What's up: Red River Ex, Wild & Wonderful Words, Ukrainian festival, VVonder, Grad Walk 2025
NIC ADAM / FREE PRESS files
Of course you want to go faster. The Red River Ex opens Friday and runs for 10 days..
NIC ADAM / FREE PRESS files
Of course you want to go faster. The Red River Ex opens Friday and runs for 10 days..
Tickets $10-18; ride-all-day wristbands $60 at redriverex.com
Hold on to your hats, it's that time of year again! The annual June fair is back with carnival rides and games galore, as well as a plethora of food trucks slinging all manner of fairground faves.
Fill your tum with Philly cheese steaks, ice-cream tacos, fried pop tarts, Flamin' Hot Cheeto pickle pizzas, caramel apple nachos, barbecued meats, pickle fries and grape jelly-glazed crispy chicken served in a waffle cone.
Kickoff is at 5 p.m. Friday with activities taking place at Kiddie-Land, Kids' Stage and the free Family Fun Zone. If you're there for the music, the first band on the Central Park Stage, Motley Crue tribute act Looks That Kill, start at 5:30 p.m. while Red Barn Stage's music starts 15 minutes later as You and What Army play a 45-minute set.
A full day of begins on Saturday when gates open at noon. Head straight for the rides, but remember to snag a spot before the Caribbean Day parade starts at 3 p.m. near Central Park Stage.
And mark your calendars if you're looking for savings — there is free gate admission for one hour only from noon to 1 p.m on Sunday.
Festivities continue throughout the week with different themes running each day until the fair wraps up on June 22. Check redriverex.com for more information and updates.
— AV Kitching
Local authors will convene at Sookram's Brewing Co. (479-B Warsaw Ave.) on Wednesday as part of the fourth Wild & Wonderful Words reading event.
Mike Deal / Free Press files
Have a drink and listen to Ariel Gordon read Wednesday at Sookram's.
Mike Deal / Free Press files
Have a drink and listen to Ariel Gordon read Wednesday at Sookram's.
Hosted again by creator and local author Sheldon Birnie (Where the Pavement Turns to Sand), the event will feature a pair of established writers and a couple of up-and-coming authors.
In the former category is Winnipeg's Ariel Gordon — author of essay collections Fungal and Treed as well as volumes of poetry (Stowaways, Siteseeing) — and Mitchell Toews, author of the short-story collection Pinching Zwieback. The pair will be joined by writer/musician Antonio Marrazas Luna and Zoë Mills.
After Wednesday's event, the series takes the summer off before returning in the fall.
The event is free and all ages; in addition to serving up all kinds of beer, Sookram's also offers non-alcoholic options.
— Ben Sigurdson
Eva Wasney / Winnipeg Free Press files
Pick up some perogies at the Ukrainian Village Festival this weekend.
Eva Wasney / Winnipeg Free Press files
Pick up some perogies at the Ukrainian Village Festival this weekend.
Budmo! Winnipeg's inaugural Ukrainian Village Festival is bringing the spirit of Ukraine to The Forks this weekend with three days of community, connection and culture.
Enjoy family-friendly activities, live music, dance performances and interactive workshops at CN Field.
And definitely go hungry: baba-approved homemade borscht, perogies, deruny (potato pancakes) and cabbage rolls will be on offer, as well as a variety of traditional Ukrainian drinks such as medovukha, a honey-based alcoholic beverage, uzvar, a non-alcoholic compote-style winter punch, and kvas, a sweet-sour ale.
— Jen Zoratti
Supplied
VVonder releases its new album Friday at Blue Note Park.
Supplied
VVonder releases its new album Friday at Blue Note Park.
Give VVonder three minutes of listening time, and the Winnipeg quartet is bound to fill it with perfectly crafted catchiness. Led by the acrobatic vocals of Micah Braun, with groove-ready harmonies by Steve Martens, Joey Penner and Nate Sheridan, VVonder — prefixed by two Vs but pronounced with a single W — has spent the last three years finishing its followup to 2022's Now and Again, a squeaky clean jangle-pop time capsule about the messiness of living.
Free Press reviewer John Kendle called the band's sound a perfect distillation of upbeat indie rock and melodic psychedelia, name-dropping both the Beatles and ELO.
Those comparisons aren't overblown, but VVonder has still flown under the national radar. Could that change with Stumble On, a sophomore record whose name gives a directive for unexpected discovery?
Based on the strength of lead tracks Don't Turn Around, Dr. Says, Shanana, My Choice and Invisible Man, it's safe to assume VVonder has added a dozen timeless tunes to its catalogue, and one can hope a much-deserved breakthrough is around the corner.
See what all the fuss is about Friday at the Blue Note, where VVonder will be supported by openers Juvel and the Full Benefits.
— Ben Waldman
What started as a pandemic work-around has become a North End tradition.
Students, family, friends and civic-minded Winnipeggers are invited to get together today for the North End Grad Walk, a neighbourhood celebration of local high school grads.
Kicking off at St. John's High School and wrapping up at R.B. Russell, where a community barbecue and party await, walkers will stop along the way at the Bell Tower and Children of the Earth.
'One year the mayor, Scott Gillingham, came out and served hot dogs to the students and community,' writes organizer Michael Champagne on his blog. 'But most important of all the guests, were the smiling parents, the neighbours and, of course, the graduates themselves.'
The loud, proud celebration includes an award portion, with $500 memorial bursaries going to two students, one from R.B. Russell and one from St. John's.
— Conrad Sweatman
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