Earl Thompson tees off on no. 6 at the Dauphin Lake Golf Club, Friday, as the local course opened for business earlier than expected.

Although it was a cool day, the course was busy as local golfers were eager to hit the links. The Gilbert Plains Country Club also opened for the season on Saturday.

It was the best of both worlds when the Rotary Club of Dauphin hosted its annual wine tasting event, Friday, in conjunction with its bi-annual book sale, which ran from Thursday to Saturday at the Ukrainian Orthodox Auditorium.

The book sale itself proved to be a hit with a new record of just under $8,000 in books being sold over the three days, including more than $1,200 in sales on the evening of the wine tasting, for which 238 tickets were sold.

The combination worked quite well, according to organizer JL Guillas, with many positive comments from the wine vendors, who thought it was a unique and interesting combination.

Costs and profit for the wine event are still being calculated, but it was a definite success, Guillas said, with a lot of fun for attendees.

There is something about playing on their home court that brings out the best in the Parkland Vipers volleyball players.

The 15U Vipers became the program’s third team to win its home tournament, this past weekend.

Parkland finished second in its pool after round-robin play, opening with a 26-24, 7-25 and 8-15 loss to the Westman Wave.

The Vipers rebounded with a 25-8 and 25-20 win over CW Smash, followed by a 26-27, 25-20 and 15-11 win over Vision Elite Blue.

Parkland opened the playoffs with a 25-15 and 25-17 win over the Kenora Lakers in the quarterfinals and advanced to the championship match with a 23-25, 25-21 and 15-12 win over the CW Rage.

The final was a battle of the Parkland with the Vipers coming out on top over the Predators, 25-22, 20-25 and 16-14.

Vipers coach Nicole Yarema said the team played well throughout the tournament.

“It feels like things are finally coming together. This was their last tournament before provincials and it feels really good to end things on such a positive note,” she said.

The team has been consistently improving with every tournament they’ve played since the start of the season, Yarema said.

“This tournament especially, they were playing like a team. They were playing strategically. You could see the things that they’ve been learning in practice. It was really, really good for everyone,” she added.

Yarema hopes the team can carry the momentum from this tournament win into provincials, May 6 and 7, in Winnipeg.

“Our ranking is pretty low, so our goal is to come out in the top half,” she said.

Winning their home tournament is a special moment, Yarema said.

“As a coach, it’s definitely one of those moments that makes you super proud. All the girls worked really hard and they definitely deserved the win,” she said.

As for provincials, the expectation is to keep playing they way they have in recent tournaments.

“They’ve definitely shown me that they have got it in them to win. The team that we beat in the final, the Predators, are ranked quite a bit higher than us, so I’m hoping that they can really show everything that they’ve learned,” Yarema said.

Branch and Riley Langevin, who will soon turn three years old, enjoy an ice cream treat from A Scoop of Happiness, Dauphin’s new ice cream shop.

A Scoop of Happiness opened for business on Friday, serving soft and hard ice cream treats, just in time for summer.

It will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The U17 Parkland Vipers hosted a four-team volleyball tournament at Barker School, Saturday, going undefeated in winning the event.

The Vipers scored a 25-13, 20-25 and 15-7 win over the Neepawa Voltage to open the tournament. Then they defeated Club West Smash, 25-11 and 25-16.

The final match of the day saw the Vipers clinch first place in the round-robin tournament with a 25-22, 25-20, 17-25 and 25-23 win over the Rocanville Brash.

Vipers coach Chris Wolfenden said the team learned a lot throughout the tournament, a trend that continues every time they hit the court.

“We’re learning lots every single weekend about just how to overcome the simple parts of the game. They’re hard to master at the top levels, let alone at the bottom levels,” he said. “It’s just a matter of getting our hands on balls and understanding just how to compete all the time, 100 per cent of the time. We’re getting closer.”

Coming off a weekend where they won the consolation at a tournament in Brandon, the team’s confidence, Wolfenden said, is good.

“It’s better than last weekend, for sure. This was really good for us to come and play three solid matches at home in front of fans and parents. I think the girls needed this, because we have three tough tournaments coming up,” he said.

The Vipers will be in Winnipeg this weekend for a tournament hosted by the Bisons, which will be a tough event for the local team.

“We have the potential to beat any of these teams. It just depends on which one of our teams shows up. And that’s what I mean by, if we come out and we compete and compete hard, we can play with anybody. That’s the team I want to see,” he said. “And aggression. It’s just one of those things learning as a young volleyball player that it’s okay to be aggressive and take chances. That’s what the girls are getting better at.”

