What’s up: Burlesque fest, beer awards, Ernest G. Wilson art show, music battle, Agassiz Festival

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/05/2024 (528 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg International Burlesque Festival

The Wood Tavern (4 p.m.; invite only-party 8 p.m.)
Today
Cherry Karpyshin Theatre, rehearsal hall at Prairie Theatre Exchange
Friday and Saturday
Weekend pass $81; $30 to $45 for individual shows

This four-day festival offers burlesque-curious attendees a chance to attend one of 10 workshops covering a number of topics, including the history of the art form, classic showgirl moves, advice for beginners, an introduction to sound editing and a crash course to hosting a cabaret.

Performances range from a tribute to Josephine Baker, an African-American dancer and singer, civil rights activist and Second World War spy who lived and performed in France, to a nightly showcase of 20 touring stars from across North America, including Winnipeg-based performers.

Headliners include Indigenous showgirl Kitty Kin-Evil, “Fatlesque” performer Arabella Boop and a rare chance to see the star of Josephine, Tymisha Harris, performing as herself.

The festival culminates on Sunday with a gathering at the Pride Winnipeg rally and parade at 10 a.m.

For tickets and full schedule visit winnipegburlesquefestival.com.

— AV Kitching

Best beers (and more) of the Prairies to be crowned

Prairie Beer Awards ceremony and afterparty
Fionns, 1180 Grant Ave.
Friday, 6 p.m.

Tickets $20 plus fees at wfp.to/ysz

Earlier this week, judges from across North America hunkered down in Winnipeg, judging all manner of lagers and ales (as well as mead, cider and non-alcoholic categories for the first time) at the third annual Prairie Beer Awards. On Friday, organizers will dole out the hardware to deserving brewers from Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The awards ceremony kicks off at 6 p.m. at Fionns Grant Park. Rub shoulders with the province’s best brewers as the top prizes are handed out, then stick around for entertainment afterwards courtesy of Brennan Hakes.

Tickets include a beverage and an appetizer.

— Ben Sigurdson

Unearthed art gems

Silent Fields: Art By Ernest G. Wilson
226 Main St.
Now to June 8, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
By appointment; call 204-930-2103

When Ryan Pollard refurbished the Fortune Block five years ago with his team, he probably never imagined he would one day be hosting an art show there.

But a street-level space at 226 Main St. has been transformed into a pop-up art gallery and, at the encouragement of artist Brendan Michal Heshka — whose solo exhibition, Words in Paint, just wrapped — Pollard has mounted an exhibition for an artist whose work has had a hold on him since he first saw it hanging at his grandparents’ house.

Silent Fields: Art By Ernest G. Wilson is the first major exhibition featuring the work of the Winnipeg artist, who died in 1987.

“I set out trying to figure out who he was, basically, and I built a little inventory of his work,” Pollard told the Free Press earlier this month. “He was essentially unsearchable. There was really nothing written about him, even though I think he’s an outstanding painter. I just felt like he was, in some ways, sort of forgotten about.”

A selection of Wilson’s paintings and works on paper will be on view until June 8. A closing reception will be held on June 7, from 5 to 10 p.m.

— Jen Zoratti

Pleased to meet them

The Replacements vs Hüsker Dü
A Battle of the Twin Cities
Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club
Saturday, 10 p.m.
Tickets $15 at eventbrite.ca

There will be more than one good dose of thunder Saturday as a collection of local musicians take on the music of arguably two of the greatest bands ever to emerge from the Twin Cities: Hüsker Dü and the Replacements.

The Murder Birds — Mickey Kot, Dave L’Heureux, Marty Chatrin and Paul Schaeffer — will take on the music of melodic punk pioneers Hüsker Dü as Husker Don’t, while ramshackle rock outfit the Replacements will be covered by the ReplaceMats — Leif Gobeil, Johannes Lodewyks, Rob Pachol and Jodi Dunlop — who have graced local stages in bands such as the Vibrating Beds, Telepathic Butterfies, Noble Thiefs and Mise en Scene.

Hüsker Dü — vocalist-guitarist Bob Mould, vocalist-drummer Grant Hart and bassist Greg Norton — formed in Saint Paul, Minn., in 1979 and released seven albums, including two double LPs, and an EP between 1982 and 1987. Hart died of liver cancer in 2017.

The Replacements — vocalist-guitarist Paul Westerberg, guitarist Bob Stinson, bassist Tommy Stinson and drummer Chris Mars — formed across the Red River in Minneapolis the same year as Hüsker Dü and released seven albums between 1981 and 1990. The band split up in 1991 and Bob Stinson — who didn’t play on the band’s final three albums — died in 1995 of organ failure. Westerberg and Tommy Stinson put together a new lineup of the band for numerous shows between 2013 and 2015.

— Rob Williams

Sounds of spring

Canadian Mennonite University, 500 Shaftesbury Blvd.
June 2 to 8, various times
Individual and festival passes available on eventbrite.ca

The 25th annual Agassiz Festival kicks off on Sunday for seven days of classical and contemporary chamber music featuring an ensemble of local and international artists. This year’s festival, titled Sounds in the Key of Spring, takes place primarily at Canadian Mennonite University’s Laudamus Auditorium.

Sunday’s opening concert (7 p.m.) features works spanning 400 years, from Henry Purcell to Philip Glass. Highlights include the Amy Beach piano quartet and a pre-show talk with performing violinist Gregory Lewis and host Andrea Ratuski.

Monday (7:30 p.m.) is an exploration of Beethoven’s deafness through the composer’s catalogue and modern melodies.

Tuesday is a double bill with Lewis and pianist Paul Williamson performing the works of Mozart, Florence Price and Maurice Ravel at 7:30 p.m. Stick around for Late Night Jazz with the Will Bonness Jazz Trio at 9 p.m.

On Wednesday, up-and-comers are in the spotlight during a noon matinee from Agassiz’s 2024 emerging artist cornetist Sam Ferguson in recital with pianist Liudmyla Tereshchenko. That evening (7 p.m.), catch the Swiss Piano Trio and friends playing work by Beethoven and romantic Swiss composer Paul Juon.

The Agassiz Showcase takes place next Thursday (7 p.m.) with a cast of Canadian talent — including Guy Few, Beverley Johnston, Joel Quarrington and James Campbell — playing everything from vibraphones to flower pots.

Friday is jam-packed with three events, beginning at 1 p.m. with Copenhagen’s Rudersdal Chamber Players highlighting work by female composers. At 6 p.m. head over to CMU’s Folio Café for a mini concert featuring hardware from Canada Council for the Arts’s instrument bank. And at 7:30 p.m. take in a cello-heavy program celebrating Winnipeg’s 150th anniversary.

The Agassiz Festival wraps up on June 8, beginning with a 1 p.m. Skittles and Kitchens concert. At 3 p.m., Lewis presents a violin masterclass at the Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Arts (515 Portage Ave.). The festival’s grand finale is Sounding Thunder, the Song of Francis Pegahmagabow at 7:30 p.m. at Jubilee Place Concert Hall (181 Riverton Ave.). The three-act performance is a musical journey through the life of decorated Second World War sniper and Ojibwe political activist Francis Pegahmagabow. Free community and student performances of Sounding Thunder also take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, seats available by request.

Visit agassizfestival.com for more info.

— Eva Wasney