West Broadway winter carnival sets the standard, says volunteer

Children and adults in West Broadway celebrated winter with games, skating and even horses on Saturday.

The 22nd annual West Broadway Snoball Winter Carnival brought dozens of area residents together both outdoors and indoors at the centre and park just south of Broadway at Young Street.

“It is definitely a joyful activity,” Kelly Frazer, executive director of the West Broadway Community Organization, said on Saturday.

“Winter can be isolating for people. We want people to get out and see their neighbours and enjoy their time. This is a great event because everything is free. You can come and ride in the horse-drawn carriages, you can get a good meal, you can play lots of games, and everything is free.”

Brandon man taking on punishing 3,500-km cycling route for cancer research

A Brandon cyclist is gearing up for the ride of a lifetime in support of cancer research.

Grant Hamilton is heading to Europe this week to join Tour 21, an annual event that sees a team of amateur cyclists ride the full Tour de France route, one week ahead of the professionals.

The team will pedal more than 3,500 km in 21 days, including climbs and summits in the Pyrenees mountains and the French Alps. It’s part of an effort to raise nearly $2 million for Cure Leukaemia, the official charity partner of the Tour de France.

Cure Leukaemia funds clinical trials, driving global advancements in blood cancer treatment and impacting those affected by the disease.

Graduates far from home ‘grateful’ for honour at school powwow

Grade 12 Tataskweyak Cree Nation student Jonah Wavey was among several wildfire evacuees honoured Monday during a special celebration of Indigenous graduates at the University of Winnipeg’s Duckworth Centre.

A show inside a cathedral featured raw chickens in diapers. The German president was in the audience

BERLIN (AP) — A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country's president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show “hurt religious feelings."

The show, "Westphalia Side Story,” was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany.

Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing “Fleisch ist Fleisch” (“Meat is meat”) — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus' 1984 pop song “Live is Life” — with scythes and dancing with the dead chickens on a stage in front of Paderborn Cathedral's altar.

Performance company bodytalk said in a statement Friday that the show featured work-in-progress excerpts from “Westphalia Side Story" — which references the American musical "West Side Story."

French Open tennis players say nasal strips aren’t just for snoring

PARIS (AP) — If more tennis players find themselves breathing easier, it might just be thanks to Carlos Alcaraz.

The four-time Grand Slam champion, whose bid for a second consecutive French Open title was scheduled to continue with a third-round match Friday night, has often worn a nasal strip in matches since last season — although not during his first two contests at Roland-Garros this week — and the sport's other athletes took note.

After all, if Alcaraz finds something useful on the court, their thinking goes, maybe it makes sense to give the adhesive bands a shot.

“I saw Carlos playing in it,” said 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, a semifinalist in Paris last year and the No. 6 women's seed this time. “I’d be pretty interested to try and see if there is really a difference. If he plays matches in it, then probably there is.”

Youpe! Youpe! sur la glace en bateau-dragon

Le bateau-dragon est l’épicentre d’une nouvelle vague d’engouement mondial. Mais d’une grosse nouvelle vague figée. Depuis fin 2015, les passionnés de cette pirogue se paient le plaisir de pagayer sur la glace. La première manitobaine aura lieu le 25 février.

Le tout premier Festival de bateaux-dragon sur glace du Manitoba se déroulera sur la rivière Rouge, près du Centre du kayak et du canot du Manitoba, situé sur la promenade Churchill.

Pour Alfred Bérard, un des organisateurs et l’annonceur officiel de l’évènement, il s’agit d’une “grande source de fierté d’être à la fine pointe des activités d’hiver.

“La Manitoba Paddling Association est une pionnière de ce sport au Canada. Nous, les Manitobains, on aurait pu être les premiers, mais le Festival de bateaux-dragon sur glace d’Ottawa nous a battus d’une semaine, parce que Winterlude, la fête d’hiver de la capitale avait lieu les 17 et 18 février. Et que cette année, notre Festival du Voyageur se tient pas mal tard.”

Danser à 95 ans

L

E 9 avril dernier, la Franco-Manitobaine Hortense Sabourin a célébré ses 95 ans.

Un âge avancé qui ne l’empêche pas de poursuivre sa passion, la danse, malgré la perte de sa vue depuis plus de 15 ans.

“Quand, vers l’âge de 75-80 ans, mon médecin m’a dit que je devenais aveugle, c’était une triste nouvelle mais je n’ai jamais pensé abandonner la danse,” affirme Hortense Sabourin. “C’est un bon exercice et c’est bon pour le moral. On n’a pas besoin des yeux pour danser, mais des oreilles.”