The art of Ukrainian dance has started up again for the year with the Vesselli dancers enrolled in Ukrainian dance classes. The Benito Vesselli Dance Club has been fortunate to have strong and dedicated instructors to ensure that the art of Ukrainian dance continues in the Valley. Amanda Bulycz and Austin Spencer are both former students of the Vesselli Dance Club and are now instructors.
“I started Ukrainian dancing with Benito Vesselli Dance Club at the age of three,” said Bulycz. “My mom and her siblings danced with Vesselli, and my grandmother was active in the club by sewing costumes, pinching perogies, and volunteering her time with anything else that was needed. My mom later became Vesselli’s instructor, so I guess you can say it was our family tradition to celebrate our culture by joining Ukrainian dance. As I got older, I fell in love with performing on stage, learning more about my culture, and just the overall dance community and dance family with Vesselli.
“As a child, I loved everything about Ukrainian Dance, from performing on stage to getting together with my dance friends every week for practice. I also loved learning new combinations and dance regions. But my absolute favourite part was celebrating and sharing my culture. Ukrainian Dance has this power of emotions and pride behind it that when you experience it, you just want more.”
“I started Ukrainian dancing when I was six years old,” said Spencer. I can’t recall what made me go to my first practice, but I’m sure it had something to do with my mom pushing me to go.
“My favourite part of Ukrainian dance was probably the same as most kids, the competitions. I can remember looking forward to dancing on the big stage at the end of the season. Even though we all got very nervous waiting backstage to go on, the feeling of excitement and pride we felt after a great performance was always an awesome feeling.”
There are so many different styles of Ukrainian dance that can be appreciated. Each style of dance comes from and represents a certain region in Ukraine.
“Every region of Ukraine is so unique and I could list many things from each region that I love,” said Bulycz. “For example, I love the energetic steps, jumps and high kicks from the Volyn region or the fast movements and unique music of the Hutzul region. Every region has its style of steps and music, which keeps not only performing these dances fun but choreographing and instructing each region keeps classes new, interesting and exciting.
“My favourite style of dance would be Hopak. This dance is not only an honour to perform, but I love creating new choreography and instructing Hopak dances. This is one of the main reasons I started my Ensemble: to continue challenging, creating and sharing Hopak with the community. This dance allows dancers to showcase their unique tricks and steps. “You often see male dancers performing incredible acrobatic moves and the female dancers spinning incredibly fast. All dancers move at high speeds, all while being graceful and moving delicately across the stage. Not only is this dance fun to choreograph and perform, it is amazing to experience from the audience as well.”
“For most of my childhood, I enjoyed performing Poltava dances,” said Spencer. “These dances are always high energy with many jumps and kicks thrown into the mix. As I got older, I was always most excited to perform our Hopak. Hopak dances are usually made up of a large group that shows off all the tricks they’ve worked so hard to perfect.”
For both Bulycz and Spencer, the decision to further their Ukrainian dance skills were apparent as they moved on from being the student to becoming an instructor.
“I loved Ukrainian dancing and when I was approached at 16 years old to instruct alongside my uncle with the Hudson Bay Cheremka Dance Club,” said Bulycz. “I knew I wanted to share this love with others. Ukrainian dance is so special to me, and I knew my career wouldn’t and couldn’t end after high school graduation, I wanted and needed to continue to share this love and passion.
“I’m proud to say I have been with Vesselli, whether that’s as a dancer or instructor, since I was three years old and never missed a year. I’m also proud to have been instructing, choreographing and running workshops for many clubs across Saskatchewan and Manitoba for 20 years now, and every year is more exciting than the last.
“Initially, when I started instructing at age 16, I hadn’t taken any courses specific to instructing,” said Bulycz. “I had participated in many workshops and seminars as a dancer but not as an instructor. At that time, everything I knew was taught to me by my past instructors, as well as getting advice from my mom and uncle, who both instructed Ukrainian dance.
“Throughout the years, I jumped at any opportunity to learn and grow as an instructor, whether that’s participating in an Instructor Workshop, studying and continuing to learn more about Ukraine with online courses, or networking with other instructors. Over the years, I have met so many amazing people in the Ukrainian dance world to share ideas, and we learn from and help each other.”
“I jumped at the opportunity to teach dance with the club that I was a part of my whole life,” said Spencer. “I think it’s really important to keep activities like this available in our small communities for all to enjoy. Vesselli gave a lot to my childhood and I’m proud to have the opportunity to pass on the lessons I learned to the younger generation.
“While I don’t have any formal certifications in teaching Ukrainian dance, I lean on my 20 years of experience to help provide instruction. I am hoping to attend some courses in the future to provide the best instruction that I can.”
“I started assisting the younger dancers alongside my Vesselli instructors when I was 14 years old,” said Bulycz. “At age 16, I started choreographing and Instructing with Hudson Bay Cheremka Dance Club and then by age 18, I was instructing Benito Vesselli along with three other dance clubs from Saskatchewan.
“I have enjoyed so many things about instructing Ukrainian dance. I could write a book about the multiple experiences and excitement it has brought. I love creating and choreographing a new dance and watching it come to life. Often, I’m finding music and coming up with new choreography in my living room and you never know if what you are imagining will be able to work with the group of dancers.
“It’s a huge accomplishment when you get to see this come to life on the stage at a competition or year-end concerts,” said Bulycz. “Having dancers receive their highest marks, accomplish their goals, receive scholarships and trophies, their sense of pride and being able to stand backstage and see their faces smiling and beaming as they perform what they’ve been working on all year is a huge accomplishment as an instructor.”
“My first year teaching dance was in 2022,” said Spencer. “At that point, I only helped with the boys in the club, demonstrating technique and helping instruct their boys’ dance. Since then, I have been teaching alongside Amanda each week with the whole club.
“I think my favourite part about teaching dance is seeing how much the kids enjoy performing. It’s hard not to smile while standing backstage and watching them have so much fun and show off all their hard work.”
With the recent events that have stuck in Ukraine, it’s imperative to preserve the culture and representation of the country and its people. Ukrainian dance has traditionally had a strong representation throughout Manitoba and will continue well into the future.
“Just like anything, everything evolves and grows, dancers are performing at higher levels at younger ages,” said Bulycz. “They are accomplishing goals and achieving so much more than dancers before them, but the values behind Ukrainian dance have never changed. We are always learning more about Ukraine and the regions, costuming, steps, styles and more, but the true reason I believe we are all dancing is to share our culture with the world.
“It’s always been important to share Ukrainian culture, but with the war currently taking place, it’s our job to showcase how powerful Ukrainians are and performing any region of Ukrainian dance is one way of doing that. When we step on stage, we are not only representing our club, ourselves, or our instructors, but we are representing Ukraine and showing that we are not going anywhere.
“Ukrainian Dance has always been a huge part of Benito,” said Bulycz. “Vesselli has been around for over 40 years, and while yes we have had our enrolment decrease and increase many times over the years, we are happy to say we currently have 30 children in our club and we continue to grow every year. Not only does Benito have Vesselli for dancers 3 to 18 years of age, but we also have an adult class, Benito Shaker Misto Adult Dancers, which had ten adult dancers last year.
“Also, I have recently started up Liliya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble in Benito, which consists of dancers of all ages, many past or present dancers of Vesselli and Shaker Misto. I would say for a small community like Benito, the art of Ukrainian dance will continue for many years to come.

