Identity, Culture and Community

Please review each article prior to use: grade-level applicability and curricular alignment might not be obvious from the headline alone.

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A Muslim-owned thrift shop blends modest fashion, faith and sustainability

Ulaa Kuziez, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview
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A Muslim-owned thrift shop blends modest fashion, faith and sustainability

Ulaa Kuziez, The Associated Press 6 minute read Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026

NEW YORK (RNS) — Kadjahtou Balde has a hard time parting with some of the vintage gems that make it into her Harlem thrift shop — a silk skirt adorned with traditional Palestinian embroidery, a pink wool sweater and an embellished blazer in perfect condition.

“Look at the level of detail on this abaya,” she said while unfurling a black dress handstitched with turquoise geometric designs, a type of garment often worn by Muslim women. “It’s so beautiful, I kind of wish I could keep it.”

Balde has long been an avid thrifter and sustainable fashion enthusiast. But even in a city with a bounty of vintage and thrift shops, she couldn’t always find pieces that fit her needs as a Muslim woman who dresses modestly — and fashionably. So when her father asked for help revamping his struggling Harlem gift shop last year, Balde knew a thrift store that celebrated modest fashion could become a much needed space.

“My dad told me that he was tired,” Balde said. “I decided that I want to help him, but I want to do it in a way that aligns with my values: Islam and sustainability.”

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Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026

Owner Kadjahtou Balde, center, interacts with Tyllah Gorham, at Modify Thrift in Harlem, in the Manhattan borough of New York, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Ulaa Kuziez/RNS via AP)

Owner Kadjahtou Balde, center, interacts with Tyllah Gorham, at Modify Thrift in Harlem, in the Manhattan borough of New York, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Ulaa Kuziez/RNS via AP)

Alberta’s Smith owes answers before separation vote: former federal minister Dion

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Alberta’s Smith owes answers before separation vote: former federal minister Dion

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

EDMONTON - The man who helped write the rules on separation votes in Canada says if Alberta’s premier is going to take her province down that “worrying” path, she has a duty to spell out to everyone how it will be triggered and what happens afterward.

Stéphane Dion says Danielle Smith must make it clear what she would do if Alberta votes to leave and whether she would also carry out the required negotiations with the federal government.

Dion also says it's up to Smith to determine the clear majority threshold number for a successful referendum, as the federal law doesn't specify.

"She owes that to the people of Alberta and the whole people of Canada," Dion said in an interview Wednesday.

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Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

Former Canadian ambassador to France Stéphane Dion waits for guests to arrive at the official residence of the Canadian ambassador in France for roundtable discussion on Artificial Intelligence infrastructure in Paris on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Former Canadian ambassador to France Stéphane Dion waits for guests to arrive at the official residence of the Canadian ambassador in France for roundtable discussion on Artificial Intelligence infrastructure in Paris on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Washington Post cuts a third of its staff in a blow to a legendary news brand

David Bauder, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Washington Post cuts a third of its staff in a blow to a legendary news brand

David Bauder, The Associated Press 6 minute read Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026

The Washington Post laid off one-third of its staff Wednesday, eliminating its sports section, several foreign bureaus and its books coverage in a widespread purge that represented a brutal blow to journalism and one of its most legendary brands.

The Post's executive editor, Matt Murray, called the move painful but necessary to put the outlet on stronger footing and to weather changes in technology and user habits. “We can't be everything to everyone,” Murray said in a note to staff members.

He outlined the changes in a companywide online meeting, and staff members then began getting emails with one of two subject lines — telling them their role was or was not eliminated.

Rumors of layoffs had circulated for weeks, ever since word leaked that sports reporters who had expected to travel to Italy for the Winter Olympics would not be going. But when official word came down, the size and scale of the cuts were shocking, affecting virtually every department in the newsroom.

