What’s up: Poetry, Winnipeg Singers, burlesque, improv, art exhibit and ladies conference

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/04/2024 (533 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Poets to read from Writes of Spring collection

McNally Robinson Booksellers, 1120 Grant Ave.
Sunday, 2 p.m.
Free

A plethora of poets will gather at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location to read their winning submissions for this year’s Writes of Spring contest, presented by the Free Press and the Winnipeg International Writers Festival.

The winning submissions for the ninth Writes of Spring feature were selected by co-editors Ariel Gordon and Julian Day, and will be published in this weekend’s Free Press as part of National Poetry Month.

The theme for this year’s competition was based on the City of Winnipeg’s theme for the Winnipeg 150 celebration — “Our shared stories. Our shared future.”

Among the poets reading at the event will be Kristian Enright, Mary Horodyski, Kerry Ryan, Hanako Teranishi, Jody Baltessen and many others. The reading will also be streamed on McNally Robinson’s YouTube channel.

— Ben Sigurdson

 

Winnipeg Singers put women in the spotlight

Their Voices Resound: Celebrating Women Composers
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Sunday, 3 p.m.
Tickets $20-$35 at winnipegsingers.com

The Winnipeg Singers will showcase a work by Winnipeg-born composer Jocelyn Morlock in a concert that will salute 11 female composers from Canada.

Morlock grew up in Winnipeg and studied music at Brandon University, later earning masters and doctorate music degrees from the University of British Columbia. She was 53 when she died in March 2023.

She’s best known for being a composer-in-residence for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and for My Name Is Amanda Todd, a 2015 composition about a 15-year-old girl from Port Coquitlam, B.C., who was victim of cyberbullying and died by suicide in 2012.

The Winnipeg Singers will perform Morlock’s One Black Spike, which focuses on the completion of the first transcontinental railway in Canada near Fort Fraser, B.C., in 1885.

Other composers on Sunday’s program include Ruth Watson Henderson, a longtime choral composer and pianist and Haida/Cree artist Kristi Lane Sinclair, a Juno Award-nominated singer-songwriter.

— Alan Small

 

Bad Alibi Burlesque & Dr. Rocktopus

Park Theatre, 698 Osborne St.
Saturday, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $35 plus fees at Ticketweb
Strictly 18+

Get ready for a night of daring dances, sensual sketches and titillating tomfoolery as a host of burlesque performers showcase their talents on the Park Theatre stage.

Promising to be a captivating journey into the realms of desire and self-expression, the night features artists including Nina Sapphira, Char Danae, Lavender Landslide and producer and founder of Bad Alibi Burlesque, Countess Mila, also known as the Onion of Burlesque.

There will be live music courtesy of four-piece band Dr. Rocktupus.

— AV Kitching

 

Going it alone

Saturday, 7 p.m
Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Ave.
Tickets $15 at gsac.ca

Saturday’s Gas Station Arts Centre performers will be making it up as they go along. While that’s nothing new for the seasoned crew of local improvisers, this time they’ll be winging it alone.

Solo is the finale of The Improv Season, a recurring event hosted by the Winnipeg Improv Festival at the Osborne Village theatre.

This weekend’s show will feature solo acts — the loneliest form of improv — by members of Club Soda, followed by a performance from Stephen Sim, who debuted his solitary improv to rave reviews during the 2023 Winnipeg Fringe Festival.

“I’ve done improv shows all over the world in large ensembles and in duos,” Sim said in a media release. “But walking out onto the stage to do a whole longform improv set as a solo act is a whole other thing altogether.”

Come for the clever quips, stay for the (unlikely) possibility of unaccompanied onstage disasters.

— Eva Wasney

 

U of M BFA honours graduating exhibition

Opens Friday, through May 10
ARTlab, 180 Dafoe Rd.
Free

Thirty students who will soon call the University of Manitoba their alma mater will fill four floors of the ARTlab building with their final works in media including photography, sculpture, ceramics, video and design.

Every year, the exhibition serves as an introduction to the next generation of the city’s finest artists, giving guests a chance to say, “I saw their work when.”

The event kicks off Friday with an opening reception featuring live music, snacks and drinks, beginning at 5 p.m. and finishing at 8., during which guests can interact with the art and the artists themselves.

Don’t touch the art; let it touch you.

— Ben Waldman

 

104 Ladies Conference

Fort Garry Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre
Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Tickets: $193.03 at Eventbrite.

The third annual 104 Ladies Conference is set to inspire and empower attendees.

The event features breakout sessions with speakers such as Laura Fisher, chief marketing and communications officer for Sexton Family of Companies, and Qun Li, an investment specialist from Scotiabank, discussing smart money management for women. Other speakers include Sylvia Sunstrum, advocating for women’s health balance, and Ann Nzeruem, nurse practitioner and owner of Mara Home and Health Inc., offering valuable insights.

Moreover, an exhibition showcasing products and services, photobooths for capturing memories, raffle prizes, and swag bags filled with goodies add to the excitement of the day. The dress code is Princess Diaries — think spring colours — setting the tone for a vibrant and uplifting atmosphere. Brunch is also included with each ticket.

— Thandi Vera