“The support all three groups receive is truly remarkable,” said Bulycz. “Although Vesselli has always performed at Benito’s Malanka event, 2024 was the first year Vesselli hosted Malanka. Shaker Misto and Liliya Ensemble joined Vesselli in performing for the sold-out crowd between the supper and the dance. The community came together to support Vesselli and also made donations to Ukraine with the Cobblestone Foundation. Vesselli will be hosting Malanka again in Benito on January 11, 2025.
“At Vesselli’s annual year-end concert, we filled the school gym, with many audience members standing as we ran out of room for chairs! I am proud to be from a community that continues to support our Ukrainian culture and dance groups.”
Both Bulycz and Spencer are eager to get into this season with all the new choreography and performances the students will have the chance to learn and embark upon.
“I’m excited to create brand new choreography for all my groups,” said Bulycz. “This is something that I feel is unique and I create new choreography every year for every group I instruct. Every dance I choreograph is made specifically for that group of dancers and is created based on their skills and goals. There is the odd time we will keep a dance or combination from the previous year, but often, I’m creating new choreography to keep all dancers challenged and learning.
“I will be starting practices with Shaker Misto Adult Dancers and Liliya Ensemble in October.
We will be preparing all three groups to perform at Vesselli’s Malanka event in January as well as preparing for competitions and our year-end concert in April and May.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing everyone progress week after week,” said Spencer. “We have so many amazing dancers that love giving their all.”