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Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026

A sign for the Washington Post is seen at the company's offices, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A sign for the Washington Post is seen at the company's offices, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Defiant Minneapolis citizenry delivers aspirational message

Melissa Martin 7 minute read Preview

Defiant Minneapolis citizenry delivers aspirational message

Melissa Martin 7 minute read Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026

There have been many times over the last several years where I’ve felt myself losing hope. War, turmoil, disinformation, rising authoritarianism; so much suffering with no clear road out. It’s a dangerous position. Despair is a killer; hope is an antidote. Yet it can be so hard to find, when the state of the world seems so dark.

If you’re looking for hope right now, turn your gaze south. Because right now, it shines bright in Minneapolis.

What’s happening on the ground in Minneapolis could be one of the most inspiring stories of our generation; an incredible grassroots response to a brutal and unwanted federal occupation, organized and led by ordinary residents. And it lays out a framework from which people in all cities could draw beautiful lessons.

Since December, when a surge of 3,000 heavily armed and armoured Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents began in the city, the citizens of Minneapolis have held their streets, united to comfort those affected, and remained undaunted by the frigid -25 C weather which Winnipeggers know well.

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Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026

ADAM GRAY / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

People demonstrate outside the Graduate by Hilton Minneapolis hotel, where it’s believed ICE agents are staying.

ADAM GRAY / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
                                People demonstrate outside the Graduate by Hilton Minneapolis hotel, where it’s believed ICE agents are staying.

Trump continues to target Indigenous peoples

Niigaan Sinclair 5 minute read Preview

Trump continues to target Indigenous peoples

Niigaan Sinclair 5 minute read Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

The Assembly of First Nations recently issued an official travel advisory to all its members considering travel to the United States.

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Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump has spent a career making life brutal for Indigenous peoples. (Laurent Gillieron / The Associated Press)

U.S. President Donald Trump has spent a career making life brutal for Indigenous peoples. (Laurent Gillieron / The Associated Press)

Pimicikamak’s $20-M in unpaid Hydro bills pales in comparison to what Hydro owes First Nation, chief says

Dan Lett 4 minute read Preview

Pimicikamak’s $20-M in unpaid Hydro bills pales in comparison to what Hydro owes First Nation, chief says

Dan Lett 4 minute read Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026

To underline its anger over unresolved compensation from the 1977 Northern Flood Agreement, the Pimicikamak (Cross Lake) Cree Nation stopped paying its electricity bills from Manitoba Hydro about 10 years ago. Now, the remote First Nation owes more than $20 million in arrears on its residential accounts.

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Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026

Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias (left) and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. (MKO) Grand Chief Grand Chief Garrison Settee speak to the media during a tour with politicians and media at Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Man., last Wednesday. (John Woods / Free Press files)

Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias (left) and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc. (MKO) Grand Chief Grand Chief Garrison Settee speak to the media during a tour with politicians and media at Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Man., last Wednesday. (John Woods / Free Press files)

Who calls the shots on city land use?

Erna Buffie 5 minute read Preview

Who calls the shots on city land use?

Erna Buffie 5 minute read Monday, Jan. 5, 2026

Everybody thinks it, but no one wants to say it out loud — the fact that for decades, our city council and its administration have, to a large degree, been in thrall to the construction and development industries.

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Monday, Jan. 5, 2026

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

A deer in the Lemay Forest. Erna Buffie takes issue with the city’s willingness to allow tree-cutting on environmentally valuable land.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
                                A deer in the Lemay Forest. Erna Buffie takes issue with the city’s willingness to allow tree-cutting on environmentally valuable land.

Flicks Cinema enters sixth decade as Stonewall amenity with new energy, new ownership

Aaron Epp 5 minute read Preview

Flicks Cinema enters sixth decade as Stonewall amenity with new energy, new ownership

Aaron Epp 5 minute read Friday, Jan. 2, 2026

STONEWALL — Ever since Vince Levenec and his family purchased a movie theatre, he’s gotten used to hearing about patrons’ early romantic encounters.

“Everybody says, ‘That’s where I sat when I had my first kiss,’” Levenec said. “Everybody in town comes in and has that story about the Flicks Cinema.”

