Banding together to support Alyvia

September was Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. To commemorate, local radio station QX104 hosted its annual ‘Slo-Pitch 4 A Wish’ event, in support of Make-A-Wish Canada, on Sept. 6. The event raised over $70,000, which will go towards granting ‘wishes’ for children battling high-risk medical conditions.

One of the teams on this year’s roster was ‘Alyvia’s Aces,’ which were gathered in support of Alyvia Blackwell, an eight-year-old Winnipegger who was diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was two.

“You know, she was a normal two- year-old, running around,” said Dustin Blackwell, Alyvia’s father. “‘Slow down. You’re gonna fall,’ or ‘don’t stand on the couch!’ But then, just after she turned two, we started to notice a regression in her motor skills.”

It started with caution — holding onto the wall, or needing someone to support her as she moved around — so the parents suspected an issue related to vision, but more visits to the hospital meant more urgency and eventually an MRI — which located a tumour on the front of her brain, pressing into her optic nerves.

Shinerama fundraising folks to hold three events across the city on Oct. 2

A group of University of Manitoba students will soon be taking its fundraising show on the road.

According to www.shinerama.ca, Shinerama is a national, post-secondary fundraiser in support of Cystic Fibrosis Canada, when more than 20,000 student volunteers from 36 Canadian universities and colleges come together every year to help make a difference in the lives of those battling cystic fibrosis.

Semi Kumolu-Johnson, the director of public relations for Shinerama with the Commerce Students’ Association at the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business, explained the local students had already held a number of internal events at press time, and they’re now preparing to hold Shine Day External, which will be held on Oct. 2 at three locations across the city.

These events will be held at 201 Portage from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the university’s Bannatyne Campus (744 Bannatyne Ave.) from noon to 4 p.m.; and Garden City Shopping Centre (2305 McPhillips St.).

‘You have to have that fighting spirit’

Alexus Lee knows a thing or two about winning medals.

The 14-year-old table tennis sensation has brought home a collection of medals this year competing for Team Manitoba, and she wasn’t the only player from the province to bring home the bling and make Manitoba proud. Alexus’ 16-year-old sister, Victoria, has also been among the medallists.

Space might preclude a full list of the results throughout the season, but according to Carlos Cuadra, the executive director of the Manitoba Table Tennis Association, Manitoba collected four bronze medals and one silver medal in the following categories at the 2025 Canadian Championships, which were held at the Richmond Olympic Oval in B.C. this summer.

These include bronze in the senior women’s doubles — Alexus Lee and Victoria Lee; bronze in the girls’ singles U-15 — Alexus Lee; bronze in the girls’ singles U-19 – Alexus Lee; bronze in girls’ singles U-17 — Victoria Lee; and silver in the girls’ team U-15 — Alexus Lee and Rhea Liu.

Shining a light on local history

For a jolt of local history, look no further than the Manitoba Electrical Museum.

Since it first opened in 2001, the Manitoba Electrical Museum and Education Centre has provided visitors with an in-depth history of electrical power in Manitoba going back to the early 20th century.

“Our goals are to expand on educating people on electricity in Manitoba,” said Gracie Ramsfield, assistant curator and volunteer co-ordinator. “I think there’s so much hidden history in Manitoba. There really is so much that has yet to be uncovered. On the electricity side of things, we do focus on the technology, but there is also a lot to be said of the social history of electricity.”

The museum itself is situated at 680 Harrow St. in an old Hydro powerhouse, and features displays regarding the history of hydro-electrical development in Manitoba. Hundreds of artifacts related to electrical history, such as old Hydro meters, rectifiers, radiant heaters, appliances, and a truly astonishing array of lightbulbs, are on display, while thousands more are catalogued and kept in storage.

Building a team

The halls at Windsor Park Collegiate are looking a little more purple these days.

That’s because the school’s community is celebrating the inaugural season of its junior varsity football team.

“After many months of planning, hiring, purchasing, and practising, we are ready to hit the field for our inaugural game,” said Robbie Mager, Windsor Park Collegiate’s principal, on the eve of the Royals’ first game, which was on Sept. 9.

Fast forward to Sept. 23 and the excitement was continuing to build, as the team prepared for its third game of the season.

Transcona Council for Seniors to hold health fair on Oct. 9

The Transcona Council for Seniors is once again preparing to provide older adults from northeast Winnipeg, and beyond, with pathways to help embrace aging.