The North-West Regional Library held Spooktober on Friday, October 18 and Saturday, October 19 at the Swan Valley Museum. There was a not too scary display at the museum hall and scary displays for those who wanted a spine chilling experience in the Octagon House and Gulash Building. There was a Halloween trail and train rides as well for all to enjoy...

Voters in three wards of Mountain View School Division will head to the polls at the end of the month to select four trustees to fill vacancies at the board table.

On Oct. 30, voters in Ward 1 (Roblin) will choose two new trustees, while those in Ward 2 (Gilbert Plains, Grandview and Ethelbert) will elect one trustee and voters in Dauphin will select one new Ward 4 trustee.

Often it can be difficult to get the information you need to make an informed choice in the ballot booth and the further you head down the levels of governance, the more difficult that quest can be.

With no formal candidate forums or debates announced, the Dauphin Herald and the Roblin Review partnered with the Manitoba Teachers’ Society to ask the candidates six questions so voters can get a better idea of exactly who is hoping to help shape the local education system

Questions asked included:

1. Reflecting on your life experience, what has prepared you to run for school trustee?
2. If you are elected, what would your priorities be as a Mountain View School Division trustee?
3. What would you do to make those priorities a reality?
4. There has been a great deal of talk about racism and discrimination at the board level in Mountain View. How would you work to combat the hurtful misinformation that has been spread in recent months, commit to Reconciliation and repair the harm caused to students and families in the division?
5. What would being a school trustee mean to you?
6. How can voters reach you to discuss further?

Eight of the nine candidates responded. Their candidates’ unedited answers follow, sorted in order of where their name will appear on the ballot.

To see the full Q&A, read this week’s edition of the Dauphin Herald.