Opened in 1975, the single-screen, 200-seat theatre served moviegoers in Stonewall for nearly 50 years before closing its doors in December 2024. When longtime owner Don Smith put the building up for sale last summer, Levenec and wife, Amanda Van Solkema were immediately interested.

Van Solkema grew up in Stonewall, and seeing movies at Flicks Cinema has been a key part of her experience in the bedroom community roughly 25 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Around 15 years ago, Smith was thinking about selling the theatre, Van Solkema said, and she asked him about it.

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Friday, Jan. 2, 2026

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press

Vince Levenec (from left), Amanda Van Solkema and Griffin Levenec are three of the new owners of Flicks Cinema movie theatre in Stonewall.

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
                                Vince Levenec (from left), Amanda Van Solkema and Griffin Levenec are three of the new owners of Flicks Cinema movie theatre in Stonewall.

Chirp heard around Manitoba: RM sells building for $1 to cricket farm entrepreneur

Tyler Searle 4 minute read Preview

Chirp heard around Manitoba: RM sells building for $1 to cricket farm entrepreneur

Tyler Searle 4 minute read Friday, Jan. 2, 2026

One dollar doesn’t stretch very far these days, but apparently it’s enough to buy a business in Benito.

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Friday, Jan. 2, 2026

Supplied

New owner Stuart Matheson, 27, intends to renovate the property and convert it into a cricket farm and pet food store.

Supplied
                                New owner Stuart Matheson, 27, intends to renovate the property and convert it into a cricket farm and pet food store.

Fewer than one in five Manitobans are sure they know fabricated online content when they see it: survey

Ben Waldman 5 minute read Preview

Fewer than one in five Manitobans are sure they know fabricated online content when they see it: survey

Ben Waldman 5 minute read Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026

When Weekly World News stories about a half-boy, half-bat lined supermarket checkout lanes in the 1990s, most consumers — including Probe Research partner Curtis Brown — could readily, easily and confidently identify the eye-grabbing tabloid reports as false.

“When it comes to (content generated by) AI, people have a bit less confidence,” says Brown. “Sometimes it’s very obviously so-called AI slop — like a historical figure talking about something contemporary. The last couple of months I’ve seen a lot of videos of JFK talking about what a fool his nephew is.”

Even if a quick Google search to note RFK Jr. was nine when his uncle was assassinated in 1963 — marking such videos as debris in an artificial intelligence mudslide — new media literacy polling conducted by Probe for the Free Press reveals that only 18 per cent of Manitobans feel very confident that they can identify whether video footage is “fake or AI-generated.”

Of the 1,000 Manitobans randomly surveyed by Probe between Nov. 25 and Dec. 10, 13 per cent believed that they’d personally shared video, images or text on social media that they didn’t realize was fake.

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Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026

Bat boy appeared in the supermarket tabloid Weekly World News in the early 1990s.

Bat boy appeared in the supermarket tabloid Weekly World News in the early 1990s.

Alberta group gets green light to collect signatures for separation referendum

Daniela Germano, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Alberta group gets green light to collect signatures for separation referendum

Daniela Germano, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026

EDMONTON - Alberta's election agency has fired the starter's pistol on the race to collect enough names for a referendum on the province quitting Canada.

Elections Alberta announced Friday that Mitch Sylvestre and the Alberta Prosperity Project have from Saturday until May 2 to collect just under 178,000 signatures to qualify.

"Citizen initiative petition signature sheets have been issued," Elections Alberta said in a statement Friday.

"The proponent may now proceed with collecting signatures."

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Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026

The Alberta Legislature is seen in Edmonton on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

The Alberta Legislature is seen in Edmonton on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
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Filipino-style fried-chicken biz off to a sizzling start

David Sanderson 7 minute read Preview
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Filipino-style fried-chicken biz off to a sizzling start

David Sanderson 7 minute read Friday, Jan. 2, 2026

Before we begin, John Tadeo wants to make it abundantly clear that Popoy’s, the tag he and his girlfriend Patricia Santiago settled on for their Filipino-style fried-chicken biz, isn’t a play on an international fried-chicken chain that bears the name of a certain, spinach-loving sailor-man.

