Manitoba specialty licence plates way to raise awareness and cash

It’s a way to drive home the message.

Manitoba’s specialty licence plate program, which gives organizations the chance to display their brand one vehicle at a time, also raises money, which is especially important for smaller groups or causes that often lack publicity and have difficulty fundraising.

While it’s no surprise the Winnipeg Jets and Blue Bombers teams have the highest number of plates on the road, Basketball Manitoba’s plate has been a boon for the organization.

“It’s … exposure for the sport, just people being able to show their love for the game in a different way that we would normally not have the chance to, on their vehicle,” Adam Wedlake, executive director of Basketball Manitoba, said. “And (it’s) a way to raise some funds well.”

Small Mercies reopening a big hit in Osborne Village

What would have been the final chapter for a local café has instead brought fresh coffee and flowers back to Osborne Village.

Small Mercies, a café and boutique, reopened its doors on July 3 after being closed for more than a year after a fire tore through the building.

“It sounds cheesy, but I didn’t want to give up on this,” said Arden Coy, co-owner of Small Mercies. “I really wanted to stick it out for people to come back and enjoy again.”

Early on June 3, 2023, Coy received a call that smoke was detected in the café. She raced to the building, peeling out of her driveway with tires screeching.

New mixed-use tower Align joins sister building Arc in strengthening U of M-area population

Campus Suites’ eight-year vision for student housing in Winnipeg will finally come to fruition this summer.

The Toronto-based developer is putting the finishing touches on Align, its second mixed-use building at 2537 Pembina Hwy., across from the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus. It will open for occupancy by the end of July.

The 16-storey, 397-unit (554-bed) development stands next to Phase 1 of the two-building project, the Arc — a 16-storey, 368-unit (570-bed) complex which opened in 2021.

“We’ve created two iconic buildings that I think will stand the test of time,” Henry Morton, president of Campus Suites, told the Free Press.

Artistic side of murderers examined in fringe show Cabaret of Murder

One show at this year’s Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival has a perverse premise, even in the context of the event’s established baseline of “out there” offerings.

Take a sampling of some of the most vile murderers of the last 100 years, give or take.

Now: reveal their attempts to be creative.

That’s the crux of Cabaret of Murder, a dark, dark comedy/musical at Venue 4 (Centre culturel franco-manitobain) running through Sunday.

Mourners remember ‘happy, beautiful’ young man fatally shot after soccer game

A 22-year-old man fatally shot outside a Winnipeg soccer complex a week ago came to Canada with his family as refugees escaping civil war in their native Somalia.

Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi was remembered as a youth full of promise and a talented soccer player, as dozens of mourners gathered at the homicide scene Saturday for a memorial that carried a message of love, unity and peace.

“He came from Somalia to Winnipeg for a better life,” said Kadar Ahmed, president of Masjid Bilal, also known as the Winnipeg Islamic Centre. “When I talked to the dad, he told me he was running from gun violence, but today that gun violence came to me in front of my door.”

Abdullahi was shot multiple times in what police believe was a targeted attack, after playing for Team Eritrea in a Canada African Cup of Nations match at about 11:30 p.m. on July 13.

The tide of Fringe Fest reviews is not going down

THE GET LAID SHOW

The Other V Name ProductionsDuke of Kent Legion (Venue 13), to Sunday

Going by “V,” fringe vet Veronica Ternopolski shoots for a wild, raucous fringe experience in the intimate – some might say cramped – confines of the Duke of Kent Legion. V invites consenting adults to play games designed to open you up to relationships with new people. She employs a whiteboard spelling out the tenets of responsible mating: Participation, Risk, Vulnerability, Honesty.

If you go in knowing she’ll be polling patrons on their sexual histories, the bold extrovert may be happy to oblige. (All others beware.) Indeed, she takes up much of the show sharing her own sexual history, told through the device of an egg collection with each ovum representing a past lover, the best part of the evening.

In Kyiv, music fans rub shoulders with generals and famous artists, united by the inescapable war

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — This year, Ukraine’s largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. Instead, the country’s most beloved local artists graced the stage this past weekend at the Atlas Festival. The stage was erected on a shopping mall parking lot, the only option that contained a shelter large enough to contain the 25,000 people that that organizers expected in the event of an air raid. Carefree youth rubbed shoulders with hardened military commanders and famous singers who crooned songs imbued with national pride. […]

Sea Bears subdue Rattlers, move closer to CEBL playoff berth

On a night when the stakes were at a season-high and emotion filled the air, the Winnipeg Sea Bears rose to the occasion.

With major implications on the line in the Canadian Elite Basketball League playoff picture and former teammate Teddy Allen making his return to Winnipeg for the first time since being released earlier this season, the Sea Bears outlasted their prairie rival Saskatchewan Rattlers 97-93 in front of a 9,105 fans at Canada Life Centre on Saturday.

The win snapped a four-game skid and improved the Sea Bears to 8-9 on the campaign, good for a 2 1/2-game advantage over the Rattlers (6-12) for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The top four teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs.

Baby Gourmet Foods recalls organic baby cereal over possible bacteria contamination

CALGARY - A brand of baby cereal is being pulled from all in-store and online retailers in Canada due to possible Cronobacter contamination.

Calgary-based Baby Gourmet Foods has issued a product recall for its Banana Raisin Oatmeal Organic Whole Grain Cereal, which is sold in 227 g packages.

The bacteria can cause serious or fatal infections to the bloodstream, central nervous system and intestines.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the recall was triggered by agency test results.