Tad et Birdy: quand le jeu devient un langage commun

La nouvelle production jeunesse du Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP), Tad and Birdy, mise sur la créativité pour aborder la peur, la curiosité et le courage. Présentée au 7 février à Winnipeg, la pièce partira ensuite en tournée dans plusieurs communautés manitobaines.

Dans les coulisses, Sarah Lamoureux, responsable de la régie, décrit un processus de création fondé sur la collaboration et l’expérimentation. Travailler avec une petite équipe lui permet de dépasser le rôle traditionnel de coordination pour participer activement à la mise en scène.

“Je peux suggérer des choses à essayer, et on a la chance de vraiment les explorer ensemble. Les comédiens nes aussi proposent leurs idées, parce que ce sont eux et elles qui sont sur scène.”

Cette liberté créative se reflète dans les choix scéniques. Lorsque le texte ne précise pas les accessoires, l’équipe invente. Des crayons géants, des cartes Pokémon et des objets du quotidien deviennent les moteurs d’un imaginaire partagé.

Beloved drop-in centre remains a haven for youth after 50 years

Some children are never given the foundational tools at home to ease their way into this world. For a long list of complex reasons, home is not always a haven. And it’s not assured to be a safe place for kids.

But there is a building at the corner of Ross and Sherbrook that serves as both a home and a refuge, where young people find safety, acceptance and love, 365 days a year, anytime, all the time.

“I wouldn’t be alive today if it hadn’t been for Rossbrook House,” is an often-repeated phrase.

In 1976, Sister Geraldine MacNamara (Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary), with the help of other sisters and a group of young men from Winnipeg’s Centennial neighbourhood, founded Rossbrook House as an alternative to the streets.

Children’s Museum forced to tighten financial belt, fundraise

The Children’s Museum is a home away from home for the Maes family.

“We come all the time,” says mom Rachel Maes, while watching four of her six kids explore the centre’s toddler zone on a cold Monday afternoon.

“We’re a Métis family, so we can come for free, which is amazing.”

The young family visits the colourful museum at The Forks several times a month during the depths of winter, but that may soon change.

Some blind fans to experience Super Bowl with tactile device that tracks ball

Some blind and low-vision fans will have unprecedented access to the Super Bowl thanks to a tactile device that tracks the ball, vibrates on key plays and provides real-time audio.

The NFL teamed up with OneCourt and Ticketmaster to pilot the game-enhancing experience 15 times during the regular-season during games hosted by the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings.

About 10 blind and low-vision fans will have an opportunity to use the same technology at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California, where Seattle will play the New England Patriots on Feb. 8. With hands on the device, they will feel the location of the ball and hear what's happening throughout the game.

Scott Thornhill can't wait.

Egypt to adopt restrictions on children’s social media use to fight ‘digital chaos’

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Parliament is looking into ways to regulate children’s use of social media platforms to combat what lawmakers called “digital choas,” following some western countries that are considering banning young teenagers from social media.

The House of Representatives said in a statement late Sunday that it will work on a legislation to regulate children’s use of social media and “put an end to the digital chaos our children are facing, and which negatively impacts their future.”

Legislators will consult with the government and expert bodies to draft a law to “protect Egyptian children from any risks that threaten its thoughts and behavior," the statement said.

The statement came after President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Saturday urged his government and lawmakers to consider adopting legislation restricting children’s use of social media, “until they reach an age when they can handle it properly.”

Cold ice, warm hearts at WASAC youth camp

Even the frigid weather couldn’t chill the warm smiles on Saturday morning, as Indigenous youth from across Manitoba got to take a spin over the ice with some former NHL stars.

That was just one of the weekend highlights at the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre’s (WASAC) camp, which brought dozens of First Nations and Metis youth from Duck Bay, Pauingassi, Lac Brochet, Shamattawa, Bunibonibee Cree Nation and Pine Creek to Camp Manitou for a day of fun and education around sport and healthy living.

The eighth-annual camp kicked off Friday night, when campers attended the Murray Sinclair Memorial Round Dance at the convention centre.

Saturday’s busy activity slate included yoga classes, a cooking workshop with chefs from Indigenous-owned local restaurant Feast, and a casual skate with local Jets alumni and friends, including Winkler’s Ray Neufeld, Winnipeg’s Derek Meech, and longtime NHL goalie Trevor Kidd.

First Nation says Hydro misuse of river diversion destroying sturgeon population

A northern First Nation is calling on Manitoba Hydro to alter its use of the Churchill River diversion to protect a lake sturgeon population allegedly decimated by hydroelectric operations.

