What’s up: Jaws, Big Sun, Sea Bears, Paper Cities, Jazz Meets Art

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Summer Movie Night: Jaws Barn Hammer Brewing Co., 595 Wall St. Today, 7 p.m. Free It was the first film to be marketed in North America on LaserDisc (in MCA DiscoVision, no less). The main character doesn’t have a name, but was dubbed Bruce by its co-stars. And a prosthetic arm made for the film didn’t look realistic enough, so a cast member was buried in the sand with only her arm sticking out.

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Summer Movie Night: Jaws

  • Barn Hammer Brewing Co., 595 Wall St.
  • Today, 7 p.m.
  • Free

It was the first film to be marketed in North America on LaserDisc (in MCA DiscoVision, no less). The main character doesn’t have a name, but was dubbed Bruce by its co-stars. And a prosthetic arm made for the film didn’t look realistic enough, so a cast member was buried in the sand with only her arm sticking out.

Steven Speilberg’s Jaws invented the summer blockbuster in 1975.
Steven Speilberg’s Jaws invented the summer blockbuster in 1975.

Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film Jaws was a sensation upon release, overtaking The Godfather as the highest grossing film at the North American box office (a title it held until Star Wars was released two years later). The film follows the plight of a New England town terrorized by a massive great white shark, and the ragtag trio that set out to take down the beast after a series of attacks.

Tonight at Barn Hammer, you can revisit the film that had so many afraid to go in the water (and spawned Roy Scheider’s infamous line “you’re going to need a bigger boat” which, according to IMDb, he improvised).

The film gets going at 7:30 p.m., but pop by the brewery tap room beforehand for some pre-show trivia (such as the above nuggets). There will be happy hour-priced pints, a themed cocktail and even a candy bar for viewers of all ages to enjoy. Admission is free.

And see if you can spot Peter Benchley, the author of the novel Jaws, who appears as a reporter on the beach in the film.

Ben Sigurdson


Winnipeg Night Market x Winnipeg Sea Bears

  • True North Square and Graham Avenue
  • Friday and Saturday, 2-10 p.m.
  • Free

Find delicious eats, local shopping, live entertainment and basketball-themed fan experiences downtown this weekend as the Winnipeg Night Market returns in a collaboration with the Winnipeg Sea Bears, who will finish their regular season this weekend before heading to the playoffs for the fourth year in a row

The Sea Bears’ final regular-season home game is Friday night at Canada Life Centre, where they will take on the Ottawa BlackJacks. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $33.75 at Ticketmaster.

Jen Zoratti


Screen-Free Sundays: Paper Cities

  • Dalnavert Museum and Visitors’ Centre, 61 Carlton St.
  • Sunday, 1-2 p.m.
  • Tickets $5 at friendsofdalnavert.ca

Young architects are invited to create their own pop-up paper-bag building inspired by Winnipeg’s historical architecture during this child-friendly workshop.

Children will learn all about the details of Victorian and Edwardian architecture, including towers, porches, bay windows, decorative trim and colourful facades, before designing and building their own 3D creation using paper bags and collage materials.

The paper buildings can then be combined to create a miniature streetscape.

AV Kitching


WAG Wednesday Nights

  • Winnipeg Art Gallery, 300 Memorial Blvd.
  • Wednesday, 5-9 p.m.
  • Free

Since January, the WAG has been throwing a salon-style event every Wednesday, four hours of DJs, art tours and creative pop-ups to make you forget it’s still only the hump day.

Next Wednesday, they present Jazz Meets Art: An Evening of Music Inspired by Chromatic Structures, which riffs on paintings by Canadians Robert Sakowski and Paul Hutner.

Chromatic Structures here refers to the name of this exhibition, with its paintings’ hard-edged use of chromatic colours characteristic of the “post-painterly abstraction” movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. But there’s a little in-joke here, since chromaticism — using tones outside the regular scales for added colour — is also a favourite technique of many jazz musicians.

The trio assembled — vocalist Karly Epp, bassist Karl Kohut and guitarist Emmanuel Bach (no relation to J.S.) — are all pillars of the local jazz scene, comfortable with both soothing standards and more abstract experimentation. Doors open at 5 p.m. and galleries are open until 9 p.m.; the trio performs 7 to 7:40 p.m. and 8 to 8:30 p.m.

Conrad Sweatman


Big Sun Festival

  • Blue Note Park, 220 Main St.
  • Friday and Saturday
  • Two-day pass: $50; single day tickets $29 at 3common.com

Eleven acts head to Blue Note Park for the fourth annual Big Sun Festival, with Friday’s lineup featuring two bands aptly named for our overwhelming summer climate: Warming and Freak Heat Waves. Warming is an act well-known to Winnipeg music fans as the ever-inventive indie project of frontman Brady Allard, who has spent the past few years mostly focused on sound design and experimental work across the city.

Singer-songwriter Sam Singer his band the Beautiful Movers play the Big Sun Festival Friday.(Mike Sudoma / Free Press files)
Singer-songwriter Sam Singer his band the Beautiful Movers play the Big Sun Festival Friday.(Mike Sudoma / Free Press files)

Can it get hotter than Warming? Freak Heat Waves says yes. With danceable, stonky instrumentation and haunting vocalizations, the duo has become a cult favourite, collaborating with top Canadian artists, particularly in Quebec, where they’ve joined forces on tracks with both Grand Eugène and La Sécurité. Rounding out the lineup on Friday are jazz deconstructionists Compost and indie crooner Sam Singer and the Beautiful Movers.

Tony and Giovanna Mazza, a.k.a. Luana Moth play the Big Sun Festival Saturday. (Mike Deal / Free Press files)
Tony and Giovanna Mazza, a.k.a. Luana Moth play the Big Sun Festival Saturday. (Mike Deal / Free Press files)

Saturday’s lineup is equally stacked for a full day of music, with Luana Moth (profiled last month by the Free Press’s Tiago Resko), DJ Dray, post-punkers Bland, indie-rock act Hut Hut, Calgary kraut-rockers Stucco, local punks Goodies, and Ghost Twin, a spiritual dance partner for Luana Moth’s mythological brand of acid disco.

Aside from the music, there will be a food truck, bubble machines and wacky inflatable arm tube men, per organizers. One lucky volunteer will get to take a dip in an on-site dunk tank, too.

Ben Waldman

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Summer Movie Night: JawsBarn Hammer Brewing Co., 595 Wall St.Today, 7 p.m.FreeIt was the first film to be marketed in North America on LaserDisc (in MCA DiscoVision, no less). The main character doesn’t have a name, but was dubbed Bruce by its co-stars. And a prosthetic arm made for the film didn’t look realistic enough, so a cast member was buried in the sand with only her arm sticking out.

Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film Jaws was a sensation upon release, overtaking The Godfather as the highest grossing film at the North American box office (a title it held until Star Wars was released two years later). The film follows the plight of a New England town terrorized by a massive great white shark, and the ragtag trio that set out to take down the beast after a series of attacks.

Tonight at Barn Hammer, you can revisit the film that had so many afraid to go in the water (and spawned Roy Scheider’s infamous line “you’re going to need a bigger boat” which, according to IMDb, he improvised).

The film gets going at 7:30 p.m., but pop by the brewery tap room beforehand for some pre-show trivia (such as the above nuggets). There will be happy hour-priced pints, a themed cocktail and even a candy bar for viewers of all ages to enjoy. Admission is free.

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