Five things to watch in Paris on Thursday, Aug. 8

Artist’s inspired work brings Red River Métis story back to Portage and Main

Jennine Krauchi calls them the “grandmothers.” “They speak to you very silently. You never hear a word, but they speak,” Krauchi says, referring to the antique pieces of Métis needlework she’s carefully studied for years. But there are few precedents for her latest art project: a 85-foot-wide by 32-foot-high chain curtain of Métis needlework that drapes over the historic Bank of Montreal’s neoclassical facade.

Goodness alive, well in N.L.-set musical

I first saw Come From Away — the true-story musical about the incredible efforts of the residents of Gander, N.L. on Sept. 11, 2001, who welcomed nearly 7,000 travellers diverted to their remote town after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon — in 2022, when Broadway Across Canada brought it to the Centennial Concert Hall.

I went in cold, but with blunted expectations; it seemed, on premise alone, like it could tilt too far into shmaltzy sentimentality, that it would be too earnest in its goodness.

So, when I wept until my face was as wet and salty as though it had been slapped by the waves of the North Atlantic, I was pleasantly surprised. I loved it. It’s emotional, yes. It’s sentimental, yes. But you can’t help but feel both buoyed — and, dare I say, patriotic — by the end of it.

Written by Canadians Irene Sankoff and David Hein, Come From Away seemed an unlikely hit when it opened on Broadway in 2017. But there was, by then, an appetite for it.

Closure of Nomads field massive upset for North End

The North Winnipeg Nomads have a flag on the field.

The long-standing minor football club was recently informed that its field is unfit to host games and that it would need to find a new home for its five youth and adult teams until repairs are made to the playing surface.

“Our board has made every effort to address the condition of our home field,” the club wrote in a statement. “Unfortunately, following a professional assessment, the field has been determined to be unsafe and unstable for our athletes.”

All five of the club’s teams will play their 2026 season at Frank Whyte Field, part of the Northwood Community Centre, with no confirmed date for when they can play on their home field again.

Downtown no place to be after dark, huge majority of Winnipeggers say in survey

Most Winnipeggers are afraid to walk alone downtown and believe the city needs more police officers, a new survey finds.

Winnipeg Police Service released its 2026 citizen survey Friday.

Downtown safety appears to remain a major concern, with just 44 per cent saying they feel very or reasonably safe walking alone in the area during the day. The number plummets to eight per cent overall at night, down from nine per cent in 2024, the last time the survey was conducted.

This year, 14 per cent of men felt very or reasonably safe walking alone downtown at night, compared to just three per cent of women.

Citizen reports help highlight connectivity issues across southwest Manitoba

A southwestern Manitoba man has created a map to document cell service blackout spots in an effort to push for better access in rural areas.

Mark Custance compiled more than 300 citizen reports over the last few months to document where service in southwest Manitoba is strong, spotty or doesn’t exist at all.

“I’ve heard people complain and say, ‘cell service sucks’ or ‘this is not working.’ But what does the data actually say?” Custance said from his office in Melita, where he has installed a cell-service booster to maintain connectivity with the rest of the world.

Analyzing where service is good and poor, he cross-references it with the location of cellphone towers across the region.

‘We feel lucky — and a bit traumatized’: Tornado confirmed in River Heights Sunday

Tanner Lemieux wasn’t surprised to learn the violent winds that tore through River Heights and reached their peak near his home Sunday night have been classified as a tornado.

While driving back to his Lindsay Street home from a shopping trip with his wife Sunday, it became clear they were not in the middle of an ordinary thunderstorm when rain and wind started coming from every direction and hit every side of their truck.

The forceful wind made it impossible for him to open his door after they had parked. He climbed through the window, over the top of his vehicle, and the couple struggled to fight the whipping winds to make it into the house.

“As we were running in, the wind started pulling me backwards out of the door,” he told the Free Press while cleaning debris from his yard Thursday.