The Wrap: Historical building fragments destroyed, turnover at The Forks, a pause on school fundraising, and the subversive Miss Shakespeare

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Bindy’s Caribbean Delights, which opened at The Forks in 1989, closed down earlier this month. They’re not the only ones who have moved out of The Forks in recent times — the Original Pancake House closed its doors earlier this year after two decades, while the lease for Skinner’s wasn’t renewed in 2019 following a 30-year tenure.

A change in The Forks’ lease renewal policy could lead to even further turnover reporter Gabrielle Piché discovered.

Gabrielle Piché:

Lease policy spurs eatery turnover at The Forks

Another decades-old restaurant closes down Read More

'All of a sudden, everything’s being smashed up'

City officials say cost and colonial legacy played key roles in the decision to demolish elements of historic buildings the city had long preserved in a downtown park.

The demolition at Air Canada Park destroyed two columns from a former bank built in 1908, a cast iron column dating back to 1899, and a row of small columns connected by a rail from the Devon Court Apartments on Broadway that dated back to 1909, said local history blogger Christian Cassidy. The fragments didn’t have official heritage status, so they were not protected against demolition.

Joyanne Pursaga reports.

Joyanne Pursaga:

’They helped tell a story’: city criticized after parts of historic buildings demolished

Colonial-era shards deemed too costly to relocate during redevelopment of downtown park Read More

'Creates a situation that is ultimately inequitable and unfair'

“Unfettered” school fundraising should be phased out because it creates inequities between schools in different neighbourhoods, says the leader of Winnipeg’s largest school division.

Matt Henderson, chief superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division, says he believes school budgets should cover trips and wealth should be equitably distributed to schools.

School fundraising, usually led by volunteer-run parent advisory councils, has historically resulted in disparities between educational offerings for students from higher-income neighbourhoods and their peers, he says.

Maggie Macintosh has the story.

Maggie Macintosh:

WSD leader seeks pause on school fundraisers

The leader of Manitoba’s largest school division is asking principals to pause fundraisers to address program inequities across inner-city and central Winnipeg. “If we begin to say that certain sch... Read More

'We can be daring and push ourselves'

An all-female cast and crew is behind Winnipeg Studio Theatre’s fall production of Miss Shakespeare, a revisionist musical of vocal suppression and expression. The musical is presented by Rainbow Stage and runs at the Asper Centre for Theatre & Film from Sept. 26 to Oct. 5.

Onstage, Judith (Rhea Rodych-Rasidescu) accesses her creativity to lead a group of women in something secret, subversive and, yes, illegal: the staging of a play.

This production is the first time that director Erin McGrath and choreographer Rachael McLaren have worked with a cast, crew and creative team entirely made up of women.

Arts writer Ben Waldman has the full story.

Ben Waldman:

All the world’s an illegal stage for Shakespeare’s daughter

In William Shakespeare’s day, the idea that his daughter Judith would take up the family business was out of the question: the theatre was yet another arena dominated by fathers and brothers and sons ... Read More