More young critics weigh in on Summer Reading Challenge books

Another summer has come and gone, but before we also bid farewell to the Summer Reading Challenge for Kids, we’ve collected a second batch of reviews submitted by a crew of young critics who offered their thoughts on several books from our reading lists curated in conjunction with McNally Robinson Booksellers.

The Barren Grounds

By David A. Robertson

Set of The Porter a testament to the special connection production has with Winnipeg's Black history

On a rainy Friday evening in Winnipeg’s landmark Nutty Club building, camera crews, grips, food services, hair and makeup teams, stand-ins and actors are spinning about in dance-like organized chaos.

The five-storey candy warehouse — first erected in 1905 and still standing in the shadow of active CP and CN rail lines — has been transformed, pulled back to its turn-of-the-20th-century roots as a set for CBC’s upcoming TV drama The Porter. At each stop along the building’s steep wooden staircase, the team behind Canada’s largest Black-led production is hard at work bringing the roaring ‘20s — and an oft-forgotten story of Black liberation and empowerment — to life.

On one floor, cast and crew block their scene movements, listening raptly to directors, speaking in huddles, donning crisp white shirts and suspenders or gowns, preparing for the crack of the clapperboard.

A floor above, the members of the “video village” tuck on their headphones, lean over screens and warn each other not to move, lest the ceilings shake below.

Athletic excellence in the genes of Geekie family

STRATHCLAIR — It's a hot day in August and the Geekie brothers are home together for a change.

That doesn't happen much anymore.

Morgan, the eldest, has packed a lot into summer. After playing 36 games for the Carolina Hurricanes last season, the 23-year-old centre was chosen by the Seattle Kraken in the NHL expansion draft.

Less than two weeks later, he married his high-school sweetheart, Emma Coulter.

Cree singer Rhonda Head stumbled into classical music, then made it her own

Singer Rhonda Head has travelled a long and winding road to get her voice heard.

Her classically trained vocals have received worldwide recognition after she received two bronze medals from the Global Music Awards, an online competition that specializes in classical and jazz artists and composers.

Head, who hails from Opaskwayak Cree Nation, near The Pas, earned the acclaim for two Cree language songs, Kisahkihitin I Love You, which was in the contemporary classical category, and 500 Years, which received honours among protest songs.

She began taking singing lessons in 1987, after she graduated from high school at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate and moved to Toronto to study fashion. She found, almost by chance, that singing suited her better.

New book debunks Winnipeg-lab coronavirus conspiracy theory

A new book concludes co-operation between Canada's National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg and China's Wuhan Institute of Virology played no part in the origin of the coronavirus pandemic but raises questions about links between one of the researchers fired from the lab and a prominent Chinese virologist affiliated with the military.

Toronto-based freelance journalist Elaine Dewar says she set out to investigate the hypothesis that the coronavirus was leaked from the Wuhan lab by looking at the science and financial and geopolitical interests related to the theory.

As part of that, she looked into whether an approved shipment of Ebola and henipah viruses in March 2019 from the Winnipeg lab to Wuhan had anything to do with the pandemic after conspiracy theories suggesting it did surfaced online.

To read more of this story first reported by CBC News, click here.

Group engages community on renaming Wolseley neighbourhood

In 1870, Col. Garnet Wolseley led a military expedition into Manitoba to violently overthrow Louis Riel’s provisional government at the Red River Colony. On Sunday afternoon, a group gathered at Vimy Ridge Park to discuss how to push for the renaming of the neighbourhood that bears his name.

Red River Echoes, a Métis collective that first came together with the purpose of “bringing an alternative voice to what Métis people think in Manitoba” after Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand put out an ad with the Winnipeg Free Press in March in support of the Winnipeg Police Service, put together the rendezvous to take questions and comments community members might have around the growing conversation to rename Wolseley.

"With a lot of names being changed right now, we thought it was a good opportunity,” Red River Echoes member Claire Johnston said. “And Wolseley in particular has a really violent and negative association for Métis people, and also all other people of colour in who live in Winnipeg.”

In the months since the remains of 215 children were found in unmarked graves near a residential school in Kamloops, B.C., calls have been sparked across the country to rename landmarks named after people who had a hand in the colonization of Canada. In Winnipeg, Wolseley isn’t the first instance — calls to rename Bishop Grandin Boulevard due to its namesake’s hand in the residential school system have resulted in consultations and a possible recommendation for its renaming coming to city council this fall.

Swimming with local history

Get the sunscreen, we’re going to Patricia Beach!

In fact, we’re even going to get a history lesson on who Patricia was, and why the beach was named for her.

The story all revolves around a summer cabin that was built at Patricia Beach back about 1944, at that time all privately owned by George and Olive Allen, and which still exists and thrives today on the eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg.

Gotta’ admit, I knew nothing of the history of Patricia Beach until a few days ago when I received a very interesting e-mail from Catherine Lee, George and Olive’s granddaughter.

Longtime attendee of Winnipeg Beach Jewish camp now program and planning director

It’s difficult for Drew McGillawee to pinpoint just one favourite part of his 18 summers at Camp Massad, but his biggest takeaway is that attending camp shaped him into the person he is today.

