The Roblin Chamber of Commerce along with the Municipality of Roblin Recreation Department has partnered to offer an amazing celebration of community and the season of harvest.

Roblin's first annual Fall Harvest Festival is set for Saturday, Sept. 16.

Read more in this weeks' REConnection.

Poodle skirts remain as one of the most memorable  symbols of the ‘50s in the US and are frequently worn as a novelty retro item as part of a nostalgic outfit.

Teen age girls wore them as everyday wear and to school dances.

Read more in this week's Review.

A provincial roundtable was held a couple of weeks ago in Winnipeg focusing on MMIWG2S+, with families who were impacted by it in attendance. Nine Indigenous organizations, along with some funding from the provincial government, put on the Giganawenimaanaanig Manitoba MMIWG2S+ Regional Roundtable that was held over two days.
“I’m actually a member of Giganawenimaanaanig, which was known as the MMIWG2S+ Implementation Committee,” said Renee Kastrukoff. “That committee is comprised of several organizations from around the province and is tasked working to implement the 231 Calls to Justice. We organized the Manitoba MMIWG2S+ Regional Roundtable on July 13 and 14 in Winnipeg.

A series Moose Management Town Hall Meetings are scheduled to take place to discuss moose hunting in the Duck and Porcupine Mountains areas. The event is hosted by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER), Manitoba Natural Resources and Development along with the Canadian Section of the Wildlife Society.
This is an opportunity for all licensed and rights-based hunters, community members and local stakeholders to learn and share about the current state of the moose population in the Duck and Porcupine Mountains.
“The Manitoba government is actively engaging with local Indigenous communities, licensed hunters, outfitters and other stakeholders to guide the development of a long-term sustainable moose management plan for the Duck and Porcupine Mountains,” said a spokesperson for the Province.

The Town of The Pas held a regular council meeting on July 19. During the council meeting, Town of The Pay Mayor Andre Murphy gave a report about the MMIWG2S+ roundtable that he and Councillor Atkinson participated in the week prior, in Winnipeg. The Pas was the only municipality in Manitoba to have their mayor present, after all mayors were invited to the event.
“It was an unbelievable event for me personally to learn,” said Town of The Pas Mayor Andre Murphy. “It was very sad, painful to hear of the loss that has impacted families and friends of MMIWG2S+. When I heard the families speak about the journey they are on and how they’re trying to make things better, I could feel the support in the room from all the allies present and I was thankful to be a part of that.

The Swan Valley Immigrant Services Day Camp group toured the Swan Valley Historical Museum this past Thursday (July 20), teaching the youth all about the history of the Swan Valley.

Summer is the time to take advantage of the many beautiful lakes the Swan River Valley - swimming, boating, fishing or just enjoying the beach. Here, a lone fisherman sits on the dock at East Blue Lake, looking to reel in a catch.

Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival weekend is almost upon, but before all of the cultural celebrations take place at Selo Ukraina, the annual Parkland Chamber of Commerce Street Fair is set to bring a section of First Avenue North West to life on Aug. 3.

The kickoff to the August long weekend gets underway at 8 a.m. with a pancake breakfast and wraps up at midnight following a street dance.

And in between those two bookends there is no shortage of things to do.

Entertainment from local performers run all day on the outdoor stage. Further down the street family-friendly fun activities, such as face painting, bouncy toys and a dunk tank will keep you entertained, as will a display of antique farm implements courtesy of the Dauphin Agricultural Heritage Club and a plethora of shopping opportunities for those with a little money burning a hole in their pockets.

Great food is available when you need to refuel from all of the fun happening and an outdoor beer garden is stocked with cooling beverages.

Call the Parkland Chamber of Commerce office at 204-622-3140 for more details on the day and how to get involved.

If you think after 57 years you know what Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival is all about, get ready to be surprised.

The annual celebration of Ukrainian culture and heritage has plenty of new and different attractions to keep fesitvalgoers interested and entertained.

And that is reflected in ticket sales.

“We are so excited. Actually our ticket sales are going phenomenal, so good, in fact, we had to release more upper camping spots,” CNUF president Kayla Gillis said. “We haven’t done that since our 50th anniversary, so we’re very excited to have a lot of ticket sales in advance and to need some more upper camping.”

One of the changes this year involves moving the showcase performance up in the schedule.

“Our extravaganza show is going to be on Saturday night instead of on Sunday night this year. The dance group can only make it for the Saturday night, they had to travel back to Alberta on the Sunday,” Gillis said adding ticket sales for Saturday are heating up. “So we’re just changing things up a little bit to see if it makes a difference. Our Sunday night show is going to feature something special, as well. So you’ll have to come to check it out and see what it is.”

The extravaganza show features the Edmonton-based dance group Shumka.

Established in 1959, the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers is Canada’s only professional Ukrainian dance company. Shumka presents dance-theatre touring productions, as well as intimate concerts across the country and around the world and has been seen by millions on international television broadcasts. The company has presented command performances for queens, prime ministers, and presidents, and has performed alongside many big name entertainers. Along with Alberta Ballet and Edmonton Opera, Shumka is a resident company of the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.

Fans will be treated to a first-class performance as more than 60 years of history has shaped Shumka’s signature music and dance style. While maintaining deep respect for their heritage, Shumka challenges conventional boundaries to define the experience of Ukrainian dance in the context of modern society. Shumka has completed nine cross-Canada tours, and toured China and Ukraine on two occasions, including with one of its biggest productions, Shumka’s Cinderella which premiered in 2000.

