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Arts & Life

Not married? Tread carefully on international travel

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 29, 2025

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: My girlfriend and I are in love, living together — a deeply committed couple who’d like to go travelling. She wants to quickly get married before we do that, “because of less trouble crossing borders.” I think that’s NOT a very romantic reason for getting married!

Now she’s upset and questioning why she’s even “just living” with me! I don’t know what to say. I just don’t want to get married unromantically, for travel’s sake. It’s a feeling deep in my gut. What do you think? — Romantic Canadian Guy, Winnipeg

Dear Romantic Canuck: There are cracks growing in your relationship right now as expressed by your girlfriend, who’s questioning why you’re “just living together.”

Could you do some Canadian exploration together for now, and test out how you travel longer-term as a couple — and then decide on marriage, before you consider leaving the safety of this modern country?

Forget conflicting breakup notes and have final talk

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read Monday, Jul. 28, 2025

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I received an angry, old-fashioned breakup letter from my boyfriend today with “What I should have sent you” printed on the envelope. It was a nasty followup to a kinder text message he sent me the day before with some of his regrets about the two of us and about himself.

This one listed all my faults — social, political, personal and sexual. I guess he had taken time to really dig around in his strange little mind. He’s definitely not short on cutting remarks.

I don’t know which of the two makes me madder. Should I respond to either?

— Shaking My Head, downtown Winnipeg

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Marc Gallant/Winnipeg Free Press. Local- Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project. Baby peregrine falcons. 21 days old. Three baby falcons. Born on ledge on roof of Radisson hotel on Portage Avenue. Project Coordinator Tracy Maconachie said that these are third generation falcons to call the hotel home. Maconachie banded the legs of the birds for future identification as seen on this adult bird swooping just metres above. June 16, 2004.
A water lily in full bloom is reflected in the pond at the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden Tuesday afternoon. Standup photo. Sept 11, 2012 (Ruth Bonneville/Winnipeg Free Press)
A golfer looks for his ball in a water trap at John Blumberg Golf Course Friday afternoon as geese and goslings run for safety- See Joe Bryksa’s 30 day goose challenge- Day 24– June 15, 2012 (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)
Brandon Sun 10102008 A cyclist makes his way along a path at the Brandon Hills recreational area south of Brandon, Man. on a colourful fall Friday, October 10, 2008. (Tim Smith/Brandon Sun)
A baby Red Panda in her area at the Zoo. International Red Panda Day is Saturday September 15th and the Assiniboine Park Zoo will be celebrating in a big way! The Zoo is home to three red pandas - Rufus, Rouge and their cub who was born on June 30 of this year. The female cub has yet to be named and the Assiniboine Park Zoo is asking the community to help. September 14, 2012 BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
A monarch butterfly looks for nectar in Mexican sunflowers at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Monday afternoon-Monarch butterflys start their annual migration usually in late August with the first sign of frost- Standup photo– August 22, 2011 (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)
PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS 060710 The full moon rises above the prairie south of Winnipeg Monday evening.
Young goslings are growing up quickly near Cresent Lake in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba- See Bryksa 30 Day goose project- Day 11- May 15, 2012 (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)
Two baby tigers were unveiled at the Assiniboine Park Zoo this morning, October 3rd, 2011. (TREVOR HAGAN/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)
Water lilys are reflected in the pond at the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden Tuesday afternoon. Standup photo. Sept 11, 2012 (Ruth Bonneville/Winnipeg Free Press)

Trio of’ Tobans honoured by Western Canadian Music Awards

Eva Wasney 2 minute read Preview

Trio of’ Tobans honoured by Western Canadian Music Awards

Eva Wasney 2 minute read 12:10 PM CDT

Three Manitobans are being celebrated for their impact on Canadian music.

On Monday, the Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA) announced Winnipeg-born Juno winner Chantal Kreviazuk as this year’s inductee to the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame, which recognizes the achievements of artists and bands.

Cross Lake singer-songwriter Ernest Monias — also known as “Elvis of the North” — has received the WCMA’s Heritage Award, given to an individual who has made significant industry contributions throughout a career.

