What’s up: Experimental music, food and brews, Bike Week birthday bash

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This article was published 08/06/2023 (1194 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A cluster of experimental music

Friday to Sunday

Various times and locations

Visit clusterfestival.com for more info

The 2023 edition of Winnipeg’s Cluster Festival — an annual celebration of experimental music and multimedia art — wraps up this weekend with three days of live performances.

On Friday, Christine Fellows and Matt Foster take the stage for a double bill at the West End Cultural Centre (586 Ellice Ave.). Fellows will be sharing music from her 2022 release, Stuff We All Get, as a chamber quartet alongside collage stop-motion animation, while Foster will be performing with an eight-piece ensemble accompanied by visuals. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 at Eventbrite.

Saturday’s Ambiences show at the Video Pool Media Arts Centre (100 Arthur St.) features local experimental sound artists Meanspath, Mutable Body, Brady Allard and Memorypond showcase ambient music with a late 1960s/early ‘70s vibe. Doors are at 7:30 p.m., tickets are $20.

Head back to the West End Cultural Centre on Sunday for an inventive and immersive show entitled Sense Memory. Saskatoon artist Respectfulchild will take a blindfolded audience on a sonic journey of violin and electronic music. Vancouver musician Roxanne Nesbitt will close out the evening with a collection of improvised compositions on ceramic instruments. Doors are at 7 p.m., tickets are $20.

— Eva Wasney

Sandman, Neighbour Andy, Ben Notes

Park Theatre

Saturday, 9 p.m.

Tickets $20 at myparktheatre.com

“So you’re telling me I can’t have a dream,” Winnipeg’s Sandman says to open Head Start, the final track on last year’s album Nice Guys Finish Last, a nine-track blend of funky pop with a hint of early 2000s radio-friendly R&B.

Now, the singer is waiting for someone to pinch him: he’s playing the Park Theatre with a pair of openers also starting to make names for themselves in the city.

Usually armed with an acoustic guitar, 19-year-old Ben Notes makes contemplative pop that’s wise beyond his years, using simple lyrics to tell the world how he really feels. “I can’t let you go ‘cause if I do then I’m on my own, and I ain’t ready for that,” he sings on Back and Forth, a single from 2022.

Also on the bill is Neighbour Andy, a sweet-singing quintet known for its velvety grooves. Taking Flight, the band’s most recent single, is more atmospheric than the band’s self-titled 2022 EP, and would be welcome listening to fans of Kevin Morby or a brighter version of the War on Drugs.

— Ben Waldman

Chef Ben Kramer and Harold Mitchell’s Made With Love pop up

Sookram’s Brewing Co., 479-B Warsaw Ave.

Saturday, 2 p.m. until sold out

Free

Roaming chefs Ben Kramer and Harold Mitchell are setting up shop at Sookram’s Brewing Co., serving up all manner of tasty treats to enjoy alongside core pours and new brews from the Warsaw Avenue brewery.

The Made With Love pop-up starts Saturday at 2 p.m. until Kramer and Mitchell sell out of their dishes, including their takes on tostadas, cups of noodles and tuna salad (vegan options are available).

In addition to a couple of special casks being tapped by Sookram’s, the brewery will also be debuting Love, a new IPA brewed with Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe hops. A portion of the proceeds of Love will go towards Kramer’s Made With Love campaign, which has provided more than 94,000 healthy meals to vulnerable people in Winnipeg since it was launched in 2019.

For those who can’t make it on Saturday, Kramer is also holding a Made With Love fundraiser on Friday, June 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Royal MTC John Hirsch Mainstage (174 Market Ave.), which will feature 10 food stations with eats from Kramer and Clementine, Yujiro, Two Hands, Sous Sol, Thermea, Harth and more. Tickets are $75 at chefbenkramer.com.

— Ben Sigurdson

Bike Week celebrates the big 1-0 with birthday bash

Sunday, 1-3 p.m.

Manitoba legislative grounds

Free

Get on your bikes and ride: Bike Week 2023 winds up with an afternoon of family-friendly activities, games, culture and music in honour of its 10th birthday.

Papa Mambo, James Culleton’s SuperFun Show and DJ Mama Cutsworth will supply the tunes. The best mechanics in the city will face off in the Bike Olympics. Photo booths, bike-themed crafts, obstacle courses, a gigantic slide, a mobile plant sale and a host of other games and activities will be on offer — plus free hotdogs for the first 100 attendees.

The fun doesn’t stop at 3 p.m., though. Riders can join the Pinata Pedal Party from 3 to 4 p.m. — where your challenge, should you choose to accept it, will be smacking down pinatas while in the saddle — and the Bike Week After Party from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Beer Can (1 Granite Way), where the first 60 riders will receive a complimentary beverage and DJ Hunnicut will spin tunes.

— Jen Zoratti

Interlake artists catch the Wave

Various venues in the Interlake region

Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Free

Eighteen Interlake-based artists will open their studios, forges and other working spaces this weekend for the twice-annual Wave Interlake Artists Studio Tour.

There are several painters welcoming visitors this year, but other Wave artists work in sculpting, cartooning, ceramics, glasswork, jewelry, metal, paper and wood carving. The tour spans from as far north as Arborg to St. Andrews, where Cloverdale Forge and Oak Hammock Pottery are located.

Two new artists are part of this weekend’s tour: Arborg area painter Georgina Ball welcomes visitors to Giddy Cat Studio, while glass artist Pat Klymkiw opens the doors to Metalissima Contemporary Glass Design in Sandy Hook. Jeweller CJ Tennant rejoins the tour in 2023 at a new location in Ponemah.

Visit watchthewave.ca for an online guide, which includes printable maps of the Interlake area, Gimli, Winnipeg Beach and the beach communities of Matlock, Whytewold, Ponemah and Sandy Hook. The tour also has its own app, which can be obtained at Apple’s App Store or Google Play.

The artists’ fall tour takes place Sept. 2 and 3.

— Alan Small