What’s up

Franco Foot

• Centre culturel franco-manitobain, 340 Provencher Blvd.
• Through June 26
• Free entry, reservations at ccfm.mb.ca

Looking for somewhere cool to cheer on Morocco (5 p.m.) and Haiti (7:30 p.m.) this vendredi, Ivory Coast (3 p.m.) on samedi, or Egypt (8 p.m.) this coming dimanche?

Head to the Centre culturel franco-manitobain for Franco Foot, the St. Boniface venue’s ongoing celebration of the French-speaking nations playing for international glory in the FIFA men’s World Cup. With free access for all attendees, it’s a perfect way to catch the match alongside a community of family, friends and respectful rivals. A full schedule is available at ccfm.mb.ca.

After the games end on Saturday, the CCFM’s Le Patio 340 will be bumping when folk duo Burnstick takes the stage. Follow the Call singer Kwiat — an avant-pop singer whose music has hints of Fiona Apple and Regina Spektor — is also set to play. The free concert begins at 8 p.m.

— Ben Waldman

 

The Moth Dreamer book launch

• Raven’s End Books, 1859 Portage Ave.
• Monday, 7 p.m.
• Free admission

Winnipeg-based Eabametoong First Nation author and University of Manitoba professor Amy Lynn Farrell launches her latest book for young readers on Monday at Raven’s End Books.

Published in April by Highwater Press, an imprint of Portage & Main Press, The Moth Dreamer is Farrell’s first work of fiction, and is aimed at readers aged 12 to 15. The novel follows Aubrey, a 16-year-old girl who foresaw her cousin’s death in a vision but did nothing to stop it. As her disturbing visions increase, a trickster begins visiting her dreams before crossing into the real world, forcing Aubrey to come to terms with her guilt once and for all.

Farrell’s book is a haunted coming-of-age story rooted in Anishinaabe story that explores high school angst and the complexity of family dynamics. Copies of The Moth Dreamer include discussion questions about the book.

— Ben Sigurdson

 

Brunchfest

• Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:25 p.m.
• Upper Fort Garry, 130 Main St.
• Tickets $88 at letsbrunch.ca

The mimosas will be flowing and the breakfast bites will be sizzling at Upper Fort Garry this Saturday for Brunchfest.

Tickets to the annual outdoor food festival include unlimited cocktails, mocktails and caffeinated beverages, as well as one food item from each of the participating vendors — the 44, Aroma Bistro, the Patty Shack, OEB Breakfast Co., Woodbine Burgers, Milksmith and Pür & Simple.

Those who arrive early will also be able to snag baked goods from Avril’s Baked Joy and Indulge Bakery & Café. Supplies limited.

Entertainment includes a golf simulator (a last-minute Father’s Day idea, perhaps?), lawn games and music by DJ DLO.

This event is intended for those 18 years and up.

— Eva Wasney

 

Garden Party in the Gallery

• Soul Gallery
• Hammond Building, 65 Albert St.
• Thursday, June 25, 4-7 p.m.
• Free

Soul Gallery will be in full bloom next week as it kicks off summer with its first-ever garden party in the gallery.

The three-hour early-evening event highlights artworks with strong focus on summer in Manitoba. Expect to see florals and nature-themed pieces on the gallery walls.

Guests are invited to dress in their finest garden party attire as they enjoy the evening’s live music and refreshments.

If that weren’t enough. there will also be a flash sale starting today and running to June 30, with 12 per cent off art from participating artists and custom framing.

— AV Kitching

 

Tönky Hönk: The ËP release concert

• Sidestage, 700 Osborne St.
• Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
• Tickets: sidestagewpg.com

They don’t look or sound like honky-tonk, while somehow looking and sounding everything like Tönky Hönk. Whatever that is.

Listening to the duo’s new 10-track album — which they release Tuesday at Sidestage — long enough to be an LP but entitled The ËP, you’ll hear Fender Rhodes pianos, music boxes, toy pianos, prepared pianos. Every type of alt-keyboard, it would seem — except the old upright acoustic pianos that define the honky-tonk sound.

Tönky Hönk’s members, Madeline Hildebrand and Everett Hopfner, have standout classical creds. Both are winners of Canada’s Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition. Hildebrand (a faculty music professor at Memorial University in St. John’s, N.L.) has performed alongside such artists as Philip Glass and the Kronos Quartet, while Hopfner is the former director of Brandon University’s music conservatory.

And yet, for all the album press release’s high-falutin classical verbiage, there’s something delightfully low-fi about The ËP. With its lush jazz-tinged soundscapes — sparse but with ample room for Hopfner and Hildebrand’s startling virtuosity to really rip — it’s not easy listening, but it’s sure easy to listen to.

— Conrad Sweatman