What’s up

Festi Fridays at Nonsuch Brewing Co.

Friday, Feb. 10, 4 p.m. to late

Nonsuch Brewing Co., 125 Pacific Ave.

Dust off your ceinture fléchée a little early this year for Nonsuch Brewing Co.’s Festi Fridays, a celebration of all things Festival du Voyageur running Fridays throughout February both inside and outside their tap room at 125 Pacific Ave.

In addition to their regular rotation of beers (including their Festi Broue Helles lager, made special for Festival du Voyageur), Nonsuch will be tapping voyageur-inspired small-batch casks — this week’s brew is a rauchbier, a smoked lager — serving up French-inspired fare (including tourtière hand pies) and hosting fine francophone entertainment.

Layer up and enjoy your beer outdoors around Nonsuch’s outdoor fire pit, enjoy a beer-bannock s’more and Caribou served up Festival du Voyageur style — that is, in custom ice glasses.

The festivities and the fire get underway this Friday (and again on Feb. 17 and 24) at 4 p.m. and go until late, with more fire-pit fun happening each Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. as well.

— Ben Sigurdson

Will break a sweat for beer

Friday, Feb. 10, 6 to 9 p.m.

Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Ave.

Ski rental and a beer for $20

What better way to spend a winter evening than with a cross-country ski along Winnipeg’s picturesque waterways followed by a nice warm… beer? A hot beverage (and yes, hot beer) is the proverbial carrot during Brew Ski in the Village, a pop-up outdoor event hosted by the Winnipeg Trails Association, Plain Bicycle Project and the Gas Station Arts Centre this Friday.

For $20, participants can rent equipment at The Beer Can patio in Osborne Village or at the Winnipeg Trails kiosk at The Forks, take a ski along the Nestaweya River Trail and return to the patio for a pre-paid beverage. Bartenders will be serving hot cocktails and Good Neighbour Brewing will be onsite offering Brûlée Beers — a special bevy made by inserting a metal rod, heated over an open fire, into a cold beer, causing the sugars to caramelize. Skis can be booked ahead of time at Eventbrite.

Visitors can also grab a bite from Hollywood Hot Dogs, listen to tunes spun by DJ JPQ and check out winter ski movies screening inside the theatre. Dress in your neon best to take part in the retro ski gear costume contest. Visit winterpeg.org/events for more information.

The beer-fueled outdoor activities continue later this month.

On Feb. 18, the Gas Station is hosting a three-on-three ball hockey tournament. Registration is $30 and includes a beer. Goalies will be provided. On Feb. 19, the venue will act as the start and finish line for Beer-Athalon, which will see participants run down to the Assiniboine River, skate down the river trail, run back to the Beer Can and chug a beer before passing the baton to their teammates. Registration is $50 for teams of four and also includes a beer for each racer. Sign up for both events through Eventbrite.

— Eva Wasney

Canada Life Free Sundays @ WAG-Qaumajuq

Sunday, Feb. 12, 11 a.m t0 5 p.m.

Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq

Admission is free

Every second Sunday of the month, admission to Winnipeg’s largest art gallery is free as part of its Canada Life Free Sundays @ WAG-Qaumajuq program, which is designed to remove barriers so that everyone can access art, culture and Indigenous programming.

Sunday marks the first instalment of Free Sundays for 2023. In the galleries, visitors will have one last chance to experience INUA, Qaumajuq’s inaugural show, before it closes the following day. They will also have access to the current exhibitions on view, such as Robert Houle: Red Is Beautiful and Headlines: The Art of the News Cycle, as well as the WAG’s Permanent Collection and the Visible Vault, the three-storey glass vault filled with Inuit carvings at Qaumajuq.

From 2-4 p.m., Free Sundays features complimentary family programming. On Feb. 12, you can create your own work of art inspired by Houle’s abstract love poems in a collage workshop for Valentine’s Day, explore the Headlines exhibit via a challenging treasure-hunt crossword puzzle, or work through the Qaumajuq activity booklet.

Free public parking is available in the Canada Life parking lot behind 100 Osborne St. N. for visitors to Canada Life Free Sundays @ WAG-Qaumajuq. Downtown street parking is also free on Sundays.

More than 20,000 people have taken advantage of Canada Life Free Sundays @ WAG-Qaumajuq in its first three years. The partnership has been extended until 2026. The next one will take place Sunday, March 12.

— Jen Zoratti

Bruce Cockburn marks 50 years in music

Friday, Feb. 10, 8 p.m.

Burton Cummings Theatre

Tickets: $59.50-$85.25 at ticketmaster.ca or winnipegfolkfestival.ca/concerts

Canadian folk music legend Bruce Cockburn is finally getting a chance to mark 50 years in the music business.

The COVID-19 pandemic left a 2020 tour to mark the 50th anniversary of the release of his self-titled debut record in the pits.

The singer returned to the road last year on the 50th Anniversary Tour: 2nd Attempt, which includes a Friday date at the Burton Cummings Theatre.

Cockburn has created a treasure trove of tunes in the past half-century, such as Wondering Where the Lions Are (1979), Lovers in a Dangerous Time (1984) and Waiting for a Miracle (1987). He released his latest album, Rarities, last November.

Cockburn’s show is part of the Winnipeg Folk Festival’s concert series, and they’re a natural fit. Cockburn has performed at the folk fest seven times during his career, including the first two editions of the event in 1974 and 1975.

A handful of tickets for the show were available as of Wednesday, according to Tickemaster’s website.

— Alan Small

Shhh! It’s a secret screening at Cinematheque

Saturday, Feb. 11, 7 p.m.

Winnipeg Film Group’s Black Lodge Studio (100 Arthur St., third floor)

Admission by donation

In a spoiler-filled world, it can sometimes be tough to be genuinely surprised at a movie theatre. Poorly cut trailers kill the punchlines before they can even be appreciated in the context of the film. That won’t happen at this Saturday’s edition of Cinematheque’s Secret Cinema series, curated by Jillian Groening, a local artist and the distribution manager for the Winnipeg Film Group. For Secret Cinema screenings, all-celluloid films are drawn from the film group’s archive of 16mm prints and kept a secret until the movie starts. No spoilers possible.

— Ben Waldman

If you value coverage of Manitoba’s arts scene, help us do more.
Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project.