New Brunswick is warning horse owners about a potential virus exposure

How confusing; seems there’s more than one candidate in Hanover named Shayne Barkman

It’s not entirely clear when or why Hanover trustee Shayne Barkman became one of Manitoba’s best-known anti-LGBTTQ+ crusaders.

Back in 2022, when he ran as a candidate for Hanover school board for the first time, there was nary a hint that socially conservative culture wars were going to be a large part of his identity as an elected official.

In a Steinbach Online profile published before the 2022 municipal elections, Barkman highlighted his background as a successful farmer. He said he was entering politics to be a “listening ear” who could promote understanding.

“I would love to kind of just be a voice of reason amongst all the problems coming down the pipe,” Barkman said

New series terrific addition to RWB repertoire

‘See the music, hear the dance,” is a famous quote from quintessential ballet influencer George Balanchine, whose pithy bons mots have defined much of American classical dance since the legendary Russian-born choreographer first blazed a trail with the New York City Ballet.

Local balletomanes were given a golden opportunity to experience both up-close-and-personal Thursday when the Royal Winnipeg Ballet officially kicked off its 87th season with its newly minted Studio Series, which runs until Sunday.

The brainchild of the company’s artistic director, Christopher Stowell, the series features an abridged “concert version” of Balanchine’s seminal Who Cares?, set to a playlist of catchy George Gershwin tunes that make up the backbone of the Great American Songbook.

The Studio Series is the latest initiative taken by Stowell as he settles into his arguably still new position. Some of those endeavours will invariably stumble; others will hit their mark. This venture belongs in the latter category, bringing a 500-plus-year-old art form, often perceived as rarified, to audience members who may be hesitant, shy or just plain intimidated to visit the cavernous Centennial Concert Hall.

Prost! Raise a glass to Oktoberfest

As September comes to a close, a pair of local breweries are bringing some serious gemütlichkeit.

For the uninitiated, gemütlichkeit’s a word that doesn’t translate neatly from German to English, but which roughly means friendliness and good cheer.

Both Devil May Care Brewing Co. (155 Fort St.) and Kilter Brewing Co. (450 Rue Deschambault) are hosting Oktoberfest parties this weekend featuring food, music, games and, of course, plenty of beer.

Both breweries are rolling out special releases to coincide with their respective Oktoberfests — expect malty festbiers, marzens, rauchbiers and other German-inspired brews, served up in hefty steins alongside Bavarian-inspired fare. Devil May Care’s festivities run through to Sunday and feature eats by Freebird Kitchen, while Kilter keeps the party going through to Saturday, Oct. 3, and is offering pretzels and Oktoberfest-themed hot dogs. Lederhosen is encouraged.

Two U.S. presidents, and America’s decline

“Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.” — Abraham Lincoln in his Cooper Union address, given in New York City in 1860.

‘In Normandy, we remember’

Travelling nearly 7,000 km from his home in France to Winnipeg gave Gabriel Zaranski a new perspective on warfare.

“It’s very different to speak about war in school (than) to speak with real people who (have fought) in a war,” he said. “We can feel the emotion when they speak … The testimony has more impact when it’s real soldiers.”

Zaranski is one of 14 Grade 12 students from Bayeux, a town in France’s Normandy region, in Winnipeg this week for a learning tour.

The students, who attend Lycée Arcisse de Caumont high school, met on Saturday with veterans from the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, a local military regiment, to discuss their studies and the regiment’s role in the Second World War.