The council’s annual free health fair, dubbed Reimagine Aging, will be held at Kildonan Place (1555 Regent Ave. W) on Thursday, Oct. 9 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The event will showcase around 40 booths, organizers say, and there will also be a creative corner. Booths will be located in the Cineplex Junxion hallway.

“The fair is especially important for the Transcona community, but it also has a citywide and provincewide reach,” said Eleanor Stelmach, a volunteer committee member for the planning of the health fair, noting everyone is welcome to attend.

Highlights of a summer well spent

Why were people flocking to Winnipeg’s Portage and Main intersection this summer?

Like the proverbial chicken — “To get to the other side” — by crossing Main Street at street level, once the barriers were removed on June 27.

I was thankful that my out-of-province son and his wife came to visit me in July so that we could see the celebrated corner once again welcoming pedestrians at the crosswalk.

“Your corner at Portage and Main even earned a mention in Toronto’s Globe & Mail,” they said. “As the paper put it, ‘Luckily, after resisting as long as possible, city council eventually did the right thing.’” Amen!

New outdoor classroom at St. George Park

On Sept. 19, students, staff and trustees from the Louis Riel School Division were joined by Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) to dedicate a new outdoor classroom in St George Park (151 St George Rd.) to serve the students at the neighbouring St. George School.

“This school has served the community for almost seventy years and I am proud to invest funds to modernize the facility,” Mayes said in a release, which stated that this is the fifth such project the division and Mayes have collaborated on. The project received $65,000 in funding from the St. Vital ward land dedication reserve budget. “These outdoor classroom projects have been hugely popular as a way to teach students about nature.”

Experience all Dunfanaghy has to offer

On my first-ever trip to Ireland, it was high on my list to spend some time in a coastal town. Looking at a map of County Donegal in the northwest corner of the island, an obvious spot jumped out at me. It appeared to have a sheltered cove, stretches of beaches, and nearby hiking trails. It was also one of the stops along the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s most famous coastal driving route.

The town I chose was called Dunfanaghy. It began in the 17th century as a trade location and fishing port, before organically evolving into a town. When a stone quay was built in 1831, it gave trading vessels a place to safely dock. It also helped established the foundation that would ultimately lead to the growth of a local economy here.

The Dunfanaghy Workhouse opened in 1845 and was initially intended to be a refuge for the destitute. But with the Great Famine overtaking the country later that year, the workhouse quickly became a symbol of hardship with its harsh conditions, meager food rations, and forced labor.

Today, the Workhouse remains a significant historical and architectural landmark, reinvented as a heritage centre that houses tourist information, exhibition space, coffee shop, art gallery, crafts, and books. The famine exhibition with accompanying audio tour tells the history of the Dunfanaghy Workhouse, and the Great Famine.

The death of Const. Snowdon lead to double hanging

On Oct. 2, 1918, a rare double hanging took place at Headingley Gaol for two men convicted of murdering a Winnipeg police constable.

Const, Bernard Snowdon, 30, was a native of Newcastle, England and a seven-year veteran of the police force. He was walking his Main Street beat on the night of Friday, April 5, 1918, and noticed that the door behind Rosenblat’s hardware store at 649 Main St. was broken. He pulled on the latch and entered.

Hours later, a patrol sergeant found Snowdon’s body a few feet inside the back entrance of the store. There was a gunshot wound through his back and what appeared to be an axe wound on the back of his head.

A manhunt soon led police next door to room 4 of the Maple Leaf (now ManWin) Hotel where they found a gun and three men: Frank Sullivan (48), Philip Johnson (33), and John Stoike (17).

Multiculturalism at its best

Multiculturalism is at its best during Folklorama.

Have you ever attended the Folklorama kick-off? It used to be at the Forks, but it has outgrown that venue and now it is at Assiniboine Park. I look forward to this event every year. There is something magical about watching cultures on display providing us with a bird’s eye view of the world right here in our backyard. How fortunate are we to be living in Canada, a country that protects human rights, cultural rights, religious rights, and the right to be ourselves.

Even though I come from a multicultural background, which exists in Guyana, it differs from my experience in Canada. In Winnipeg, one of Canada’s most diverse cities, I met people I’d only read about before coming here.

As we learn about others we learn about ourselves and what makes us human, we learn that no matter your colour, your religion, your sex or any of those superficial markers, we all need the same things in life. We need love, compassion, and dignity. We have the same yearnings for our children’s future, and that they may live richer, fuller lives than us, their parents. We learn that we are one people in different outfits and at the end of the day we all shed our outfits and accumulations to enter our eternal homes and leave everything behind.