When Tadeo was a youngster growing up in the Philippines, his paternal grandmother never called him anything but Popoy, a derivative of Popo, which is Tagalog for little boy or child. His parents continue to address him by that term of affection to this day, so last winter, when he and Santiago were tossing around potential names for their fledgling enterprise, they agreed Popoy’s Golden Chicken had a better ring to it than John’s or Patricia’s.

“I guess if somebody associated with Popeyes (Louisiana Kitchen) ever tells us we can’t call ourselves (Popoy’s), we’d probably just change it to Poy’s,” Tadeo says, standing next to Santiago in the commercial kitchen at Riverview Community Centre, where they accept pickup orders on a regular basis, usually every other weekend.

“But since Popoy is my name, I’m not sure what argument they’d have.”

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Friday, Jan. 2, 2026

Popoy’s offers three flavours: original, hot honey and the new ‘everything bagel.’ (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)

Popoy’s offers three flavours: original, hot honey and the new ‘everything bagel.’ (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
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The inconvenient truth: Thomas King’s admission he isn’t Cherokee hits hard

Niigaan Sinclair 5 minute read Preview
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The inconvenient truth: Thomas King’s admission he isn’t Cherokee hits hard

Niigaan Sinclair 5 minute read Monday, Nov. 24, 2025

Intentionally or not, the real-life consequences of King’s story is that his inability to find out the truth of his own identity, which apparently wasn’t hard for others, meant Canadians were duped, Indigenous peoples were marginalized, and all of us are left to ask a lot of questions.

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Monday, Nov. 24, 2025

Patrick Doyle / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES

Author Thomas King is presented the Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction by Governor General David Johnston in 2014. On Monday the Globe and Mail published an interview with King in which he announces he is not a Native American.

Patrick Doyle / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
                                Author Thomas King is presented the Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction by Governor General David Johnston in 2014. On Monday the Globe and Mail published an interview with King in which he announces he is not a Native American.

Métis federation sues Ottawa, Manitoba over Sixties Scoop

Kevin Rollason 4 minute read Preview

Métis federation sues Ottawa, Manitoba over Sixties Scoop

Kevin Rollason 4 minute read Monday, Nov. 24, 2025

The Manitoba Métis Federation is suing the federal and Manitoba governments for damages caused to the Red River Métis as a whole when an unknown number of children were placed with non-Indigenous families during the Sixties Scoop.

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Monday, Nov. 24, 2025

Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES

The Manitoba Métis Federation is suing the federal and Manitoba governments for damages caused to the Red River Métis as a whole when children were placed with non-Indigenous families during the Sixties Scoop.

Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
                                The Manitoba Métis Federation is suing the federal and Manitoba governments for damages caused to the Red River Métis as a whole when children were placed with non-Indigenous families during the Sixties Scoop.

Investing for ourselves, and those downstream

Jocelyn Thorpe and Adele Perry 5 minute read Preview

Investing for ourselves, and those downstream

Jocelyn Thorpe and Adele Perry 5 minute read Monday, Nov. 24, 2025

We have invested large sums of money in infrastructure before.

You don’t often hear Winnipeggers complaining about the results: soft, clean drinking water thanks to the Shoal Lake aqueduct and flood protection thanks to the Red River Floodway.

A new city report outlines the importance of upgrading Winnipeg’s North End sewage treatment plant, which is responsible for treating 70 per cent of the city’s wastewater and all sewage sludge. The report focuses on the upgrades’ potential benefits to the city, including increased capacity to build new homes and businesses, and related economic growth.

It briefly mentions that upgrades to the plant are necessary in order to meet environmental regulations designed to protect waterways from the discharge of harmful materials that compromise the health of the Red River and Lake Winnipeg.

