55th Folklorama kicks off By: Photos by John Woods Posted: 6:48 PM CDT Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026

Long journey to home ownership for Eritrean couple

Solomon Ghebru and his family have been building a life together in Winnipeg for the past three years after years of living apart in various countries. Now, they are working toward a new goal: owning a home.

Their story is the focus of this year’s Habitat for Humanity Manitoba Cycle of Hope fundraising ride, a seven-day cycling event through southern Manitoba that begins Monday. The ride aims to raise $150,000 to support Ghebru, his wife, Mehret Awate, and their two daughters as they work toward affordable homeownership.

The couple’s journey to Canada started in Eritrea, where they grew up and attended the same church together. They left Eritrea separately, hoping to build a better life together out of the country. Ghebru travelled through Sudan and Libya before reaching Malta, while Awate travelled to Sudan and then Uganda.

After he found work in Malta, he tried to have his family join him, but government policies prevented them from reuniting. The couple married in Uganda in 2016, and their first daughter, Peniel, was born there the following year.

240 WestJet flight attendants picket in Winnipeg

Winnipeg’s WestJet flight attendants took to the picket line outside of Richardson International Airport on the first day of nationwide strikes Sunday, while inside, frustrated flyers scrambled to re-route cancelled long-weekend flights.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees’ Ontario arm and the airline announced the strike would commence after the strike deadline was passed without a deal early Sunday morning. WestJet attendants have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2025.

Hours later, the 240 WestJet flight attendants based in Winnipeg had walked off the job and were marching outside of the airport terminal, some carrying signs with slogans including “Tired with WestJet? So are We!” and “Unpaid Work Won’t Fly.”

Key issues causing the stalemate are wages and pay for work on the ground: the union says flight attendants are not being paid for some of that work, while the company says they pay for the work through a “credit hour” system rather than an hourly rate.

‘Good deal of synergy’ brewing in South Osborne

Pub crawls could become the next South Osborne draw.

At least, that’s the hope of entrepreneurs in the area as three breweries build out locations in the Winnipeg neighbourhood.

Nonsuch Brewing Co. and Good Neighbour Brewing Co. have opened storefronts along the strip in the past three months. Dastardly Villain is creating a taproom and nanobrewery.

“I’m really excited to have these pubs and taprooms,” said Ben Shantz, board chair of the South Osborne Business Improvement Zone.

Scholar, educator and author Karen Busby tirelessly fought for groundbreaking human rights and social justice changes

Of all the remarkable achievements in Karen Busby’s life, one of the most incredible is how she found the time.

Time, as a trailblazing legal scholar and educator at the University of Manitoba, to help lead transformative fights for human rights. Her work would help secure same-sex marriage equality in Manitoba, strengthen Canada’s laws against gender-based violence and earn landmark Supreme Court decisions to better protect sexual assault victims in court.

Around this core mission, she also found time to write books that made a lasting impact on equality in education, to become one of Canada’s strongest public voices for Indigenous, gender and LGBTTQ+ rights and to build Winnipeg’s art community, including as a co-founder of Ace Art and serving a decade on the board of the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq.

But above all, Busby always had time for her family, both born and chosen.

Rollins becomes fifth councillor to bow out of fall election

Sherri Rollins says she’s withdrawing her bid to keep her city hall seat after eight years, citing her concerns about the “gradual erosion of the role played by council” and the struggle to work co-operatively with the mayor’s office.

55th Folklorama kicks off

Photo gallery: 55th Folklorama kicks off