What’s up: Snowshoes and Brews, First Friday, Bead-A-Thon, Ego Spank, WAG-Quamajuq

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This article was published 02/01/2025 (449 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Crisp weather and hearty brews on tap

Snowshoes and Brews/raquettes et bière

• Kilter Brewing Co., 450 Rue Deschambault
• Sunday, 3 p.m.
• Tickets $60 available here

Kick off the new year with crisp, fresh air, a range of brews and good company Sunday at Kilter Brewing Co.’s Snowshoes and Brews/raquettes et bière event.

Snowshoes and Brews/raquettes et bière features a bilingual guided snowshoe tour courtesy of Nature’s Edge tourism; whether you’re a total neophyte or seasoned pro, all levels of snowshoeing experience are welcome —just be sure to dress for the elements (the weather might be a bit cool this weekend).

Afterwards, kick off the snowshoes and kick back in Kilter’s tropical-themed tap room as you enjoy a flight of four five-ounce brews and your choice of snack.

Tickets include snowshoe rental and outdoor tour, a brewery tour, a flight of beer in the tap room and a snack. (Snowshoes and Brews/raquettes et bière is an 18+ event.)

And if you can’t make it this weekend, Snowshoes and Brews/raquettes et bière happens again on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 3 p.m.

— Ben Sigurdson

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The first Friday of the year

• Exchange District, various locations
• Friday, 5-9 p.m. and beyond
• Visit the official website for listings

Want to take in more arts and culture this year? Looking to frequent more local businesses? Hunting for free activities following the holiday spending season? Set your resolutions in motion tomorrow during the first First Fridays in the Exchange event of 2025.

During the monthly events, Exchange District shops, galleries, studios, restaurants, bars and museums stay open late for tours, exhibits and workshops — many of which are free.

A highlight this week is the timely psychic fair hosted by Love Your Body Yoga at 506-63 Albert St. from 5 to 10 p.m. Five psychics will be on hand offering various kinds of readings to uncover what this year has in store. There will also be a mini dessert cafe with cookies, cupcakes and cheesecake by Sweet Bites Made with Love.

Other events include no-cover karaoke at the Royal Albert Arms (48 Albert St.); the exhibition opening of The Power Of Contrast: Inuit Art In Black + White at Katie + Gunner Gallery (102-141 Bannatyne Ave.); and 30-second studio portraits with professional photographer Andrew Sikorsky (605-70 Arthur St.).

— Eva Wasney

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Bead-A-Thon

• Alloway Hall, Manitoba Museum, 190 Rupert Ave.
• Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Pay what you can, starting at $10, from the Manitoba Museum

The inaugural Bead-A-Thon fundraising event is open to everyone, whether you’re an expert beader, keen learner or have never held a needle before.

Hosted by Métis beadwork artist Jennine Krauchi and the museum’s head of Indigenous programming and engagement, Tashina Houle-Schlup, learn to stitch, visit the museum’s historic beadwork collection and spend time with the beading community as you share, learn and bead together. Showcase your new skills during the Artist Open Mic session.

Food vendors Sharecuterie and Anishinaa-Bakes will be there for those wanting a bite to eat, though people can bring their own lunches and snacks.

Tickets to the fundraiser are on sale now. Beading supplies are not included in the ticket price; however, attendees can to bring their own supplies. Beading kits can be purchased for $15 when buying tickets.

Proceeds from ticket sales will go towards the museum’s Access for All program, which supports a wide range of community initiatives including free admission on First Fridays, subsidized supplies and workshop fees for the Indigenous art workshop series, and complimentary field trips for children from every corner of Manitoba.

— AV Kitching

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Ego Spank

• Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club
• Friday, 9:30 p.m.
• Tickets $17 available here

Used to be that Winnipeg’s indie music scene was all about the pentatonic. Rock ‘n’ roll’s scalic backbone. Now the edgier mixolydian, lydian, dorian and harmonic minor scales are unafraid to raise their voices. Things are getting topsy-turvy.

This is a music-theory (read: hella nerdy) way to describe the scene’s move towards styles such as soul, house, jazz-pop and R&B. The shift seems to track the eclipse of rockers such as Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene by acts like Kaytranada, Men I Trust and BadBadNotGood as the indie world’s Canadian touchpoints.

And in their delightfully nerdy way, Ego Spank, along with bands such as All the Kings Men and Moses Mayes, helped carry the torch for some these “groovier” styles in Winnipeg before this shift.

Their local influence runs far and wide. Ego Spank’s guitarist Murray Pulver, a former member of Crash Test Dummies, produced the Bros. Landreth’s debut album Let It Lie, and many students have flocked to Ego Spank’s shows as a fun lesson for turning music-school chops into funk and pop music.

The band, known for tunes such as Drive my Car and Funky Shoes, promises to show off some new material at a show advertised with the hashtags #stillplayingthehits and #gotsomefreshtunestoo.

— Conrad Sweatman

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Visit WAG-Quamajuq

• 300 Memorial Ave.
• Admission info at the Winnipeg Art Gallery website

An inspiring way to start the new year would be with a visit to WAG-Quamajuq. If you aren’t on vacation, a visit to the downtown gallery is your next best bet for world travel on a modest budget.

Motherground, the exhibition by local artist Dominique Rey with her children Madeleine and Auguste Coar, has been extended to June 28, giving gallery-goers ample opportunity to explore familial connection alone or with a favourite relative. Ihsan, an exhibition focused on Islamic art from Aliza Zorlutuna, Azadeh Elmizadeh, Jamelie Hassan, Kiran Sran, Samar Hejazi and Yasmeen Nematt Alla, offers a glimpse into the evolving story of Muslim communities in Canada. It closes Jan. 12.

Other notable exhibitions on view are Wanda Koop’s View from Here, Lita Fontaine’s Winyan and the late Kinngait carver Omalluq Oshutsiaq’s Pictures from My Life, consisting of drawings created during the last two years of her life after her carving career was ended by injury decades earlier.

Be sure to catch Omalluq’s showcase now before the WAG highlights the dazzling print work of Ningiukulu Teevee, a fellow artist from Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset, Nunavut) in the fall.

— Ben Waldman

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