What’s up

Brew at the Zoo

• Assiniboine Park Zoo, 2595 Roblin Ave.
• Friday, 7-10 p.m.
• Tickets $68 here

In July, Winnipeg beer drinkers flocked to Blue Cross Park for the return of Ballpark Brewfest; in August, they convened at Le Patio 340 for the Winnipeg Beer Festival.

And on Friday, lager lovers and hop heads will descend on the Assiniboine Park Zoo for the annual Brew at the Zoo, which sees local breweries pouring their wares alongside a range of national and international products. (Note: the zoo proper is not open to Brew at the Zoo guests.)

Among the locals taking part at this year’s Brew at the Zoo are Kilter Brewing Co., Heritage Farms Brewing Co., Dastardly Villain Ale Works, One Great City Brewing Co. and Barn Hammer Brewing Co. Locals pouring non-beer options include Brat Cat Mead Co., Shrugging Doctor Beverage Company and Patent 5 Distillery.

Brew at the Zoo, then, offers much more than beer, with a range of ready-to-drink cocktails, coolers, cider, wine and spirits being poured throughout the event; non-alcoholic options include kombucha and non-alcoholic beer.

In addition to the drinks being sampled, there will be games, live music and a sensory table to learn more about what makes up the various flavours in beer. Guests can also vote on favourite beers tasted throughout the evening.

A handful of food trucks will be on hand, and guests can keep the party going at the on-site beer garden, which will feature a selection of products being sampled.

The VIP tickets (which gets people in at 6 p.m. instead of 7 p.m.) are sold out, but general admission tickets for this 18+ event are available for $68 at wfp.to/iRH, and include a Brew at the Zoo sample cup and all drinks samples. A designated driver ticket is available for $31.50 and includes unlimited samples of all non-alcoholic beverages.

— Ben Sigurdson

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Neighbour x Neighbour Festival

• Lord Roberts Community Centre, 725 Kylemore Ave.
• Saturday, 1-11 p.m.
• Free

Say goodbye to the season with one last summer shindig.

Now in its fifth year, Neighbour x Neighbour — a free outdoor community music and arts festival held in South Osborne — has become a must-attend in the city’s packed festival calendar. This year’s all-local lineup includes rockers El Leon and the Strangers, indie-pop outfit Mise en Scene, as well as O.D. Beresford, the indie-folk project of singer/songwriter Owen Dueck, singer-songwriter Paige Drobot and instrumental wunderkinds We’re Only Here for The Snacks.

The festival, which is all ages and free to attend, also features a makers market, food trucks, beer garden, whisky bar, kids activities and a community clothing swap.

— Jen Zoratti

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Fiver

• Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club, 234 Main St.
• Thursday, 8 p.m.
• Admission $20

Fiver, the musical alias of Simone Schmidt, formerly of One Hundred Dollars, returns to Winnipeg for a solo performance at the Times Change(d) tonight.

Fiver’s latest record, Cleaning House presented by the Fiver Trois, finds Sackville, N.B.-based Schmidt pushing “country music” into new and innovative directions. With a diverse and varied discography, Schmidt has a wealth of material to draw from when crafting a set for an intimate audience.

The same could be said for Winnipeg’s Matt Foster, no stranger to local stages, who has also crafted quite the repertoire over the years. Up-and-coming ambient artist Truth in the Well rounds out the lineup.

— Sheldon Birnie

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Exploration of Contentment

• Prairie Fusion Arts & Entertainment Centre, 11-2nd Street NE, Portage La Prairie
• Sept. 14 to Oct. 22, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Free

Visual artist Jordan Miller’s second solo show since her retirement as the owner of Cre8ery Gallery and Studio features 60 abstract acrylic and alcohol ink and acrylic paintings.

Reflecting upon the artist’s own experiences as she grappled with feelings of self-doubt, the new body of work invites viewers to consider the ways in which the state of contentment can exist alongside uncertainty, change and the complexities of modern life.

Layers of colour, carefully built up and scraped away to reveal glimpses of vivid shades, document her journey towards acceptance — and being satisfied with the end result.

The opening reception is 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20, and visitors will have a chance to meet Miller on Oct. 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. All artworks are available to be purchased.

— AV Kitching

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Mangofest

• Various venues
• To Saturday
• Tickets $22 Friday, $33 Saturday at mangofestmanitoba.com

It takes a special sort of gumption, hubris even, to start a music festival.

Woodstock ‘99, Altamont, Fyre Festival — there are almost as many famous festifails as bestivals, and Winnipeg has had its share of both.

Yet people forget that the Winnipeg Folk Festival started as a bunch of kids mucking about in the mud and rain to the strains of acoustic music. More than 50 years later, what was intended as a one-off is one of the world’s largest festivals of its kind.

When our festivals work, they create tremendous value for our artists and audiences. Against the odds, Mangofest has been building up one of the city’s most unique festivals for the past few years.

What started as a backyard gathering is now a sort of decentralized party with multiple locations, overlapping with the Bike Jam (that event has already passed) and more traditional shows at the Times Change(d) (Friday, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.) and Blue Note Park (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.).

There are too many artists to list, but they represent the next wave of Winnipeg music talent, washing over eager crowds in the ebbing weeks of summer.

— Conrad Sweatman