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Monday, Nov. 24, 2025

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An undated archival photo shows the aqueduct construction that brought Shoal Lake water to Winnipeg. Manitoba has great need of new infrastructure investment.

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                                An undated archival photo shows the aqueduct construction that brought Shoal Lake water to Winnipeg. Manitoba has great need of new infrastructure investment.
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Winnipeg’s synagogue and Edmonton’s mosque

Austin Albanese 5 minute read Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025

In 1889, on the northwest corner of Common and King streets, Winnipeggers of many creeds gathered to lay the cornerstone of a new house of worship. It was the first synagogue in Manitoba, Shaarey Zedek, the Gates of Righteousness.

The Manitoba Free Press called the crowd “representative of all classes of citizens.” Members of the legislature and city council stood beside clergy from several churches. The Grand Lodge of Freemasons led the procession. The Infantry School Band played.

Philip Brown, chair of the building committee, rose to speak. To the wider city he appealed for “all lovers of religious liberty, regardless of class, creed or nationality.” To his own congregation he offered steadiness: be strong; your trials will be many, but patience and success will crown your efforts. Then his words turned outward again, toward the Masons and other neighbours who had come in friendship.

Quoting Psalm 133, he said, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” He praised the “worthy brotherhood whose motto is ‘Light, truth and charity,’” saying its principles were in harmony with Judaism’s own.

Merry and bright: more than 40,000 expected for annual Santa Claus Parade

Toni De Guzman 3 minute read Preview

Merry and bright: more than 40,000 expected for annual Santa Claus Parade

Toni De Guzman 3 minute read Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025

Saturday’s annual downtown parade will feature Santa and the Grey Cup, which will be contested Sunday between the Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders.

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Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

The parade will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 at Portage Avenue and Main Street,

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS 
                                The parade will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15 at Portage Avenue and Main Street,

Canadian sprinter Brendon Rodney helping with hurricane relief aid in Jamaica

Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Canadian sprinter Brendon Rodney helping with hurricane relief aid in Jamaica

Abdulhamid Ibrahim, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025

Brendon Rodney knows even helping a few people is enough to make a big difference.

The three-time Olympic medallist sprinter from Toronto lives in Jamaica where Hurricane Melissa caused significant damage, mainly in the northwest and southwest parts of the country. The Category 5 hurricane hit the island last week and took a number of lives as well.

"It's always tough because it's my home, ... I live here, but it's my home away from home," he said. "And the people that have been affected are not just people that I don't know. But of course my training partners, the students at the school and many different people that I interact with on a day to day, month to month basis.

"So for me, this is difficult because you can't help everybody, but as long as you can help one, two or three people then it does make a big difference. So for us, it's just finding ways that we can help in any possible way."

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Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025

Canada's Brendon Rodney runs the baton in the men's 4 x 100m relay during the Paris Summer Olympics in Saint-Denis, France, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Canada's Brendon Rodney runs the baton in the men's 4 x 100m relay during the Paris Summer Olympics in Saint-Denis, France, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Unique Bunny jumps to 10 stores, with eye on future expansion

Gabrielle Piché 5 minute read Preview

Unique Bunny jumps to 10 stores, with eye on future expansion

Gabrielle Piché 5 minute read Monday, Nov. 3, 2025

Ekam Verma’s shopping trip might be sparked by an email: we’ve restocked. Her destination? Unique Bunny. Verma scanned the aisles of Unique Bunny’s McPhillips Street location on Monday — her go-to Japanese eyeliner was across the store; South Korean cleansing foams and pore repair serums stood nearby.

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Monday, Nov. 3, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES

Fiona Zhao, owner of Unique Bunny, will open a new store in Montreal next month.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
                                Fiona Zhao, owner of Unique Bunny, will open a new store in Montreal next month.
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Counting on fans for countdown to 60th Festival du Voyageur

Eva Wasney 2 minute read Preview
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Counting on fans for countdown to 60th Festival du Voyageur

Eva Wasney 2 minute read Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025

Festival du Voyageur is seeking memories and memorabilia to help celebrate an upcoming milestone anniversary.