On Oct. 3, the first official harvest of the SVRSS Growcer Farm took place, celebrating the multi-year effort it took to get this hydroponics project off the ground, housed right on the campus of the regional secondary school.
The hydroponics farm – which uses carefully managed water, nutrients, light and temperature in a year-round controlled environment – with the first few rounds of produce being different varieties of lettuce to start with, soon to be followed by some other leafy greens.
Known as the Rural and Northern Food Security Initiative, the cutting-edge program aims to develop a regional research and training centre that focuses on growing and managing health and traditional foods within local, rural and northern communities.
The initiative not only aims to provide students with access to nutritious food but also equips them with essential lifelong skills in leadership, sustainability, environment and agriculture.
“The process starts out with seedlings getting planted in what’s called rockwool with no soil, being fed nutrients in the water,” said SVRSS teacher Kari Goethe, who leads the Environmental Management curriculum and is a part of teaching the students who are actively managing the Growcer farm.
“The plants stay in that seedling area until they grow their first true leaves in about two weeks. Then they get moved over to the main racks and can stay there for about 4-6 weeks, depending on the cultivar that has been planted.”
The first seedlings planted at SVRSS were on Aug. 16.
Goethe also explained how students and supervisors monitor the hydroponics system every day, testing the pH and specific nutrients that the plants need, as well as temperature, humidity, salts and so on.
The Growcer farm also comes equipped with its own sensors so that the system can be monitored remotely, and can be able to send out alerts if there is a metric that is outside of the levels of where it is supposed to be.
The managers of the Growcer farm will be consulting with the cafeteria and Culinary Arts program at the SVRSS to see how they can collaborate and make use of the produce, so some of the leafy green foods that will be available in the SVRSS cafeteria this year could have been grown just outside of the regional school in an unassuming, white building.
At this time, there are six students registered and taking the course where the primary focus of the course is maintaining the Growcer farm. Other students in the school have also had the opportunity to at least view the farm and learn what it’s about and how it works.
“The students are really enjoying it,” said Goethe. “Everybody has been really positive with their experience in there so far.”
Goethe also showed her appreciation to all the community partners that made the project possible, which has included the Sapotaweyak Cree Nation, Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation, and the Swan River Kinsmen Club, with additional support from the Manitoba government, Farm Credit Canada and Westman Communications Group. The initiative has interested local First Nations communities as it opens up the possibility of starting greenhouse opportunities of their own to provide their communities with year-round nutritional produce products.
With SVSD’s educational expertise, the program envisions having a research and training academy where students can learn hands-on skills and return to their home communities to implement what they’ve learned.
The Growcer farm will educate Environmental Management students and Culinary Arts students directly. Those outside of those programs also benefit as this resource helps to alleviate food insecurity and foster a greater appreciation for local food systems.
“By establishing a Growcer farm at our school, we can provide our students with the skills they need to thrive in an evolving job market,” said Goethe. “They will leave with job-ready skills and a deeper understanding of sustainable food production.”

The Aurora Borealis have been lighting up the northern hemisphere of our globe last week as geomagnetic storms have been creating intense Northern Lights.

Halfway through his mandate, Dauphin mayor David Bosiak is pleased with what has been accomplished and excited about what the next two years might hold.
That excitement is piqued even more considering the culture of co-operation and teamwork that is prevalent around the council table and throughout City Hall.
“The willingness to communicate. The willingness to share ideas. The willingness to have discussions even though we don’t have to agree on things, that we’re not having to fact check each other. We are talking about realistic things,” Bosiak said.
“I can probably speak on behalf of the entire council that we are all motivated to make Dauphin a better place. Not better by cutting things or reducing spending, but by providing beneficial and needed public good. We want to do everything possible that a city can do to make it a great place to live, a great place to own a business, a great place to want to own a business.”
While talk around Dauphin often revolves around the recreation opportunities and natural beauty that surrounds the community, a list of the city’s attributes has to include the educational opportunities, the world class health care availability and the volume of development currently under way.
But perhaps Dauphin’s strongest attribute is its people, he said, who consisently step up when called upon, such as during the recent Manitoba Summer Games.
“We have positive energy. We’ve had tremendous success with our events getting back up and running post-COVID,” he said.
“There’s an enthusiasm with the volunteers in our community that I’ve seen, which is so consistent with post 2004, the last time we hosted the summer games. I recall back in the day we were saying ‘well, we did that, what else can we do?’ And I have a sense of the same kind of energy and enthusiasm now. There’s just so many small examples of a synergy, of people willing to work together.”
With planning already underway for 2025, Bosiak is hoping city council can build on that momentum and enthusiasm to champion some new initiatives with potential to make life in Dauphin even better.

Read the full story in this week's edition of the Dauphin Herald.

Dauphin fire chief Cam Abrey was honoured for his work done on behalf of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CACF).

At the association’s annual conference in Montreal last week, Abrey was presented a King Charles III’s Coronation Medal.

“There were 50 of us that received that medal through the CACF for their work that they did on the national level. Either through the national fire service or through their provincial fire services or a combination of both,” Abrey said, adding two other medals were presented to Manitobans including Steinbach fire chief Kelvin Toews and Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service deputy-chief Scott Wilkinson.

“We are all involved. I’m past president of the provincial association and Kelvin is our current president. We’ve both held a number of different committee seats on the national level. Scott Wilkinson has spoken at numerous conferences on the national level and he sits on a few different committees, as well.”

