What’s up: Caskivus, Cre8ery, BTO sing-along, wreath-making and more

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This article was published 28/11/2024 (600 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Caskivus offers small-batch brews, makers market

• Barn Hammer Brewing Co., 595 Wall St.
• Saturday, from 2 p.m.
• Free admission

West End brewery Barn Hammer Brewing Co. welcomes a handful of local makers on Saturday, who will be shilling their wares alongside some special, small-batch cask beers for thirsty shoppers.

Among the limited-run cask brews being offered by Barn Hammer at Caskivus are a cookie stout, wet-hopped IPA, fig stout, double dry-hopped IPA and a fruit-salad mead, with a cask of mulled wine being tapped for the event to put the festive feels over the top.

Prairie Wolf Bakery will also be on hand with a range of sweet treats (think cookies, scones, cinnamon knots and the like), which will make for fun and tasty pairings.

Local makers on hand for Caskivus include Hannah Guthrie Designs, the Knotty Menno, Jaya’s Preserves, Prairie Sun Beeswax and Belvedere Soap Company. Table fees from vendors are being donated to End Homelessness Winnipeg.

The taps get flowing starting at 2 p.m. until the small-batch brews run out, with makers peddling their goods through to 6 p.m. Admission to Caskivus is free.

— Ben Sigurdson

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An artful reunion

• Cre8ery Gallery and Studio, 125 Adelaide St.
• Today until Dec. 17
• Free admission, visit cre8ery.com for gallery hours

After nearly 50 years, an art teacher and student have reconnected for a joint exhibit at the Cre8ery, entitled Full Circle.

Leon Pewarchuk was Dave Colvin’s high school art teacher for three years until his graduation in 1977. It was a formative period for Colvin, who recalls building sets for school musicals and making pizza in the art room’s kiln — memorable experiences that helped inform his unorthodox art practice.

Pewarchuk holds a fine art degree from the University of Manitoba and spent his teaching career leading art, advertising and graphic design classes. Since retiring 25 years ago, he’s returned to oil painting for pleasure with a focus on natural landscapes inspired by his cottage in northwestern Ontario.

After high school, Colvin pursued a career in behavioural health and has continued to make art. His subjects range from humans to animals to inanimate objects to streetscapes portrayed in watercolour, gouache, acrylic and other media. He takes inspiration from dreams, unexpected narratives and human emotions.

Both artists will be at the Cre8ery for meet and greets today through Saturday, and at various times during the exhibit. The gallery is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.

— Eva Wasney

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Belt out the BTO at Winnipeg Sings-Along

• Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra
• Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq, 300 Memorial Blvd.
• Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
• Tickets: $45 adults, $22 for students or under 30 at winnipegjazzorchestra.com

Shower singer? Car belter? Karaoke star? Whatever your style, warm up those pipes and join Al Simmons, Sol James and the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra as they lead a city-sized sing-along through Winnipeg’s estimable back catalogue.

As part of the Winnipeg 150 City of Song celebrations, this show pays tribute to our influential music scene with performances of reimagined classics by Neil Young, BTO, the Weakerthans, Rick Neufeld, Fred Penner, Chantal Kreviazuk and more.

And if you act fast, you can take advantage of a Black Friday sale for Winnipeg Sings-Along: buy one ticket and get the second for 40 per cent off using the discount code “black.” Note: the offer is for online tickets only and cannot be applied to tickets purchased day of.

— Jen Zoratti

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Boniface

• Sidestage, 700 Osborne St.
• Saturday
• Tickets $25 at sidestage.com

Meadows

• Public Domain, 633 Portage Ave.
• Saturday, 8 p.m.
• Tickets: $18 at reallovewpg.com

Hard at work on her band’s first album as a signee to Winnipeg’s House of Wonders, Boniface’s Michele Visser brings her dynamic, expansive brand of danceable indie rock to Sidestage, the newest venue for live music in South Osborne. Joined live by an all-star band (Alex Braun, Charlotte Friesen, Joseph Visser and Druman Capote), Visser — one of Winnipeg’s finest songwriters — continues to chart exciting new paths for herself and her fans. Openers are Taylor Jackson and Synthetic Friend.

Hugely influenced by Winnipeg shoegazers Living Hour, LH member Adam Soloway’s work in Central Heat Exchange and by his own friends in Jamboree, The Birds Took You Away is the latest independent release from Meadows, the serene recording project of Winnipeg’s Isiah Schellenberg.

Never are those influences more apparent than on Lifetime, a glowing light midway through the 30-minute album’s tunnel of loves reconsidered. Mixed and mastered by Lino D’Ottavio (Dangler, Baseball Hero), The Birds Took You Away will be played live on Saturday, with opening acts Prairie and Our Friend, Oscar.

— Ben Waldman

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Holiday Wreath Making

• The Pourium, 942 Portage Ave.
• Tuesday, 6.30 p.m.
• Tickets: $149 from thepourium.com

Usher in festive feelings at the Pourium’s inaugural wreath-making class, where you’ll get a chance to sample three New and Old World wines — a white, a red and a rose — as you create a holiday wreath with guidance from Winnipeg floral boutique Addison Taylor Design.

“It’s a different way to usher in the holiday season. You get to hang out with your friends, create something beautiful to take home, and try some new wines,’ says Rayna DeBow of the Pourium.

The event is limited to just 20 participants. Wreath supplies will be provided by the Addison Taylor Design.

Deadline to sign up for the event is Friday.

— AV Kitching

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The Barra MacNeils: An East Coast Christmas

Centennial Concert Hall

Sunday, 7 p.m.

Tickets: $32-$55 at centennialconcerthall.com

It’s usually agreed that November is too early for Christmas music.

But Dec. 1 couldn’t come soon enough for fans of the Barra MacNeils, the Celtic folk rockers who give us a taste of Christmas in the East Coast this Sunday at the Centennial Concert Hall.

The five-time East Coast Music Award winners channel an older tradition of Christmas festivities, rooted in ceilidhs (Scottish and Irish social gatherings), Gaelic ballads and midnight masses.

But therein lies their source of energy, with concerts abounding in foot-stomping instrumentals and rousing choruses that showcase the McNeils’ vocals. The family began performing as children together in 1980, and today the Nova Scotian band counts six siblings as members — and two Junos on their mantle, one for Album of the Year and one for Group of the Year.

The band feels honed by time – 45 years of playing music that one almost imagines shaped by the Atlantic Ocean itself, crashing onto the shores of Cape Breton (the band’s hometown). But there’s a sentimental lightness to the Barra MacNeils, a pop cleanness that makes them a natural opener for acts like Céline Dion, with whom they’ve played before.

This is the first of several Christmas-themed concerts that warm up the Centennial Concert Hall this December.

— Conrad Sweatman

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