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Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025

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The 2025 display of Festival du Voyageur memorabilia was the start of L’shed à Léo.

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                                The 2025 display of Festival du Voyageur memorabilia was the start of L’shed à Léo.
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Annual Diwali celebration puts spotlight on Hindu culture, customs and community

Romona Goomansingh 5 minute read Preview
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Annual Diwali celebration puts spotlight on Hindu culture, customs and community

Romona Goomansingh 5 minute read Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025

‘Even a single lamp dispels the deepest darkness’

— Mahatma Gandhi

The Hindu Society of Manitoba welcomed more than 5,000 attendees to its Diwali Mela on Oct. 11. The annual bazaar-type event streamed bright lights throughout the RBC Convention Centre in the spirit of celebrating Hindu culture, customs, community connections and camaraderie and cheer.

At this moment in time, as many of us and as many corners of the world face challenges and conflicts, the Diwali vibe offers a reminder to hold firmly onto the message that darkness is defeated by lamps of light and love.

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Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025

SUPPLIED

The Diwali celebration’s cultural show featured a variety of folk and contemporary dances.

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                                The Diwali celebration’s cultural show featured a variety of folk and contemporary dances.
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Local Buddhist Temple teaches true meaning of karma; promotes positive living

John Longhurst 4 minute read Preview
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Local Buddhist Temple teaches true meaning of karma; promotes positive living

John Longhurst 4 minute read Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025

A popular misconception about the Buddhist idea of karma is that it’s about punishment — a kind of cosmic “what goes around comes around.”

While Buddhists believe actions have consequences, karma is a much deeper idea than that, said Kyle Rathgaber, a board member of the Manitoba Buddhist Temple.

“Karma is not about retribution,” he said. “It’s not about being punished for something you did wrong.”

While there are elements of negative consequences in the idea of karma — if you are angry at others all the time, you may feel stress and anxiety in your own life — for Rathgaber, 34, it’s more about how people can peacefully and helpfully engage the world around them.

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Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES

The altar at the Manitoba Buddhist Temple in Winnipeg. Winnipeggers interested in learning about the Buddhist idea of karma are invited to a free public workshop at the temple from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
                                The altar at the Manitoba Buddhist Temple in Winnipeg. Winnipeggers interested in learning about the Buddhist idea of karma are invited to a free public workshop at the temple from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.

Being human — by choice

Carina Blumgrund 5 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025

I have found myself thinking about what draws me to a children’s television host who spent decades talking about how we live together in neighbourhoods.

Fred Rogers had this gentle way of speaking to children about the everyday challenges of being human: how to handle anger, disappointment, fear, and joy. But the more I consider his approach, the more I realize he wasn’t really teaching children how to behave, how to feel about themselves, how to understand the world around them. He was making something much more fundamental feel possible and worthwhile: he was making human decency aspirational.

Mr. Rogers knew that how we treat each other matters, not because it’s polite or proper, but because it’s how we create the kind of world we actually want to live in. His genius wasn’t in the specific lessons he taught, but in how he made kindness, patience, honesty, and gentleness feel like the most essential ways to be human.

I keep wondering if that’s what we’re missing sometimes. Not more rules about how to behave, but a sense that kindness and integrity are worth striving for.

Truth, home, nature: Renaming process for Wolseley School 'requires care’

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Preview

Truth, home, nature: Renaming process for Wolseley School 'requires care’

Maggie Macintosh 4 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

Wolseley School will be renamed after the towering trees that surround it, a perennial grass found in nearby Omand’s Creek or a Michif phrase.

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Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS

Teresa Byrne, a Métis way of life teacher, speaks to some parents and students during a Wolseley School renaming community meeting Tuesday.

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
                                Teresa Byrne, a Métis way of life teacher, speaks to some parents and students during a Wolseley School renaming community meeting Tuesday.