The coronation medal commemorates the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III as King of Canada. The medal is administered by the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall. A total of 30,000 medals will be presented this year to those who have made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community of Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada.

Currently Abrey sits on the CACF’s Cancer Prevention Committee aimed at developing policies and practises to help reduce the risk of firefighters developing cancer throughout their careers. He also sits on the Answer the Call Committee, which gathers information on ways departments can attract new firefighters and retain existing members.

“That’s probably the biggest challenge in the fire service today, bolstering the numbers on departments,” Abrey said.

Abrey also serves on the Executive Chief Fire Officer Committee, which oversees the professional designation program, and the Mental Health Committee, which looks for ways to assist those in all branches of emergency services who are at risk of developing post traumatic stress disorder.

The work is important and, while Abrey does not get involved for medals and pats on the back, it is nice to be recognized.

“It’s great honour. You have 49 others from across the country that are your peers that were there for the award, as well. You don’t do it for the recognition. You do it to try and improve the fire service and make it safer for those that are coming through,” he said.

“In December I hit my 25th year in the fire service and I never thought that when I stepped in that there would be any kind of recognition like this. I never thought that it would be a full-time career for me and I always tell the tour groups that come through the fire station that I’m living every little kid’s dream. I get to drive big red trucks and fight fires.”

Tyler Carr has found radio to be a medium in which he can connect with people in a powerful way. He attributes his inspiration to being a radio broadcaster to growing up in the Valley. He spent a lot of time listening to music on the radio and calling in requests, which led him to his passion for it. It allowed Carr to be himself and become an advocate by treating people with love and respect. He strives to see less bullying and more acceptance. Carr believes that people should be free to be themselves.
Carr felt like he was different, and that pushed him to venture off to Alberta alone and grow into himself. Unfortunately, at that time, his best friend, Matt Peters, was diagnosed with cancer for the second time.
“When I went to SAIT, I enrolled in a two-year program. It was a lot like high school but without the bullying because the class sizes were very small,” said Carr. “The radio program allowed students after their second year who got a job in the industry to be able to do things in the industry and submit them back for marks, and that’s how I did it. It was a positive experience, even though it was during the time when Matt passed away from cancer. All the teachers in the program and everyone really stepped up.
“It was scary for me to leave Swan River because that is where my family is. I lived with my aunt and uncle for the first year while all my friends stayed in Manitoba, so there were times when it felt a bit daunting. I was also beating myself up for leaving Manitoba at the time because Matt was fighting cancer, and I could have attended the University of Manitoba, been near him and visited him more. Even Matt was telling me he wanted to see me where I was and doing exactly what I was doing. A couple of my instructors made sure I was taken care of and kind of gave me that feeling of being home away from home.
“They even gave me some time to fly back and go and see him,” said Carr. “I’m sure glad they did because that was the last time I ever saw him.”
The loss of Matt made Carr question everything, and he contemplated giving up on what he had started until he attended a Lada Gaga concert. During the show, Carr had thrown a letter on stage and she read it out loud to the audience. The letter was about Matt passing and how hard it had been for Carr. This sparked a genuine interest for Lady Gaga to meet Carr after the show. This helped Carr to reconnect with his passion.
“When I got back into my second year, it was after Matt had passed, I had told everyone around me that I wasn’t going to continue with the program because I was in the heightened stage of my grief,” said Carr. “It didn’t seem like something I had wanted anymore and I felt like I lost my passion for it.
“I just spent the whole summer pouring my grief into this insane, creative way, and when I came back a second year, it was a completely different story for me. All my instructors helped me and walked me through it. They allowed me to have my emotions and found different outlets for me. They gave me everything I needed to redirect my emotions instead of just closing the world out.
“It went from a real struggle to something that I could actually feel like I was celebrating myself for,” said Carr. “Going to the concert, having that letter read, going back to SAIT and finishing the program has incredibly impacted me and continues to every day. It gave me the message I needed and the power of knowing what a person can do for someone. That is how I live every day of my life.”
Carr attended the SAIT alumni awards on September 26, with all of his family in attendance to celebrate his accomplishment.
“When SAIT had reached out to me about this, I was a little hesitant at first,” said Carr. “There was some hesitancy in me because I was thinking, what did I do that was so great; it was some imposter syndrome feeling. The closer we got to the day of the award, the more I felt that my message was that with any hardship in life, including grief, a person can still chase their dreams, and it can be in memory of a person who wasn’t able to chase theirs. I wanted Matt to chase his dreams more than anything in the world, but unfortunately, he can’t, so what better way for me to celebrate his life than for me to live what I am supposed to do. That is how I felt about it as it got closer and closer to me accepting this award.
“When it comes to this award in particular, it allows me to reflect on where I started and the people who taught me the things I needed to learn in this industry, then to be invited back with all your family, friends, and colleagues, is on a different calibre of celebration that I haven’t received yet. I’m humbled, grateful and honoured by it and hope to inspire others through it.”