Tataskweyak Cree Nation Chief Doreen Spence said the culturally significant species is facing extinction on the river system without immediate intervention, 50 years after Manitoba built the diversion to send water to large power generating stations.

“The diversion has artificially altered the flow of the water… so much that the river is barely able to sustain life as it once did,” Spence told reporters in Winnipeg Thursday.

“Manitoba Hydro must operate the diversion in sync with the natural flow regime of the river for the sturgeon to survive.”

‘Clear passion’: Manitoba pet accessories company Crash Safe Dog dedicated to local materials, manufacturing

GRANDE POINTE — To say that Kirsten Booth loves Freya, her four-year-old Great Dane mix, might be an understatement.

“My partner would say (Freya’s) the centre of my world, even if it’s supposed to be him,” Booth says. “I guess I’ve always viewed any of my pets as members of my family, so she’s kind of like my child.”

Keeping Freya safe is a top priority for Booth, so she’s thankful for Crash Safe Dog. The Manitoba company manufactured the harness Booth uses so Freya can safely travel in her car.

Booth, who lives in Brantford, Ont., has a two-hour round trip commute to work, and Freya joins her every day.

Quebec civility rules won’t be adopted in Manitoba schools

Manitoba teachers are embracing the freedom to be called whatever they’d like at work while their colleagues elsewhere in Canada adjust to new civility rules.

Starting this month, Quebec has begun requiring students of all ages to address teachers as “Mr.” or “Ms.”

The new rules aim to foster civility and renew a culture of respect in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 classrooms in that province.

Manitoba has no plans to follow suit — much to the relief of Winnipeg teachers who’ve become accustomed to informal titles.

Manitoba enterprise at forefront in bolstering soil structure

Soil health has always been important to anyone who wants to grow plants that flourish but never more so than today. Soil degradation due to drought and extreme weather is a global problem that has a direct link to agricultural productivity and food security.

The status of soil health in Canada is not a concern limited to farmers and backyard gardeners. Scientists, policy makers and researchers are recommending urgent action to protect soils to safeguard the future of our food production.

In June 2024, following an 18-month study of soil conditions in Canada, the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry released the report Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human and Social Health. The report, which is based on testimony from more than 150 experts, concluded that soil in our country is at risk, with implications for food production, climate resilience and biodiversity.

Dale Overton takes soil health and its implications for fertility and food production seriously. His company, Overton Environmental Enterprises, manufactures several microbial products for large-scale agriculture as well as for the home gardener. Overton is deeply interested in regenerative farming practices and how biological amendments can benefit soil health, carbon sequestration and soil microbiomes, and boost growth rates and crop yields.

Storybook ending for student warming hut winners

Manitoba’s newest student-designed warming hut doubles as a public awareness campaign for a child advocacy centre.

Toys “R” Us store on St. Matthews shuttering

Now that Jordan Pastushenko is a father, toys are back on his radar.

“With the little one, I do have to think about it a bit more,” he said, as he visited the Toys “R” Us at 1445 St. Matthews Ave. with his wife, Breanne, and their nine-month-old son, Bohden, on Wednesday morning.

Employees put a sign up in the Polo Park area store’s front window earlier this week notifying customers the longtime location will be closing. “Everything must go!” the sign says. It does not specify when the Winnipeg store’s last day in business will be.

Pastushenko saw a photo of the sign online, which inspired his trip to the store. “We have gift cards, so I guess we’ve got to use them,” he said.

Children’s Hospital to spruce up ward with local art

Local artists are being invited to create child-friendly nature-themed original artworks for the walls of CK5, the childhood cancer, blood disorders and transplants ward at the Health Sciences Centre Children’s Hospital.

Ribbon Skirt Day leader reflects on changes since her cultural attire was shamed

In Isabella Kulak's home is a box of about a few hundred letters, notes and hand-drawn pictures of ribbon skirts sent to her from across Canada and beyond — fan mail from those who consider her story and the origins of "Ribbon Skirt Day" as inspirational.

"I have like a whole notebook of letters, a whole stack of drawings from all these schools and it makes me feel so happy and it warms my heart," said Isabella, a shy 15-year-old, on a phone call from her home in Kamsack, Sask., located about 270 kilometres east of Regina.

"I do want to eventually write back to them, but I am really busy with school."

After all, the Anishinaabe girl is still a teenager. This past week, she had a volleyball tournament. These next few months, she will be completing Grade 10 and the next big step is on the path to medical school, she said.