And local promoter John Scoles, owner of the Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club, has earned the Kevin Walters Industry Builder Award for his mentorship and leadership.

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12:10 PM CDT

SUPPLIED

Ernest Monias
SUPPLIED Ernest Monias

Connecting with birth mother should be your call

Maureen Scurfield 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My mom who raised me is not my biological mother. My bio-mother is from my hometown in southern Manitoba. She was a young teenager who got pregnant but didn’t want a baby.

I’ve always known I was adopted and I’m so glad to have been raised by my adoptive parents who soon moved north with me because of my adoptive father’s work. Mom was unable to bear children, but she definitely married a great man!

My bio-mother never came looking for me — didn’t even send a letter or card. However, I do know her identity as I accessed my records through the provincial adoption office.

Now I’m a married guy myself, and to a wonderful woman who’s very sentimental. For some strange reason this year, she suddenly insists she wants to meet my biological mother “no matter what she’s like.”

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read Preview

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

MOON ALERT: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The moon is in Libra.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

You’ll need more sleep in the next four weeks. Accept this and do yourself this favour. Your focus on partnerships and close friendships will also be strong during this time. (You care much about your relationships.)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

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2:00 AM CDT

Chris Pizzello / The Associated Press Files

Nick Cave
Chris Pizzello / The Associated Press Files Nick Cave

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

MOON ALERT: Avoid shopping (except food and gas) or important decisions from 2:15 p.m. until 5 p.m. today. Note: The new moon in Virgo occurs at 2:54 p.m. — and then moves into Libra.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Communications with others are poor. People might be critical. Certainly, there is confusion. Therefore, postpone important decisions for another day. Having said that, the new moon is a good time to think about how you want to improve your health. Ideas?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

WCD’s season lineup promises to keep audiences on their toes

Jen Zoratti 5 minute read Preview

WCD’s season lineup promises to keep audiences on their toes

Jen Zoratti 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers are putting the Winnipeg part of their name in bold with a hyper-local 61st season.

“It’s the first time in a really long time that all three subscription series shows will feature local dancers,” says artistic director Jolene Bailie. “So that’s huge for us.”

Typically, at least one show in the WCD’s subscription series — which is composed of three shows, usually presented at the Rachel Browne Theatre in the fall, winter and spring — will feature a visiting performer, as when Canadian contemporary dance icon Margie Gillis brought her solo show Old to Winnipeg last season.

This season will, however, feature a visiting choreographer. The first show of 2025/26 is Croquis (Nov. 21 to 23) by Vancouver choreographer/performance artist Ralph Escamillan, who served as a WCD artist-in-residence during the pandemic and could only work with the dancers virtually.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS

Carol-Ann Bohrn and Reymark Capacete perform Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers’ Retuning.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Carol-Ann Bohrn and Reymark Capacete perform Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers’ Retuning.

Arts Editor's Picks

Eva Wasney:

Stepping up for the planet

Stepping up for the planet

Winnipeg Free Press:

Free Press reviewers' top-rated picks for the 2019 theatre festival

Fringe storyteller Jem Rolls puts up posters for his show, The Walk in the Snow, at the Tom Hendry Warehouse Theatre in the Exchange District in Winnipeg. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

AV Kitching, Ben Sigurdson, Alan Small, Eva Wasney and Jen Zoratti:

Streaming services offer up seasonal episodes aplenty to get your holiday fix

Glad TV tidings

AV Kitching, Ben Sigurdson, Alan Small, Ben Waldman, Eva Wasney and Jen Zoratti:

Christmas playlist has highs and Lows

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS JP Hoe poes for a portrait in his studio before his 10th annual JP Hoe Hoe Hoe holiday show, which has grown massively over the years, in Winnipeg on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Winnipeg Free Press 2018.

The Canadian Press:

CBC’s ‘The Porter,’ Nathan Fielder’s ‘The Rehearsal’ nab Spirit Awards nominations

Actors Ronnie Rowe (left), Jr. as Zeke and Aml Ameen (second right) as Junior and other cast members are shown in a scene from

Winnipeg Free Press:

Homemade holidays: 12 days of vintage sweets

This marshmallowy fudge recipe from 1956 is nice to look at, but a mess to make. (Photo by Eva Wasney)

Diversions

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More Arts & Life

JC Lemay photo Plants are the main focus in this traditional landscape at Les Jardins de Métis in Grand-Métis, Que.

