It’s a year of infrastructure changes and more on the Swan River Valley Agricultural Society (SRVAS) Grounds as the board and volunteers prepare for this year’s upcoming NorthWest Round-up and Exhibition, taking place from July 25-28.
In addition to the previously announced repainting and refurbishment of the main grandstand – which also includes repair of the fencing at the top and installment of a new wheelchair ramp on the south side – one of the big projects this year is a brand new light horse arena to replace the old one. The costs were covered by a yet-to-be-announced corporate sponsor.
“We’ve had lots of volunteers come in to tear down the old one and put the new one in,” said SRVAS President Lesley Sembaluk. “The new design has more of a multi-purpose use which can be used for 4-H events, gymkhana and different activities.”
Sembaluk added that the posts and gates of the arena will be painted to match that of their corporate sponsor.
Some other upgrades and improvements will be to the heavy horse barn, to accommodate the horses and riders that will be arriving for the Musical Ride of the RCMP.
“They won’t be here in time for the parade on Friday morning, but they will be arriving Friday and performing Saturday and Sunday afternoons after the rodeo,” said Sembaluk.
Because costs of things like providing hay for the horses needs to yet be covered, people are able to Adopt a Horse for the Musical Ride and have their pictures taken to be displayed in the stalls of the heavy horse barn.
Sembaluk also noted that the Musical Ride of the RCMP is something that some of her committee members have been working on for several years, and is pleased they were able to bring it to this year’s event.
Relating to that theme, this year’s Swan Valley Chamber of Commerce parade will also be themed RCMP Musical Ride. The parade starts at 10 a.m. on Friday (June 26) and usually includes dozens of businesses, families and organizations driving their vehicles and floats down Main Street and back up Second Street North towards the SRVAS Grounds.
There will not be bouncy castles this year, due to the need to accommodate the Musical Ride of the RCMP, but Sembaluk added that they have brought in an outfit that will be providing a pony ride ring and a petting zoo, a new addition to the grounds this year.
There will be no Saturday night dance or musical performance this year, and the Friday night dance will see a departure away from Ken Thompson’s usual talents, as he was unavailable this year. Instead, Friday night will be more of a coffeehouse style event.
“We’re making it into a community showcase,” said Sembaluk, adding that a band will still be available, and liquor will still be served, but it will have more of that coffeehouse vibe, which proves to be a popular event in the area, often held at various locations in the Swan Valley.
Those that would like to sign up for the Friday night coffeehouse are welcome to contact 204·734·0940. Performers can also sign up at the door. It will take place at 8 p.m. at the Veterans Community Hall. Tickets are $10.
And, what often proves to be the biggest show of all and one of the biggest attractions of the NorthWest Round-up and Exhibition, this year will see the second ever Western Canadian Chuckwagon Championship and Western Canadian Junior Chariot Championship, which sees some of the best wagon and chariot riders in Western Canada competing every evening during the four-day event. Chariots are scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. every day, with chuckwagons at 6 p.m..
Entry to the grandstands is included with the one-pay gate admission to the Grounds.
Tickets to the North-West Round-up and Exhibition are $25 for adults, $15 for youth ages 6-17 and free for children five and under.
Adult and youth weekend passes are also available for $75 and $45.
Until July 19, early bird pricing is also available with discount code SAVE2024 at eventbrite.com or by purchasing at the SRVAS office located on the Grounds.
A historic noteworthy thing about this year as well is Sembaluk is the first ever Indigenous president of the SRVAS. As such, a Metis flag that was presented to last year’s president Austen Anderson by Northwest Metis Council Vice President Frances Chartrand will be erected on the grounds to fly all weekend long. The Metis flag, along with the Treaty 4 flag, the Manitoba flag and the Canadian flag will be flown during the opening ceremonies.
“Cree Star Gifts is going to be on site again this year,” said Sembaluk. “They were here last year and they were a big thing.”
Sembaluk also noted that a local organization will be starting up the Bingo booth again for the first time in a few years, highlighting that the money will be staying within the community.
More information on the NorthWest Round-up and Exhibition can be found on northwestroundup.ca or on the Swan River Valley Agricultural Society Facebook page.
“We’ll see how this year rolls out,” Sembaluk concluded. “There’s a lot of good changes.”

Business has gotten a little more hairy in downtown Swan River this year, but actually in a good way!
If you haven’t checked out their new storefront 520 Main Street, Roaring River Fur has established themself in a new permanent location this year, giving opportunity to their client base to reliably find them and their products at the Roaring River Gift Shop.
Not only that, Roaring River Gift Shop has opened their space up to other small business makers, leading to a wide variety of foodstuffs, crafts and gift ideas produced by local people and filling their shelves with an assortment of treasures to discover, some of which are not found in any other permanent storefront location.
Roaring River Gift Shop opened at the beginning of July this year, right before the crowds of the NorthWest Round-up and Exhibition filled the town.
“I figured we’d get our feet wet before the rodeo in case it got really busy,” said Roaring River Owner/Operator Clayton Block, who operates the business and the gift shop with his wife, Andrea. “We’ve both worked retail before, so we’ve got a pretty good idea (of how it’s supposed to work), but it’s a little different when it’s yours. There’s a lot more things to think about that you don’t normally think about.”
Blocks found the summer to be fairly successful for a new business, and their shelves became quickly full of vendors’ products in the reasonable-sized retail space.
Word of mouth and having a significant presence in a busy part of town has led to more traffic in their store, just in time for the Christmas shopping season.
“This is a better opportunity (for our customers) because our stuff is always out, instead of packed away in tubs waiting for the next craft show,” said Block.
Ever since Roaring River Fur started about five years ago – with Clayton having been trapping for closer to 10 years – both Blocks envisioned having their handmade fur-based products in a store. The trouble, of course, is the retail space that their furs take up, more than what might be available in existing stores, but perhaps not enough to fill an entire retail store.
