store manager declined to comment on Monday, directing a reporter to Toys “R” Us Canada Ltd.’s head office. The company did not respond to interview requests.

Toys “R” Us announced in January it would close its Polo Park location, but reversed course a few weeks later. The Canada-wide company has been in creditor protection since February.

Carney trumps Trump with Gordie Howe bridge deal

The dispute over the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge was always and only going to end when U.S. President Donald Trump could declare he had got the better deal.

Even when he didn’t.

Trump gleefully posted on social media Saturday that after refusing to allow the completed bridge between Windsor and Detroit to open in late June, he got a “MUCH BETTER DEAL” from Prime Minister Mark Carney. Political opponents and a handful of opinion writers rushed to shake their heads at how Carney was used and abused by the big fella in Washington.

It’s not surprising that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre would do an end-zone dance as he lamented Carney’s “terrible deal; the leader of the official opposition’s default setting is “condemn.”

Raising their voices

A need for representative Indigenous voices in theatre has existed for decades. But in the aftermath of the discovery of the remains of 215 children buried on the grounds of a Kamloops residential school, the urgency of that need feels even more pronounced.

It is a need addressed in the Pimootayowin Creators Circle, an initiative supported by the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. Led by established playwright Ian Ross (fareWel, The Third Colour), the circle started meeting online weekly in November with the goal that each of its six Indigenous or Métis participants would create a play. The novice playwrights include Lynette Bonin, Jim Compton, Rosanna Deerchild, Kathleen MacLean, Dave McLeod and Tracey Nepinak.

Today, the fruits of that labour go public with five evenings of readings; all seven plays will be broadcast free on YouTube from Tuesday to Saturday. (In addition to the six playwrights, Ross’s circle assistant, Winnipeg Métis performer Katie German, is also contributing a play.)

In a phone interview, Ross says he initially did not expect the group would all produce finished scripts, adding that he encouraged participants to come up with a draft, but didn’t put pressure on them to complete anything.

Look who’s coming back: a sneak peek at fringe faves

It’s all in the game at this year’s Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival. Though the majority of the indie performances at this year’s fest don’t have to do with video games, the “Play Hard” theme will surely yield dozens of critical hits for veterans and newbs alike.