“Camp is the place that allowed me to be myself and allowed me to come out of my shell,” the 25-year-old Winnipegger said.

“Any job that I’ve had outside of camp is because of all the skills that I gained at camp, and all of my best friends are from my experiences at camp.”

This summer, McGillawee acted as director of planning and programming at the Jewish summer camp in Winnipeg Beach. The job allowed him to help attendees have the same formative experiences that he did.

Japanese garden an enduring cultural experience

The Japanese Cultural Association of Manitoba, 180 McPhillips St., opened to the public in 1987. The centre offers a wide range of programs which are designed to promote and enhance the understanding of Japanese culture. The centre also serves as the site for a beautiful Japanese garden. Built by Yoshimaru Abe who was born in Japan in 1914 and came to Canada with his family in 1927, the garden is an enduring cultural experience.

Prior to building the garden at the centre, visitors to the Japanese Folklorama exhibit in 1971 and in the years following had the opportunity to see a Japanese garden recreated by Abe. Using moss, rocks, and pieces of wood, Abe recreated an authentic Japanese garden on a concrete arena floor.

A gardener is called niwashi in Japanese. Abe was the distinguished niwashi at the Japanese cultural centre’s garden into his 90’s and was followed by Sam Matsuo, who maintained the garden for 10 years. Both Abe and Matsuo were assisted by dedicated volunteers. Today the niwashi is Raymond Normandeau, who has been involved with the centre for several years as well as in the building of the garden at the Japanese Pavilion at Folklorama. Normandeau will oversee an expansion of the garden at the Japanese Cultural Association — which is slated to begin this fall.

Currently, there are two different areas to the garden. The front garden is a long narrow strip on the outside of the building that faces into a concrete parking lot. The inner garden is an enclosed garden accessed by a short bridge and tall wooden gate. “It is not a pure Japanese garden,” says Normandeau. “It is representative of a Japanese garden. We don’t have the stalwarts of Japanese gardens — bamboo, clipped azaleas, and the black pine which is one of the most popular pine species in a Japanese garden.” But many fine elements of Japanese garden design can indeed be found here.

‘Ignominious anniversary’ of Hydro’s stalled broadband deal

A year after Manitoba Hydro stopped taking on new contracts for broadband network access, and three months after Xplornet won the bid to manage that network, critics are complaining the continuing moratorium has left would-be customers in the lurch.

Adrien Sala, NDP critic for Hydro, is calling on the Progressive Conservative government to end the stop sell order and disclose the revenue losses suffered from the disruption.

“It is taking far longer than anyone expected it to and it is creating further and further delays for a lot of ISPs (Internet service providers), school divisions and regional health authorities that have asked for service upgrades,” Sala said.

A spokesperson for Reg Helwer, minister of central services, confirmed that the Xplornet agreement has yet to be finalized but is expected to be soon.

Craig Block link to city’s Black history

Above a fruit seller in a small brick building on Main Street, a group of Black railway porters made history.

The Order of Sleeping Car Porters, formed in Winnipeg in 1917, was North America’s first Black labour union. Five years later, they established offices and a meeting hall on the second storey of the building, the Craig Block, at 795 Main St.

Now, the building has hit the market, without any historical status protections or a bronze plaque to commemorate its history.

History writer Christian Cassidy said he’s seen the building, which recently housed retail store Ma’s Fishing, go up for sale once or twice in the past. Each time, he worries someone will buy it and knock it down. It’s one of last buildings that links Winnipeg to the history of its Black communities.

The show must go on as Selkirk buys theatre

Many in Selkirk thought the credits had rolled for the Garry Theatre, but it appears there’s a sequel.

Landmark Cinemas decided to close it in May and on Wednesday, the City of Selkirk announced it had purchased the theatre for $350,000, plus closing costs.

“What we’ve heard so far is people are very excited and very happy that the city has been able to secure the property,” said Selkirk CAO Duane Nicol.

Nicol said the city will reach out to the community to determine how best to use the building. The city hopes it will become a centre for arts and culture, he said.

Local jewelry company handed key to success

It’s a golden opportunity that came straight out of the blue.

Nominees for the upcoming Emmy and Golden Globe awards will be walking the red carpet in handmade necklaces from Winnipeg company Jillian Leigh Jewelry, but exactly how the award show organizers discovered the local brand of gold adornments remains a mystery.

“We still don’t know how they found us, but we’re really glad they did,” says co-founder and jeweler Velia Amador. “It means a lot to us to be able to participate in such a high profile event because it’s going to help us gain some international exposure.”

“And if any of the celebrities loved our pieces and ordered something from us, I think I would die,” says Jillian Sheedy, the business’s other half and a self-professed celebrity enthusiast. Before they were business partners, the women were co-workers at a corporate office. They started Jillian Leigh together in 2018 after Amador — who had been forging jewelry as a hobby for more than a decade — offered to make some custom bracelets for Sheedy’s wedding.

Selkirk art crawl centres on city's thriving mural scene

Sometimes a wall is more than just a wall.

