What’s up: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, cyanotype workshop, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Constantinople, Rodarama

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This article was published 24/04/2025 (515 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

• Burton Cummings Theatre, 364 Smith St.
• Saturday and Sunday, 8 p.m.
• Tickets $77 to $233 at Ticketmaster

For nearly 60 years, Jeff Hanna has led the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, one of America’s proto crossover country acts that gave us such hits as Mr. Bojangles, Fishin’ in the Dark and An American Dream.

After headlining Dauphin’s Countryfest last summer, the band is bidding farewell on its All the Good Times tour, which moves into the Burt this weekend.

Maybe the band will dust off House at Pooh Corner in honour of its two-night stand in Winnipeg. Written by Kenny Loggins, the song is sung from the perspective of both Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh and was on Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1970 album, Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy.

Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards, a draw in her own right, is opening. In March, she released Covers, a collection of her takes on the songs that shaped her, including R.E.M’s Sweetness Follows, Paul Westerberg’s Only Lie Worth Telling, and the Flaming Lips’ Feeling Yourself Disintegrate.

— Jen Zoratti

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Cyanotype Workshop

• Forum Art Centre, 120 Eugenie St.
• Saturday, 1 p.m.
• Free to register at forumartcentre.com

Throughout the month of April, the FLASH Photographic Festival has given Manitobans the chance to explore all manners of lens-based image-making. But for Saturday’s workshop, led by U of M School of Art photography technician Kristiane Church, no cameras are needed.

To create a typical cyanotype, artists place objects — shells, leaves, flowers, film and assorted knick-knacks — on specially coated paper. By exposing chemical compounds such as potassium ferricyanide to ultra-violet light, artists can create striking blue and white images. And through the use of natural toners made of coffee, tea and herbs, the colour scheme can shift, allowing the artists to play with expectation. Just add sunlight and see what happens next.

Popularized in the 19th century, the cyanotype method is still a favourite for its low-cost appeal and lensless approach, which lends itself well to a late April afternoon in St. Boniface. If weather permits, participating artists will expose their prints right next to the Forum Centre in Coronation Park.

Organizers suggest bringing objects such as those listed above, or jewelry, glasses, utensils, mesh, net or crystals to bring the cyanotypes to life. Acetate sheets will be supplied, as will all necessary components for the cyanotype process. They also suggest coming dressed for the weather and for art-making. “It might be a bit messy!”

— Ben Waldman

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Leanne Betasamosake Simpson book launch

• McNally Robinson Booksellers, Grant Park, (1120 Grant Ave.
• Tuesday, 7 p.m.
• Free

Critically acclaimed Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg author Leanne Betasamosake Simpson returns to Winnipeg on Tuesday to launch her innovative new work of non-fiction, which chronicles Indigenous people’s relationship with water.

Published on April 22 by Knopf Canada, Theory of Water: Nishnaabe Maps to the Times Ahead combines Nishnaabeg stories with Betasamosake Simpson’s experiences with and around water, reflecting on teachings, creative work, stories and more, particularly undertakings by her longtime friend and elder Doug Williams, who died in 2022 at age 81.

Betasamosake Simpson’s previous work has been nominated for a number of literary awards, including the novel Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies and her collaborative work with Robyn Harding, Rehearsals for Living, both of which were finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards for fiction and non-fiction, respectively. In 2021, her album Theory of Ice was named to the Polaris Prize short list. She holds a PhD from the University of Manitoba.

Shelagh Rogers will join Betasamosake Simpson for the launch Tuesday at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson .

— Ben Sigurdson

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Virtuosi presents Constantinople

• Winnipeg Art Gallery, 300 Memorial Blvd.
• Friday, 7.30 p.m.
• Tickets $10-$48 at virtuosiconcerts.ca

A period music ensemble specializing in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern medieval and baroque esthetics may not sound like a formula for global impact.

But not many acts sound quite like Constantinople, formed in 1988 by Canadian Iranian brothers Kiya and Ziya Tabassian and based in Montreal. Their lively, original take on such old, distant music has won them hundreds of thousands of fans. (Not to mention the 2024 Juno Award for Best Classical Album.)

Leaders in Canada’s early music scene, they reach a little more eastern than many other Montreal and Toronto period-music ensembles, pairing the sétar and tombak (Persian) with the viola da gamba and cornett (Spanish/Italian). They play both original compositions and interpretations of traditional music with a Byzantine flavour.

The ensemble brings to mind, in spirit as well as name, Constantinople’s bustling ports — some of the busiest, most important in the medieval world, whose exchange of goods, cultures and ideas helped set the Renaissance in motion.

We’re talking nerdy, but the music speaks for itself. On Friday, they play their Traversées concert (with setar, voice, kora and percussion), a recording of which has two million streams on YouTube.

— Conrad Sweatman

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Rodarama Car Show

• Red River Exhibition Building, 3977 Portage Ave
• Friday, 5-10 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.- 9 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Tickets $10 at msra.ca, under-14s free

The annual indoor car show, now in its 24th year, features about 100 classic, hot rod and special interest cars, along with automotive themed vendors.

The three-day event includes a silent auction, a raffle draw for a rebuilt transmission, custom detailed bar fridge and a barbecue and food prize pack.

Organized by the Manitoba Street Rod Association (MSRA), the annual Rodarama event is a way for the group to support the Children’s Rehabilitation Foundation (CRF).

This year the organizers have teamed up with bicycle company Freedom Concepts to manufacture and donate four adaptive bikes to local families.

“We partner with these organizations to bring mobility and confidence to children who struggle with independence,” Tina Demmers from MSRA says.

The bike award ceremony is on Sunday at 3 p.m.

— AV Kitching