What’s up: Comiccon, Waubgeshig Rice, Hallow-Queens, Dean Brody and a Halloween Howl for the kids

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/10/2023 (1000 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Comiccon takes over downtown

Friday to Sunday, Oct. 27-29, RBC Convention Centre

Single-day general admission tickets $20, children under 12 free at comicconwinnipeg.com

Full weekend packages available

Gather your Sharpies and ready your costumes, fans: it’s Winnipeg Comiccon weekend.

This annual pop-culture convention has a particular focus on comic books (and all their spinoffs), sci-fi, horror, anime and gaming, and will take over three floors of the convention centre with exhibition booths, panel discussions and cosplay meetups — and, of course, the chance to score an autograph from your favourite superhero or baddie.

Actors Carl Weathers (The Mandalorian, Rocky, Predator), Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Walking Dead, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian, Breaking Bad, The Boys), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2) and Emily Swallow (The Mandalorian, Supernatural, Castlevania) are just some of the actors who will be at the con, while a host of comic-book artists — including Archie’s Dan Parent and Preacher’s Glenn Farby — will also be on hand.

Single-day tickets as well as full weekend packages are available. Visit comicconwinnipeg.com for prices, schedules, hours and FAQ.

— Jen Zoratti

An evening with Waubgeshig Rice

Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.

McNally Robinson Booksellers, Grant Park location

Free admission

Five years ago, Sudbury, Ont.-based author Waubgeshig Rice’s breakout bestselling novel Moon of the Crusted Snow introduced readers to Evan Whitesky. The power having mysteriously gone out on Evan’s remote northern Canadian reservation, he and the Anishinaabe community grapple with the ensuing harsh weather, hardships and a growing sense of dread and panic.

With his new book, Moon of the Turning Leaves, Rice reunites readers with Evan Whitesky more than 10 years after the lights went out as he and the remaining members of the community, having left the reservation, venture through the bush in the hopes of surviving and eventually thriving, rekindling ancient traditions and hoping for new beginnings along the way.

Originally from Wasauksing First Nation near Georgian Bay, Rice turned to writing full time after serving as a host and journalist for CBC, including a stint in Winnipeg. He returns to the city Friday, and will read from Moon of the Turning Leaves and discuss the book with Cree broadcaster, storyteller and author Rosanna Deerchild at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location in an event co-presented with the Winnipeg International Writers Festival.

Admission to the launch of Moon of the Turning Leaves is free, and will also be streamed for viewing on McNally Robinson’s YouTube channel.

— Ben Sigurdson

Bow down to the Hallow-Queens

Saturday, Oct. 28, 8 p.m. onwards

Club 200, 190 Garry St

Admission $10

Get tarted up in your best drag finery for Club 200’s spooky festivities. Now in its 35th year, the venue’s Halloween party is a costume contest and dance party combined. There’s $500 in cash prizes up for grabs for the most inventive and spectacular costume, so if you’ve got it, haunt it!

“Halloween is known as gay Christmas; it’s the night that a lot of people within our community try drag for the first time,” says club manager Kelly McIvor.

The event is hosted by Zova da Silva, Miss Club 200, and club matriarch Anita Stallion.

So grab your ghoul-friends and get your Drag-ula on for what promises to be a howlin’ good time.

—AV Kitching

Dean Brody goes acoustic for weekend casino concerts

Saturday, Oct. 28, and Sunday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m.

Club Regent Event Centre

Tickets: $54.41-$78.46 at ticketmaster.ca or casinosofwinnipeg.com

Dean Brody usually cranks up the amps when he performs at hockey arenas across the country.

Saturday and Sunday however, the Canadian country-music star will turn down the volume for an intimate pair of concerts at the Club Regent Event Centre.

The shows are part of a cross-Canada acoustic fall tour supporting his 2023 album, Right Round Here, his eighth full-length studio release.

His songs failed to earn him a Canadian Country Music Award in September, but the country-rocker didn’t go home empty-handed.

He was given the Gary Slaight Music Humanitarian Award at the Hamilton, Ont., ceremony for his global projects with the Dean Brody Foundation, most notably a partnership with the International Justice Mission to prevent online sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines.

— Alan Small

Halloween Howl at the Children’s Museum

Saturday, Oct. 28, 6 to 9 p.m.

Children’s Museum, 45 Forks Market Rd.

Tickets: $18, visit childrensmuseum.com for more info

Ghouls and goblins are taking over the Children’s Museum this Saturday for the facility’s 25th annual Halloween Howl event. Creepy, kid-friendly crafts and trick-or-treat stations will be posted throughout the museum’s 12 galleries.

Featured events include a dance party hosted by DJ Mama Cutsworth, a magic show by local magician Evan Morgan, spooky experiments with Let’s Talk Science and a meet-and-greet with some feathered residents of Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.

Healthy snacks and candy will be available. While costumes are encouraged, please leave mask and weapon accessories at home.

— Eva Wasney

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.