It’s a blank canvas. And in recent years, artists in Selkirk have turned several into works of art, highlighting local figures and traditions, using paint to transform bricks and plaster in the downtown into a growing visual history of the city.

Since 2018, nearly 20 murals have emerged, depicting everything from the traditional community round dance to Indigenous and settler women thriving on the Prairie landscape to a grandmother passing on her teachings. Others bring needed attention to the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and to everyone affected, in the past and present, by the Indian Residential School System, those who came home and those who never did, artist Jordan Stranger says.

All these murals will serve as the backdrop for a free public art crawl Sept. 4 and 5, with local vendors and artisans posting up next to them and getting a long-awaited opportunity to share their work with the community, including handmade goods, paintings, crafts, sewing and woodworking pieces, and much more.

New resto taps into Korean cuisine to amp up the humble 'corn' dog

Imagine a world full of corn dogs.

Think innumerable personal configurations — scores of sauces and seasonings, not to mention the variety of meats and cheeses that can be found inside these deliciously crispy concoctions.

Could it be the classic pairings of ketchup and mustard or the adventurous sweet mayo, teriyaki and honey butter? Is the batter just panko-crusted, or does it have potatoes on it? Perhaps it’s infused with squid ink?

Maybe on the inside, there’s a long pull of mozzarella cheese, with the choice of chicken, veggie, pork or beef for the meat. Perhaps, however, you want to scrap the sausage altogether and just go with oozing chocolate instead.

Iconic Churchill Tundra Buggy goes electric

The Churchill travel company, Frontiers North Adventure, has been operating its fleet of iconic Tundra Buggies for decades but for various reasons John Gunter, CEO of the company, knew the fleet needed to be upgraded.

A chance encounter between Gunter and Red River College’s former head of research and partnerships three years ago put Gunter on the path towards electrifying the Tundra Buggies.

On Tuesday, the fruits of that labour were revealed at Red River College’s Vehicle Technology and Energy Centre (VTEC) — the first EV (electric vehicle) Tundra Buggy.

It was a collaborative effort between Frontiers North, RRC’s VTEC, New Flyer and the non-profit Vehicle Technology Centre that pooled a growing expertise in heavy vehicle electrification that has been developing over the past decade in Winnipeg.

Ferret shelter fears city’s proposed pet limit

An animal shelter fears its network of foster homes could be at risk, should a proposed change to Winnipeg’s responsible pet ownership bylaw be approved.

Deb Kelley, a shelter co-ordinator with the Manitoba Ferret Association No Kill Shelter, said a newly proposed limit that each Winnipeg household be allowed a maximum of five ferrets would not support the shelter’s model of care. The shelter relies on multiple foster homes, ensuring all of them already own ferrets and are qualified to properly care for them.

As a result, many of those homes already contain up to six ferrets, before they take others in temporarily, she said.

“We’re here for every ferret in need, whether it’s old, young, sick, healthy. If the bylaw goes through where each household can have only five ferrets, that would devastate our foster home space,” said Kelley.

Winnipeg teen representing Canada at World Amateur Long Drive Championship

A Winnipeg teen known for her prowess on the tee box will be launching bombs on behalf of Canada next month in Chicago.

Hannah Penner, 18, will don the red and white as part of a contingent of 20 golfers set to represent the nation at the 2021 World Amateur Long Drive Championship, set for Sept. 11-19.

She's headed to the Windy City but doesn't require a strong breeze at her back to routinely crush the ball well over 250 yards or, occasionally, eclipse the 300-yard mark.

Penner, one of four women in the group, said she's thrilled about the chance to compete against others with the same unique skillset.

Veggie Van to bring fresh produce to inner city residents

A farmer’s market on wheels is hoping to put a dent into the problem of food deserts in Winnipeg’s inner city

Fireweed Food Co-op has launched its new Veggie Van pilot program, which brings subsidized local produce into Winnipeg’s inner city neighbourhoods through a mobile market on Thursday afternoons. The West Central Women’s Resource Centre was the first stop on the Veggie Van’s inaugural tour last week.

“We have zucchini, beets, yellow onion, carrots, sweet corn,” says Fireweed’s food hub delivery co-ordinator Janelle Wride, while standing behind a table piled high with colourful vegetables. “Those are most of the basic items that we have available from the producers right now and each week it’ll change a little bit.”

The goal of the program, she says, is to combat food insecurity by offering cheap, nutritious produce for sale in underserved communities.

Protesters gather at corner to oppose funding of pipeline

About 50 people from Winnipeg’s Mennonite community gathered Sunday at a TD Bank at the corner of Notre Dame Avenue and Sherbrook Street to protest the bank’s funding of the Line 3 pipeline replacement.

As rain pelted down on a canopy of umbrellas, one man cut his TD Bank card into pieces while the crowd cheered. After some minutes of song and prayer, the group took non-permanent markers and wrote messages over the windows of the bank.

“Stop fossil fuel funding,” one man wrote on the door. The red ink ran in long streaks from the rain down over the bank’s hours.

Organizer Steve Heinrichs said he drew inspiration from Indigenous communities leading protests in Minnesota.