“We thought there would be enough small business people here who put their product away in tubs waiting for the next craft sale, that perhaps they would want to join us in our space,” said Block, noting that the idea has worked out well, with more than 40 vendors putting their products on the shelves in Roaring River Gift Shop, perhaps even getting close to 60 in the near future, which he noted would be about the maximum capacity, to avoid the store getting too cluttered and difficult to navigate.
“The more vendors, the better, because everybody’s paying rent, so it only helps us out even more,” said Block. “We had to hire one staff to help us because we can’t always be here, so it helps with that as well.”
Roaring River Gift Shop also uses a vendor relationship business model that is non-traditional but also not brand new. Instead of purchasing inventory from vendors and pricing up the product to profit the store, or taking a commission when vendors sell the products on their shelves, Roaring River Gift Shop simply charges their vendors $30 per month for their shelf space, allowing vendors to charge the same prices they would if they sold to their customers directly, leaving them the responsibility to manage the inventory on their shelf.
It’s a business model that’s been done before, but in other instances where this has been done, such as in large urban centres, rents on these retail shelves can sometimes be hundreds of dollars.
The lucrative business model that benefits both parties has led to a diverse mix of products, ranging from nature-based artwork, handmade cosmetic products, delicious treats and appetizers, jewellery, spreads, clothing, and so much more.
Having the business of Roaring River Fur taking up a plurality of the retail space also serves an anchor that draws customers in to discover the other treasures that they may not have known exists there.
Blocks are also pleased to be able to move into a downtown space in an era where Main Street seems to have continually more vacancies popping up than new businesses.
“It’s nice to see signs coming back up on buildings,” said Block.
Andrea Block added that their family used to spend Saturday afternoons wandering Main Street and checking out the Swan River stores, which is something that’s become more difficult.
“This was one of those things where we wanted to do this and offer an opportunity to people who would love a storefront, but can’t do it on their own,” she said. “This gives people an opportunity to have their products showcased.
“I think we’re all in the same boat and can’t do it on our own.”
Roaring River Gift Shop is open currently from Wednesday to Saturday every week, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Stop on by while on your Christmas shopping travels to perhaps find your favourite local product, or discover something new and unique.

Even when the local public library isn’t open, a new book to read might just be a walk down the street away.
The Swan Valley is currently home to a few Little Free Libraries (LFL) – two in Swan River (First Street North and Duncan Crescent) and one in Kenville being some examples.
LFLs are outdoor (and sometimes indoor) libraries that are free for anyone to use – take a book, leave a book, welcome for anyone to borrow or keep what’s inside.
“If you love reading, it’s a chance to see what others are reading, and to encouter random books from the neighbourhood,” said Kendra Thiessen, who has a LFL set up in her front yard on Duncan Crescent.”
While LFLs are conceptually connected – and the website littlefreelibrary.org providing plenty of resources – each library is up to individuals what kinds of books or other materials they wish to stock inside, and what each LFL looks like. In Thiessen’s case, her expectation is that her library remain child and teen friendly, rearranging the revolving collection so the child-friendly books are on the bottom shelf. Thiessen also decorated her LFL with a Dr. Seuss theme, highlighting the intention of a family-friendly space.
Naturally, of course, with every LFL, parent discretion is needed for children using an LFL, because of the double-edged sword of a free-to-use, free-to-access common good.
“I think it’s a good idea to be aware of the books that are going in and out of your library, so I try to check up on it every so often,” said Thiessen. “I haven’t had to remove any so far, but I really want my library to be child friendly, so I’m keeping an eye on it.”
Thiessen also has a guestbook in her’s as well, and has taken joy in hearing people’s comments and book suggestions.
“Sometimes I’ve been surprised at how many people have visited the library when I haven’t noticed,” she said. “The response has been very positive.
“If you love reading, and have spare books laying around like I do, this is a great chance to do something fun for our community. All you need is a little library. There are plenty of ideas online of how to make them yourself. For me, I’m not a very handy person, so my parents made it for me. My dad loves making little projects such as this, and I’m sure he’d be willing to be hired to make others – he also made the one my sister-in-law’s LFL in Kenville. And, my mom is a great painter and she painted mine and my sister-in-law’s.”
Of course, Thiessen loves the local North-West Regional Library, and believes there is plenty of space for a full-featured public library as well as multiple LFLs.
“Our librarians are so friendly and helpful and we have a great selection there,” said Thiessen. “I think the difference of having a LFL is you don’t have to return them if you don’t want to, and it’s along the road so it can be a very quick stop.
“The public library also has has hundreds of times more books than any of the LFLs, so you don’t go to a roadside library for your favourite author or a new release, but instead you go to it to be surprised and maybe discover a book you’ve never heard of before.
“Swan River is a beautiful town, with so many wonderful people here, and something I’m passionate about is community spirit,” Thiessen continued. “I want our town to be known for positive things, and I believe that comes from people creating the kind of culture that we want to have here. We shouldn’t ignore our challenges, but I don’t think that should be our everyday focus. Instead, I want to create a safe and fun experience, and I’ve seen how the little library is a place for people to pause their busy lives, discover a new book and maybe even meet some other people.
“It’s been so encouraging seeing people of all ages stopping at my little library, I think it can feel a little bit like discovering a treasure box, because you don’t know what you will find. At one of the other little libraries in town, I found a children’s book that I absolutely loved when I was younger, and I’m so excited that I could take it to read to my nieces and nephews.”
Visit littlefreelibrary.org for tips, kits to build, best practices, or frequently asked questions. With just a few handfuls of books available that can generally be stored in each location, there’s plenty of room for book-lovers to add a bright spot in their neighbourhood.