Following the Bisons tournament, the Vipers will compete for a provincial crown, Apr. 29 and 30, in Brandon.

Kenai Mouck of the Parkland Jr. Rangers gets a shot off against the Moose Mountain Impact of Moosomin, Sask., Saturday, during the Parkland Showcase tournament at Credit Union Place.

The Jr Rangers went on to win the tournament with a 4-2 win over the Manitoba Force of Winkler, on Sunday.

The Impact won the bronze medal with a win over the Wheatland Wild.

Last weekend, the 2013 Parkland Jr. Rangers won their home tournament, beating the Yorkton Jr. Maulers, 9-3 in the final.

The Country Barons of Virden won the B-side with a 4-3 win over the Brandon Ice Kings.

The Jr. Maulers won the 2012 tournament, with a 5-1 win over the Wheat City Wild of Moosomin.

About 100 exhibitors will be on hand for the 32nd Kin Club Business Expo, Saturday and Sunday at the Parkland Recreation Complex.

The exhibitors will be spread throughout Credit Union Place, the curling rink and the walking track, as well as the facility’s hallways.

Expo organizer Daniel Pylypchuk of the Dauphin Kin Club added there is free admission.

“We’ve had free admission for the last little while and we still have people thinking it’s a pay gate. But, no, it’s free admission,” he said, adding there will be 50-50 tickets sold during the event in lieu of a pay gate.

Pylypchuk said there is a large number of new businesses which will be part of the expo this year.

“Everytime I look on Facebook, it’s one of these new businesses, and a couple of the older businesses that have been at the expo the last few years, they’re advertising all over on Facebook, which is great, because it’s not just our club that’s promoting it, but the exhibitors themselves have taken it on. They want to make this, not just a show, but a large event,” he said.

The expo is a fund-raiser for the Kin Club of Dauphin, which will donate the proceeds to groups and organizations around the city.

The expo is open, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m.

Pylypchuk noted one food vendor which has been part of the expo since the start will not be in attendance this year, but two other vendors will take the place of the original vendor.

There will also be a small animal and bird sale, Sunday at the Rotary Arena, with doors opening at noon and the sale starting at 1 p.m.

Because they have the space for it, Pylypchuk said they will take entries for the sale up until sale time.

Ethan Simons belts out an original song during Open Mic Night in the Old Fire Hall at the Watson Arts Centre, Friday.

Each performer was able to do three songs, much to the delight of the everyone in attendance.

The next Open Mic Night takes place, Apr. 28, at 7 p.m.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Auditorium in Dauphin hosted the 34th annual Gun and Hobby Show, Saturday and Sunday.

There was plenty for the public to see as they browsed the many tables offering collectibles for sale or trade.

Do you have any old photos or videos lying around the house and you don’t know what to do with them? Have you ever considered getting them digitized to make it easier to share them with family members?

Sasha Golding of Silver Frame Productions can help as she offers digitizing services to preserve your photo and video memories.

“Pretty much any type of photos or videos, I can help with organizing them, downsizing a little bit if they have a multitude of albums, for example. And then digitizing, which is typically scanning photos or converting old movie tapes or reels to a digital format,” she said.

There are a few reasons for doing this, Golding said, the most important of which is to have backup.

Tapes will deteriorate over time, she said, or photos and videos can be lost in the case of a fire.

“So, in my opinion, the number one reason to digitize and go through this process with an old collection of family photos would be to have a backup,” she said. “Once they’re digital, you can save a copy somewhere else and you can always recreate that if you need to.”

It is also a great way to have your memories organized, Golding said, which makes it easier to share with your family. A lot of the older formats of videos, for example, cannot be played on today’s equipment and finding a working VCR is a challenge.

“You certainly can’t find projectors very easily anymore and if you do, they’re not very gentle on films,” Golding said. “Converting videos, for example, to a digital format means you can easily watch them on a memory stick, computer, TV, an iPad, anything like that.”

Once photos are digitized, they can be shared with the entire family.

In 2012, Golding wanted a job which allowed her the flexibility to spend more time with her children, while getting out of the typical nine-to-five grind.

“And to something that I really enjoyed more,” she added.

When Golding first started, she thought she would simply be creating slide shows for people.

“I thought they would bring me everything digital and ready to go and I would just make the slide show,” she said.

