What’s up: Ice bikes, miniature crafts, kids’ sports, WAG yoga, Chris Redd, celebrating winter

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/01/2025 (298 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hit the river trail on an ice bike/trike

• Kendrick’s Outdoor Adventures, The Forks
• Saturdays and Sundays
• Rental $20/hour via the company’s website

On paper, hitting the ever-lengthening Nestaweya River Trail at The Forks on a one-wheeled vehicle sounds like a recipe for disaster (and a face full of snow).

But for those who can’t skate, or are simply looking a new way to enjoy (icy) fresh air and the great outdoors, the ice bikes and trikes at Kendrick’s Outdoor Adventures are just the ticket.

Ice bikes feature a back wheel attached to pedals — so far, so good — with the front wheel removed and replaced by a bladed platform; the user pedals and steers as they would on a normal bike.

Ice trikes look more like the Big Wheel trikes that were all the rage with kids in the 1980s, albeit with the back wheels replaced by blades and a big studded tire on the front. (And make no mistake, these trikes ain’t just for kids.)

Kendrick’s offers ice bike and trike rentals Saturdays and Sundays at The Forks; rentals are $20 per hour and can be booked online in advance through their website.

— Ben Sigurdson

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Craft in Miniature: A MCC Members’ Exhibition

• C2 Centre for Craft, 329 Cumberland Ave.
• Opening reception today, 6-9 p.m.

Creativity is very often maximized by constraint — after all, you can’t think outside the box if there’s no box.

For this exhibition, the Manitoba Craft Council challenged its membership — which includes professional artists, artisans and DIY-ers — to use any technique or medium to create works that could not be more than six inches in any dimension. The result: a small-scale showcase of the huge talent that exists within the MCC.

Membership in the council is open to anyone who is passionate about contemporary craft. Those interested can visit c2centreforcraft.ca for more information on how to join.

Craft in Miniature will be on view until Feb. 27.

— Jen Zoratti

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Game Day

• Sport Manitoba, 145 Pacific Avenue
• Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Free

Here’s your chance to discover what kind of sport gets your child enjoys. With more than 20 different activities to try, from ringette and lacrosse to golf, table tennis and taekwondo, there’s a high chance little ones will find something to get excited about.

Attendees are advised to bring a pair of indoor running shoes and a water bottle, and to wear clothing they are comfortable moving around in. Only bring what you need — there are no lockers available.

No prior registration is required for the drop-in event; however, everyone taking part must sign a waiver.

KidSport Manitoba, the Manitoba Athletic Therapist Association and Sport Manitoba Coaching will be running the programs.

— AV Kitching

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Art and movement

• WAG-Qaumajuq, 300 Memorial Blvd.
• Jan. 16, 8 p.m.
• Tickets: $30, available here

Exercise your body and art appreciation muscles with a yoga class at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq next Thursday.

Yogis of all abilities are invited to take part in an hour-long evening flow class held in the gallery’s main hall. Wanda Koop’s View from Here series, featuring massive landscape portraits, is currently on view in the space.

The event is hosted by Rogue Vinyasa Yoga, a roving local studio with the tagline “yoga anywhere.” Founders Jessica Ryan and Matt Coppens have held classes in novel locations all over Winnipeg, including in the former restaurant on the Esplanade Riel Footbridge and at VA Café in the Exchange District.

Thursday’s class begins at 8 p.m. with complimentary tea beforehand. Bring a mat and wear layers, as the main hall can be chilly.

— Eva Wasney

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We Are Winter Celebration

• Riley Family Duck Pond, Assiniboine Park
• Friday to Sunday
• Free

How many core childhood memories have Assiniboine Park as their scenery?

The way your Sargent Sundae went splat as you chugged along on the steam train, a parent whisking you away as you reached curiously towards a big cat cage at the old Zoo, dancing until dizzy under a blazing sun in front of the Lyric Theatre or learning to skate on the duck pond.

That pond will surely colour many more new memories over the three day We Are Winter celebration that begins tomorrow. Snowshoeing, skiing, skating and sing-alongs are all promised on and around the rink overlooked by the iconic pavilion.

The 1,100-acre Assiniboine Park, developed at the turn of 20th century on the “City Beautiful” principles that also inspired New York’s Central Park, has enjoyed several upgrades in recent years. Most notable recently was the 2022 opening of the Leaf, the spiralling horticultural biome featuring Canada’s largest indoor waterfall. Another is the Riley Family Duck Pond, to which Winnipeg’s Riley family donated $1.5 million donation for conservancy in 2012.

The Mars-like freeze that’s gripped Winnipeg recently has at least one perk: the pond’s rink, closed in December due to warm weather, is now open again. Thankfully, forecasts suggest more family-friendly subzeros this weekend.

— Conrad Sweatman

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Chris Redd

• Rumors Comedy Club
• Thursday to Saturday
• Tickets: $37 at the Rumors website

Fresh off hosting Netflix’s Pimp My Ride spinoff Resurrected Rides, comedian and former Saturday Night Live player Chris Redd rolls into town this week for a three-night, five-show stand at Rumors.

The St. Louis-born standup has also appeared in the short-lived Kenan Thompson sitcom Kenan, the celebrity send-up Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and in Why Am I Like This, Redd’s hour-long HBO comedy special about life, therapy, growing up and being 5-foot-6.

Next week will also be a strong week for Winnipeg’s biggest comedy club as Calgary comic Malik Elassal is in town for seven shows in five nights (Jan. 14-18). Named one of New York magazine’s Comedians You Should and Will Know in 2024, the Lebanese-Canadian comic was cast last year in Snowflakes, an FX comedy pilot about codependent housemates in their 20s, which has been picked up and retitled Adults.

— Ben Waldman

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