Family from the Democratic Republic of Congo navigates chilly firsts alongside IRCOM supports

All Clever Ganza wants to do this winter is build a snowman.

He’s not yet had the chance, as it hasn’t been the right kind of snow — although to the eight-year-old, all snow is snow.

It’s his second winter in Winnipeg after arriving in Canada with his parents and younger brother Travor, 5, in December 2024.

Clever has acclimatized pretty quickly.

Talking cows? N.S. researchers think they are getting closer to understanding moos

HALIFAX - If a cow moos in a barn and no one is around to hear it, could you still understand what it’s trying to say?

Researchers at Dalhousie University are hoping to answer that question.

Led by Dr. Ghader Manafiazar, the team at Dalhousie’s agricultural campus in Truro, N.S., has been recording and analyzing cow noises to see whether the animals have different vocal patterns.

Humans can utter words using various inflections and meanings, said Manafiazar, a professor in the faculty of agriculture. His research is trying to determine whether the same holds true for animals. “When they say ‘moo,’ is it different from saying ‘moooooo’?”

Animal Nation includes rural and Indigenous people in its portraits of Prairie and northern animals

At first glance, Winnipeg-born producer Jesse Bochner’s seven-part series Animal Nation brings to mind docu-series such as Wild America, Planet Earth and Nature.

The Forks Market to serve up second helping of Sharecuterie

Cassandra Carreiro has been on quite a ride the last 2 1/2 years.

“It’s all kind of a blur,” the 35-year-old entrepreneur said. “A fever dream.”

In May 2023, Carreiro opened Sharecuterie, Winnipeg’s first drop-in, sit-down charcuterie café, at 160 Stafford St.

Now she’s preparing to open a second location at The Forks Market. Currently under construction, the 150-square-foot kiosk will serve a variety of dine-in and takeout options. It’s scheduled to open in February.

Clear Lake a snow-go zone with new pavilion

Wagasaming reels in the tourists in summer, but these days, its winter offerings are on the agenda. A large snow structure is being erected in the town site to enhance the recreational area in the cold season and host events such as a fashion show.

Skating trail expected to open in time for New Year’s Day activities at The Forks

Skaters, rejoice: the Nestaweya River Trail at The Forks could be open as early as New Year’s Day, marking one of its earlier openings in recent years.

The port rink on the Assiniboine River and a small section of the the iconic river trail opened on Dec. 31 last year. The earliest recorded opening of the six-kilometre skating trail was Dec. 21, 2013.

“We had a good freeze this year… and we’re hoping for a nice, long season this year,” Adam Dooley, spokesperson for The Forks, said Monday.

Sections of the trail, which snakes along the Red and Assiniboine rivers and meets at The Forks port, have some slush owing to recent snowfall and may take more time to open, Dooley said.

Goats set for farm’s traditional Christmas tree feast

It’s a holiday feast fit for a goat.

Fir, spruce and pine trees are as delicious as turkey and trimmings to about 20 goats at a farm just south of Winnipeg.

Aurora Farms will once again welcome donations of trees once the presents have been opened, the lights turned off, and the ornaments removed.

“Goats are naturally browsers rather than grazers; in the wild, they’ll prefer bushes and shrubs, kind of heartier foraging, over pastureland,” said Aynsleigh Kerchak, general manager at Aurora. “For them, they like a chance to deal with the leaves and needles on the trees.”

Canine ‘stars’ get in the Christmas spirit

Dogs who’ve been cooped up in the city-run Animal Services shelter got some festive goodies on Christmas Eve from a group of canine “movie stars.”

As the shelter dogs made a beeline for the Christmas tree to sniff out the perfect gift, they surely picked up another scent — the presents had been wrapped by the canine stars as part of a video project.

The “paw parents” had trained their actor dogs to “wrap” presents, as part of a class project at Dumbledogs K9 Behaviour and Performance Center in Winnipeg that turned into a donation drive for Animal Services.

Dumbledogs, which is a training facility for dog sports, performance training and professional animal actors, opened in 2019. It also includes a doggy daycare.

Local boxer earns invite to international tournament in Spain

Kicking Isaiah Rock out of the gym used to be a common occurrence for Jerome Peters.

Rock had a poor attitude, didn’t listen, and on at least one occasion, turned a friendly sparring session into an actual fight.

“The first time I kicked him out, I said ‘Don’t come back. Stay away from the gym for two weeks,’” said Peters, the owner of Power Boxing Club on Sargent Ave.

“Then, two weeks later he walked back in with his equipment like nothing happened.”