The Elbert Chartrand Friendship Centre held their National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Walk on Monday, September 30, to remember the Indigenous children who did not come home from residential schools and to acknowledge the intergenerational trauma and the long lasting impact it has had on residential school survivors and their families.

City administrators have decided it is time to review Dauphin’s Zoning Bylaw.

“Our last zoning bylaw is from 2015 and we are approaching the 10-year mark, so it’s definitely time, that is one aspect,” said city manager Sharla Griffiths.

“A second aspect is our city plan or development plan just got reviewed and approved this spring and that’s another good trigger, or another good indicator that says we need to review our zoning bylaw.”

It is important the two planning tools work together, she added.

The recently approved development plan builds at the main corridors in the city - Main Street, Second Avenue Northwest, Buchanan Avenue, River Avenue, Whitmore Avenue and Mountain Road - which connect and define different areas of the community. From the commercial area around Main Street to the surrounding residential and green space areas, it is important that allowed development makes sense, Griffiths added.

“The city plan, or the development plan talks about areas of our community and generally what should happen there. The zoning bylaw speaks specifically about lots,” she said.

“We need to make sure that each lot is zoned appropriately and that the things that one can do on the lot are consistent with the city development plan.

“We find that the  2015 review, our current zoning bylaw has been working reasonably well. But the city plan is a very different format and contains some different concepts than the last City plan. So it makes sense to review them both back to back, so that they work together nicely.”

Urban Systems, the consultant which helped the city with its development plan, has been contracted to assist with the bylaw review.

The process is in its early stages, Griffiths said, with just one introductory meeting held to this point. She does expect the consultants will be in the community this week to meet with City staff and council members.

“So they can gather our thoughts and our local knowledge and say from their perspective what are some of the things that we should look at,” Griffiths said, adding she expects the entire process to take up to one year to complete.

“There will be a public consultation component to it eventually, but there is no time frame set yet.”

There are more players involved than just the City and Urban Systems, she said, which can stretch things out.

“We also have to work with the province, so Community Planning, Transportation and probably Environment. The development plan was circulated through Culture and Heritage. Then it also has to get ministerial approval,” she said.

“They could say here’s some recommendations, or give it back to us and say please consider these issues or these items where we would have to go back and rework something.

“But as long as we make the zoning bylaw support the city plan we should be good.”

While residential lots are likely to remain residential and commercial will remain commercial, there are some current trends to be considered, such as intensive housing, infill housing and tiny houses, which are not adequately addressed in the current bylaw.

“Right now we say that on a single family lot you can build a single family home. If you want to build a two family home, you have to come to council for a conditional use.” she said.

“Sometimes we go through a building season, or leading up to a building season and it’s variance after variance after variance, people looking to build a couple feet closer to the property line. So if council almost always says yes to building it a couple feet closer to the property line, maybe our setbacks can be changed. It’s about seeing where we are in terms of comparables, what fits on a lot and what makes sense for our community.”

The new Zoning Bylaw will be implemented once approved sometime in 2025.