What’s up: Sookram’s birthday, Freeze Frame film fest, painting through a synesthetic lens, rocks and gems Free Press staff recommend things to do this week By: AV Kitching, Jen Zoratti, Ben Sigurdson, Eva Wasney, Conrad Sweatman Posted: 6:00 AM CST Thursday, Mar. 6, 2025

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This article was published 06/03/2025 (386 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Rock and Gem Show

Thursday to Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Red River Exhibition Park, 3977 Portage Ave.

Admission $3

Get your rocks on at this four-day event showcasing a vast collection of crystals, minerals and fossils.

With 400 tables of vendors from across Canada, gem-lovers are sure to find their perfect stone. Treasure and trinkets abound, from amethyst, peridot and moldavite to moonstone, labradorite and tiger eyes.

There’s more than just gem shopping on offer. Interactive activities include a Gem Tree Workshop on Friday ($45 per person) where you can design your very own gemstone tree to take home.

On Saturday, Chris Robak, one-half of show organizer Silver Cove, will be present his Geo Talk at 6:30 p.m. where he shares his geological and mineral discoveries, and tales of his geological adventures.

— AV Kitching

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Crossed-wires: Painting Through a Synesthetic Lens

Cre8ery Gallery & Studio, 125 Adelaide St.

Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

To March 25, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Some people don’t just hear music. They see it.

Winnipeg visual artist Jan Rogers is one of those people. Rogers has synesthesia, a neurological condition in which one sense is also experienced simultaneously by another. For Rogers, this manifests as seeing colours when hearing music.

Working in watercolour and acrylic, Rogers translates those colours to canvas in the works that compose Crossed-wires: Painting Through a Synesthetic Lens. Each is named after the song that inspired it: The Underdog, the 2007 single by indie rock band Spoon, becomes a nebula of neon pinks and deep purples, while Herbie Hancock’s 1964 jazz standard Cantaloupe Island has more defined, almost cityscape structures in a fruit-salad palette befitting its namesake.

Rogers will be at Cre8ery to discuss their work for First Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m., and then Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the exhibition’s run.

— Jen Zoratti

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Sookram’s celebrates six years of beers

Sookram’s Brewing Co., 479-B Warsaw Ave.

Saturday, noon to midnight

Free

New brews, test batches, cheap pints, hoagies and live music — Sookram’s Brewing Co. is having a sixth anniversary celebration in its Warsaw Avenue tap room, and everyone’s invited.

The celebrations will kick off Saturday at noon with a trio of bigger-batch new releases — the Slow Motion New Zealand pilsner, Lens Flare IPA and the Margarita Cosmos fruit sour — as well as a half-dozen test-batch cans, which will also be available to enjoy on tap.

At 2 p.m. the Brizzy Boys will be serving up four different kinds of hoagies until they sell out, the Blackwood Sisters steelpan band will perform at 3 p.m. and then at 4 p.m., two new casks will be tapped.

The fun doesn’t stop there — at 6 p.m. four more new test batches will be released, and at 9 p.m. Sleeping Climb will entertain the thirsty masses.

As if that weren’t enough, all Sookram’s core pours are on for $5 per pint all day; happy hour kicks off at 10 p.m. until close when all pints, including new releases, will be $5.

Admission is free, and all ages can attend (the brewery also offers a range of non-alcoholic options).

— Ben Sigurdson

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A film festival for all ages

Centre culturel franco-manitobain, 340 Provencher Blvd.

Sunday to March 15

Single tickets $6, all-access passes $20 at freezeframeonline.org

The 29th annual Freeze Frame International Film Festival starts this weekend with screenings of 11 family-friendly features, panel discussions, a youth video contest and a bevy of animation and filmmaking workshops.

The festivities start Sunday at 1 p.m. with a free presentation of Kina & Yuk, a live-action film following two arctic foxes as they prepare to become first-time parents in the midst of a changing climate.

Other films on the docket this year include Greetings from Mars, a subtitled film from Germany about a space-loving autistic boy; The Sacred Cave, a Cameroonian animation about the search for a poison antidote; and Insomniacs After School, a Japanese film about two sleep students who start a late-night astrology club.

Freeze Frame wraps on March 15, with a presentation of this year’s short film submissions from aspiring filmmakers, followed by a free screening of the New Zealand coming of age drama, Uproar.

Visit freezeframeonline.org for a full list of events.

— Eva Wasney

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Ali Wan Kenobi meets Mace Win Dill

Public Domain, 633 Portage Ave.

Friday, 8 p.m.

Admission $10

Weed Man Son. Dolla Dill. Dill the Giant. Mace Win Dill. Whatever the nickname, Dill is also frequently named as one of Winnipeg’s favourite MCs.

As a member of 3Peat, the smoothly flowing Dill brings a special mellowness to the exuberant trio; the bourbon at the party.

Fitting then that he should team up on his solo project with producer Ali Wan Kenobi. The beatmaker is a leading local light of the new boom bap sound, lending an experimental touch to the warm, analogue flavour of the signature ’90s style.

But make no mistake: this is a highly energetic live stage experience, moving seamlessly from head-nodding grooves to crowd-rocking bangers with spontaneity and surprises aplenty along the way.

— Conrad Sweatman

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