Instead, people would bring Golding their old shoeboxes, scrapbooks or photo albums and tell her which photos they wanted used.

“And so my first step would have to be to digitize those so I could do something with them,” she said, adding people would also bring her a stack of VHS tapes.

Over the next year or two, Golding realized there were more people than she thought that needed help organizing and preserving their memories before anything could be done with them.

“So over the next few years, it evolved into a business where, I was still doing slide shows for people, but also doing a lot of the scanning work, as well, and converting,” she said. “From there, it turned into sort of the opposite. I was still doing some slide shows and keepsake work for people. But now It’s a lot more help with organizing and preserving and helping them share.”

Converting video tapes is done in real time. If a VHS tape is two hours in length, then it runs for two hours and is recorded on a computer.

“So there’s no way to speed that up,” Golding said. “Likewise, if there’s a 400-foot eight-millimetre film reel, in real time, the scanning is half an hour, but then there is some work afterwards to do the editing.”

Originally a home-based business, Golding moved Silver Frame Productions to its current location at 107A Main Street N., last fall.

“It has been absolutely great,” Golding said. “It’s right on Main Street, of course. It’s definitely a larger space, which lets me have more equipment. But more importantly, it’s a lot more accessible. It’s nice and bright. It’s been a really positive move, for sure.”

The business has been growing steadily, Golding said. The pandemic resulted in people going through their old photo albums or videos.

“I think a lot of people started realizing passing memories through generations and stories through generations is really important,” she said. “Over the last couple of years, the business has been growing because a lot more people are coming in.”

Some people, Golding said, aren’t aware of what the options are when it comes to preserving their photos or videos.

“So when they find out that there is somebody that’s a photo manager and has training in this, they’re relieved,” she said, adding people often don’t know where to start, which is something she can help with. “I can help them decide whether they want to tackle a project themselves or have help with it, or a combination of both. Sometimes people don’t have the time or the interest or computer skills or the equipment to actually do the digitizing. But they like the organizing part,” Golding said, adding other people just want to hand everything over and let her do the work, while other will scan the photos themselves and leave the videos to her.

Golding can digitize any size of negative, any size of slides, any type of photos of any age.

“Sometimes we get old photos from the 1800s in here,” she said, adding she has a wide range of equipment to handle photos or videos in any condition. “I invested a couple of years ago in a very, very specialized $10,000 scanner for digitizing old super 8 and eight-millimetre films. A lot of people don’t know that old films can be scanned and so we’re now doing a lot more of those this past year,” Golding said. “It’s really, really nice to be able to hand someone back their films from the ‘50s that they have never seen and they’re a child in them. And they’ve never seen that footage before.”

The technology, Golding said, has changed over the years. It used to be that people would use an everyday, photocopier scanner to try to scan photos.

“But now, we have a rapid scanner that scans the front and the back of the photo in the same pass and very quickly,” she said, adding thousands of photos can be scanned in a day at the good quality and the film scanning technology is much different, as well.

The company’s website can be found at silverframeproductions.ca and Golding is also on Facebook and Instagram. The business hours are Tuesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Golding will also take appointments on Mondays.

“I’m really excited to be downtown now. I think that more businesses are opening and bringing people downtown is really important to me, as well,” she said. “Having an accessible store front ow where people can just drop in is really nice.”

Golding has one part time person working with her, but she hopes to add more staff as the business grows.

Golding appreciates when people support small businesses in the Parkland.

“As a small business owner myself, I know that when customers bring me their photos and videos, I’m not shipping them out to get digitized, which is what a lot of larger businesses do that do this business,” she said. “Here, nothing is shipped out. I do the work here. There is no risk of your things being lost. I’m here to answer questions, to help people with their tech help if they need. So when people help support small local businesses like this, it makes such a difference. It keeps money in the community, which then we can turn around and donate to local organizations and fund-raisers.”

People are sometimes surprised at the quality of work Golding is able to produce, receiving a lot of positive comments from her customers.

“People seem to really appreciate sitting face-to-face in the shop talking about their photos and explaining why they’re important to them and knowing that they’re going to be taken care of really well here, handled carefully. I think people appreciate that,” she said, adding everything is kept private and confidentiality is important to her.

“Those memories are going to be treated with respect. That’s really, really important to me. It’s a lot of trust that people place when they bring their, sometimes very private memories, and knowing that they can trust me with those here is really important to me,” Golding said.