What’s Up

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This article was published 10/01/2019 (1541 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Renovation Show

The new year often comes with a burst of productive energy, so what better timing for the Winnipeg Renovation Show?

The annual event begins Friday, Jan. 11, and continues until Sunday, Jan. 13, at the RBC Convention Centre and features a collection of speakers, celebrities and other experts from the home and garden world, design inspirations, contests and, of course, tons of exhibitors and specialists from every field looking to help you with your upcoming home-renovation projects.

This year’s most well-known celebrity guest is Mike Holmes Jr., a contractor and television host of Holmes and Holmes, which he stars in with his father, famous contractor Mike Holmes. Holmes Jr. also hosts several other home-renovation shows.

Tickets for adults (13 plus) are $12 at the door or $9 in advance online at winnipegrenovationshow.com, which is also where you can find more information about the event, including a full exhibitors list and stage schedules for all three days.

— Erin Lebar

Public artwork at Kildonan Park

A little bit of magic now surrounds the pond in Kildonan Park.

Bokeh, a new public artwork by Winnipeg artists Takashi Iwasaki and Nadi Design, commissioned by the Winnipeg Arts Council through the City of Winnipeg’s public art program, will receive its official opening this weekend.

By day, the trio of brightly hued sculptures bring a playful pop of colour to the park; by night, the oversized globes will project rainbow-coloured lights onto the pond, lighting the way for skaters. “Bokeh” is a Japanese word for blurriness, an apt title for an artwork that blurs the lines between urban and natural spaces, form and function, reality and fantasy.

Bokeh joins a growing inventory of new public artworks that are reinventing Winnipeg’s public spaces, from the quartet of impactful Indigenous works that make up This Place at Air Canada Park in downtown Winnipeg, to the striking nine-metre sculptural piece that welcomes pedestrians to the Niizhoziibean walking path at The Forks.

“Public art enriches our surroundings, adds depth and meaning to public spaces by individualizing and celebrating these spaces,” Carol A. Phillips, the executive director of WAC, said in a press release. “The Winnipeg Arts Council is thrilled that Bokeh provides an immersive and dreamy experience for skaters and parkgoers that is fun, otherworldly and magical.”

The official opening for the artwork takes place on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 5 p.m. with a family skating party, soundtracked by DJ Mama Cutsworth and accompanied by DJ Hunnicutt. Admission is free, and snacks and refreshments will be served.

— Jen Zoratti

Après-Ski at the Oxbow

After a day spent sliding down the ski trails, there’s nothing quite like kicking back in a relaxed environment with a little glass of something to warm your bones.

That’s the idea behind Après-Ski at the Oxbow, a Nordic-themed, wine-focused evening at the 557 Osborne St. eatery taking place Tuesday, Jan. 15. Starting at 7 p.m. and going into the wee hours, all manner of what organizers have dubbed “alpine wines” will be poured by wine-savvy folks while vintage ski movies are projected on the wall.

Ski attire is encouraged — whether you actually hit the slopes/trails or not — and there will also be a selection of beer available for those not as keen on the vino, as well as some tasty snacks. Imagine a relaxed, wine-bar-meets-ski-lodge vibe, where you’ll be feeling warm and cosy in no time. There’s no charge to attend; guests pay by the glass.

—Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson

Bella Hristova with the WSO

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra kicks off 2019 with the return of Bella Hristova, the acclaimed Bulgarian-born violinist who first performed for local audiences in 2017 — coincidentally, with the WSO’s current music director Daniel Raiskin, who then was a guest conductor with the orchestra.

The two meet again at this weekend’s Classics Series concert of four of classical music’s greatest compositions, Bach, Mendelssohn and Schumann: Favourite Melodies. Hristova, who won the Avery Fisher Career Grant for outstanding instrumentalists in 2013, will perform Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, one of orchestral music’s most beloved solos.

The evening will also include performances of Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 (which contains one of his best-known melodies, the Air in G) and Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, as well as Schumann’s Symphony No. 4, a lush, romantic work.

The concerts take place Friday, Jan. 11, and Saturday, Jan. 12, at 8 p.m. at the Centennial Concert Hall. Tickets start at $25 and are available through the WSO box office 204-949-3999 or at wso.ca.

— Jill Wilson

 

Women in Blues

Seven of the city’s top female blues acts will be performing under one roof on Saturday, Jan. 12, at the Park Theatre.

Women in Blues returns to the South Osborne concert venue with Romi Mayes, Sharon Clarkson, Debra Lyn Neufeld, Tannis B, Ms. Gwendolyn, Tracy K and Lady Lee taking the stage starting 8 p.m.

“For someone to come out and get to see four bands and three up-and-comers in the community, to see all that variety in one night is pretty amazing,” says Lee, who, along with being a performer, helps organize the show.

For harmonica player Tannis B, one of those up-and-comers, the Women in Blues show is an exciting step up from the open mics and jam sessions she often plays. She’s excited to share the stage with people she considers her mentors.

Tannis B was singing the blues after a shoulder injury prevented her from playing the guitar. She tried the harmonica — a key instrument in so many classic blues songs — and hasn’t looked back.

“It’s been a couple of years now,” she says. “I saw other women onstage and they encouraged (me) to get up and do my stuff.”

Tickets are $25 in advance and are available at Into the Music locations, Long & McQuade, the Park Theatre and online at ticketfly.com. They’ll also be available for $30 at the door.

— Alan Small

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