Reimagining the garden

Colleen Zacharias 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Next week, close to 100 horticultural professionals from botanical gardens and conservatories across Canada and the U.S. will be in Winnipeg for the American Public Gardens Association’s 2025 Horticulture, Greenhouse, & Facilities Symposium, which will be hosted by Assiniboine Park Conservancy at The Leaf.

From Sept. 23 to 25, participants will explore innovative approaches to designing and operating conservatories and greenhouses and exchange ideas about reimagining public garden spaces.

Gerald Dieleman, senior director of horticulture at Assiniboine Park Conservancy, says it’s an opportunity to showcase The Leaf, one of the most significant horticultural projects in North America in the past 20 years.

One of the key conversations, he says, will be about how to enhance the garden landscape and elevate the horticultural experience for visitors.

Booker winner explores fraught relationship with mother in memoir

Reviewed by Andrea Geary 4 minute read Preview

Booker winner explores fraught relationship with mother in memoir

Reviewed by Andrea Geary 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Arundhati Roy’s mother, Mary, was an extremely strong-willed woman who was loved, feared or both by those who knew her. In her memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me, Roy recounts her struggles to meet her mother’s expectations and win her love — an epic task.

In 1997 Roy won the Booker Prize for her first novel, The God of Small Things, a semi-autobiographical account of her childhood. The book’s depiction of a sexual relationship between members of conflicting Indian castes caused public outrage, a legal challenge and eventually resulted in Roy spending a day in jail. She’s also known for her second novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, and has written essays on Indian societal and political issues. While Mother Mary Comes to Me is a memoir, it’s written in a lyrical style similar to Roy’s fiction.

Mary founded and ran a co-educational school in Kerala, a state in southern India. This was an unheard-of undertaking for a woman in a male-dominated society.

The mother of a young son and daughter, she was also viewed askance because she divorced her husband, an alcoholic who had isolated the family on a remote tea plantation, describing her ex-husband as a “nothing man.”

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Mayank Austen Soofi photo

Having a famous (or infamous) mother caused Arundhati Roy anxiety and a desire to hide from the public eye in her younger years.
Mayank Austen Soofi photo Having a famous (or infamous) mother caused Arundhati Roy anxiety and a desire to hide from the public eye in her younger years.

Old, new cases clash in Hannah’s whodunit

Reviewed by Nick Martin 4 minute read Preview

Old, new cases clash in Hannah’s whodunit

Reviewed by Nick Martin 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

The brutal murder of Frankie Oliver’s teenaged sister Joanna almost three decades ago has haunted her family ever since — and remains unsolved.

Horrific enough, but dad Frank was the senior police officer on the scene, unaware he was about to find his own daughter’s bloody corpse.

And now Frankie (the younger) is detective inspector Oliver, and yet, still, her sister’s killer is likely alive and out there, somewhere.

Suddenly, a chance remark from a drunken man, caught by detective chief inspector (DCI) David Stone — improbably, tenuously, just maybe it’s a clue that police have been waiting to stumble upon for the last three decades.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

Her Sister’s Killer
Her Sister’s Killer

Mysterious child offers hope in a grim future

Reviewed by Owen White 3 minute read Preview

Mysterious child offers hope in a grim future

Reviewed by Owen White 3 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

The world is dying, and all that’s left are the poisonous mosses and the unrelenting sea. The last of humanity is living pinched between the two in the Colony.

In The Drowned Man’s Daughter, Canadian author C.J. Lavigne paints a dreary picture of a hopeless future in the wake of ecological disaster.

The only way for anyone to have children is to succumb to the moss and eat its berries, which mentally and physically changes them. One day, months after finding an unknown drowned man on their shores, they find a baby.

The Colony, desperate for any sliver of hope, assumes she’s the drowned man’s daughter and, by extension, daughter of the sea. They look at her with awe and fear, and ask her to do impossible things like command the weather and the waves.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

The Drowned Man’s Daughter
The Drowned Man’s Daughter

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