Shumka will share the festival stages throughout the weekend with many other top-notch entertainers including Vohon Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, Trembita, Zirka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, Zabutnyy Dance Company, DJ Gordo, Mashyna, Tyt i Tam, Chaban Ukrainian Dance Group, Druzhba Ensemble, Prairie Fire, Rushnychok Ukrainian Folk Dance Association, Bratstva, Lyra Vocal Group, The Sparkling Tones, Party Time Orchestra and Sche Raz, among others.

Between performances, Gillis said patrons can check out some of the other changes being made this year, including the Farmers’ Market on Saturday afternoon in the cultural village.

Another change includes holding the talent competition on Friday only this year, due to a low number of entries.

“And then on Saturday to replace it, we are offering a dance workshop with our adjudicators, so that’s pretty large for all the young dancers,” Gillis said. “We just needed to do what we had to, to make sure that everybody still had something to do on the Saturday morning.”

Another attraction this year involves the 50th anniversary celebration of Canada’s Riding and Dancing Cossacks and Company.

“They’re having a celebration on the Saturday in the Cultural Village, as well in their Cossack Camp and all alumni are invited to join in,” Gillis said.

Another new attraction this year is the Friday Night Festival Social.

“A next-gen social at our Polka Party stage, trying to get that younger crowd to come up to the hill,” Gillis said.

Of course, there will still be five amazing grandstand variety shows in the spacious amphitheatre, she added, as well as four sponsor stages with ongoing hourly entertainment all weekend, evening zabavas and polka parties, ongoing entertainment in the heritage village, a vendors pavilion, food booths, early morning pancake breakfasts all three days, a return shuttle service from Dauphin and on-site shuttle service, children’s entertainment and activities, fresh clay oven bread, Saturday fireworks, a perogy eating contest and the popular Festival Parade, Saturday at 10 a.m.

It all adds up to an exciting weekend at Selo Ukraina, Aug. 4 to 6.

“Obviously we’re doing a little bit of shuffling. I don’t know if that’s the reasoning for our ticket sales to be significantly higher or if everybody’s out of COVID and ready to party again, I’m not sure. I think probably a little bit of both,” Gillis said. “We have new things and there are also some new things that I didn’t mention. So even if you’ve been before, come because it’s going to be different. We’re still going to honor our Ukrainian culture and heritage, but we’ve added a few new flares. Bring a buddy that’s never been and please come out and support us, so that we can keep going for next year and many, many more years to come.”

Every year more than 300,000 high school graduates across the country are whittled down to a list of 1,500 nominees for a Schulich Leader Scholarship, Canada’s most coveted undergraduate STEM scholarship.

From that list of 1,500 nominees, 100 scholarships are awarded to entrepreneurial-minded students enrolling in a science, technology, engineering or math program at 20 partner universities across Canada.

And Dauphin’s Talia Iwanchysko is one of those 100, receiving $120,000 to complete her engineering degree at the University of Saskatchewan.

The 2023 graduate is thrilled with how all of her hard work throughout high school is paying off in a big way, for her and for her parents.

“It is an amazing opportunity. My parents don’t have to worry about helping me out. They’re beyond thrilled. They were very happy for me when I told them,” Iwanchysko said, adding her parents were instrumental in making sure she makes the most of the opportunity. “They put some sense into me when I was unsure of what I wanted to do and how much of an amazing opportunity this was.”

Every high school in Canada can nominate one graduating student each year to apply for the scholarship, which focusses on volunteerism, leadership, extracurricular activities and an interest in the STEM field.

To receive the nomination from the Dauphin Regional Comprehensive Secondary School, Iwanchysko had to complete an essay outlining what she sees as her three biggest accomplishments and where she sees herself in 10 years.

For her accomplishments, Iwanchysko first looked to her life as a musician.

“I have been playing piano for 10 years, played and sang for a church choir, jazz band and then with the Royal Conservatory of Music. And that’s like festivals, exams, everything like that,” she said, adding her second biggest accomplishment was her service as student council president this past year.

“So that was organizing assemblies and fund-raisers and some of the more serious issues of the school, too. And then just getting the student body involved in activities.”

Finally, Iwanchysko pointed to her academic success, receiving the highest math mark for Grade 12 pre-calculus and maintaining an overall average of 98 per cent.

As for where she sees herself in 10 years, Iwanchysko has big plans.

“I put as a project manager, potentially with my own company, working on designing and building skyscrapers in a big city,” she said.

After receiving the nomination from the DRCSS, Iwanchysko shopped it around to the University of Manitoba and the University of Saskatchewan.

It was the U of S that responded first.

“They sent me an email saying that I had received the scholarship. So that was where I was going to go. I couldn’t turn down something like that,” she said, adding the funds will be forwarded to her in $30,000 installments annually to support her education.

But beyond having their tuition, books and living expenses covered, Schulich Leaders receive a few perks, such as campus welcome tours, regional networking events, learning opportunities with top faculty members, access to top STEM employers and mentorship from university leadership.
Iwanchysko’s academic year starts, Aug. 31, with the first year focussing on core engineering subjects before focussing on a specific area of engineering.

“It can be any type of engineering so I was more interested in the civil side of things,” Iwanchysko said.

“I’m really open to anything, honestly, but I’m leaning towards civil engineering.”

Iwanchysko added she will be sharing an apartment with two other Schulich Leaders who reached out to her after she received the scholarship.