News in brief – week of April 8, 2026

Campground reservation service opens April 13

Manitoba’s parks reservation service will soon open for the 2026 camping season.

Campground reservations will again open in stages over five days, from Monday, April 13 to Friday, April 17, with each day open for reservation of different campground types in different areas of the province.

The reservation service will open each day at 7 a.m. Reservations can be made online at manitobaparks.com or by calling 1-888-482-2267 (toll-free) or 204-948-3333 (in Winnipeg). Reservations can also be made in-person in Winnipeg from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday at 1181 Portage Ave.

The parks reservation service will take the following reservations on the following dates:

• Monday, April 13 – All cabins, yurts and group-use areas;

• Tuesday, April 14 – Campsites at Birds Hill, Winnipeg Beach and Grand Beach campgrounds;

• Wednesday, April 15 – Campsites in Whiteshell Provincial Park campgrounds, including Betula Lake, Big Whiteshell, Brereton Lake, Caddy Lake, Falcon Beach, Falcon Lakeshore, Nutimik Lake, Opapiskaw, Otter Falls, West Hawk Lake and White Lake;

• Thursday, April 16 – Campsites in northern and western region campgrounds including Asessippi, Bakers Narrows, Clearwater Lake (Campers Cove and Pioneer Bay), Duck Mountain (Blue Lakes, Childs Lake and Wellman Lake), Manipogo, Paint Lake, Rainbow Beach, Rivers, Spruce Woods (Kiche Manitou), Turtle Mountain (Adam Lake), Wekusko Falls and William Lake;

• Friday, April 17 – Campsites at all remaining campground locations including Birch Point, Camp Morton, Hecla (Gull Harbour), Hnausa Beach, Lundar Beach, Moose Lake, Nopiming (Beresford Lake, Bird Lake, Shoe Lake, Tulabi Falls), St. Malo, Stephenfield and Watchorn.

Online users will enter a virtual waiting room before 7 a.m. on opening days and may be placed in a queue depending on demand.

A new availability notification feature is available this year, enabling reservation account holders to set up five availability notifications in their profiles. If a campsite becomes available that matches their desired location and criteria, users will be notified by email.

In addition new $10 reservation cancellation fee has been introduced to help offset costs when camping reservations are cancelled.

For more information, visit manitobaparks.com or follow Manitoba Parks on Facebook and X.

Home + Garden Show runs April 9 to 12

The Winnipeg Home + Garden Show will take over the RBC Convention Centre from Thursday, April 9 through Sunday, April 12.

HGTV home renovation expert Bryan Baeumler will be the featured speaker, but there will plenty of information to soak up via presentations, displays and booths featuring the latest in outdoor design, landscaping and garden trends.

For show hours and ticket information, visit winnipeghomeandgardenshow.com

Wild + Wonderful Words April 15 at Sookram’s

The April instalment of the Wild + Wonderful Words reading series is set for Wednesday, April 15 at 7 p.m. at Sookram’s Brewing (479-B Warsaw Ave.)

This month’s featured readers include speculative fiction writer Sarah Higgins; novelist Sean Trinder; contemporary and historical suspense author M.M. DeLuca; and local poet and novelist Catherine Hunter.

Local writer Sheldon Birnie will host the evening. For more info, contact wildwonderfulwords@gmail.com

Model Railroad open house set for April 18, 19

The annual open house of the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club will run April 18 and 19 at the Charleswood Legion hall (6003 Roblin Blvd.)

Along with various demonstrations of model train set-ups, entries and winners of the club’s model and photography contests will also be on display.

Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is by donation.

Learn more about the WMRC through its blog: winnipegmodelrailroadclub.blogspot.com