Thin Air director closes book on job

for food cost estimator see https://staging.winnipegfreepress.com/uncategorized/2025/12/04/2026-food-cost-estimator

After 23 years at the helm of Thin Air, the Winnipeg International Writers Festival, director Charlene Diehl is stepping away to begin the next chapter in her life.

Diehl has been at the helm of what is now Plume Winnipeg, the organization that oversees Thin Air, since 2003, and will see out her role as director until the end of December.

Local duo’s latest project takes a trip on the road to growing up

Inspiration for Mise en Scene’s new album struck, fittingly, while Stefanie Johnson was on the road.

The pandemic was raging and she was heading up to Gimli, home at the time, when she spotted a church promoting drive-thru confessionals.

“I liked the mixing of metaphors, the idea of fast food and fast cheapness mixed with something vulnerable and secretive and special,” says Johnson, vocalist and guitarist of the local indie-rock outfit alongside drummer Jodi Dunlop.

Drive-Thru Confessional, out March 6, is Mise en Scene’s first full-length release in six years following the band’s 2023 EP, Reality Bites. The record is full of hazy, driving guitar and stories about the long, winding journey of growing up.

The Love That Remains an intimate family divorce drama

From Icelandic writer-director Hlynur Palmason (Godland, A White, White Day), this family story is intimate but emotionally guarded, lightly funny but deeply melancholy.

The Love That Remains (in Icelandic, Swedish, French and English, with subtitles) could be called a divorce drama, but Palmason’s “scenes from a marriage” aren’t the usual round of regret, recrimination and wall-punching we see in such tumultuous films as Marriage Story.

Using a slow, subdued narrative that is both intermittently surreal and sweetly, completely mundane, the 41-year-old filmmaker starts with the separation of Anna (Saga Gardarsdottir) and Magnus (Sverrir Gudnason) as a quietly established fact.

He then tracks a year in the life of this rural family as the former couple and their somewhat confused children attempt to adjust, mostly with good intentions and the love that’s right there in the title. (Mostly.)

2026 Jeep Cherokee makes an electrifying return

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — Aside from light-duty pickup trucks, no automotive segment in Canada is bigger than the compact SUV — dominated by such nameplates as Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue, Mazda CX-5, Subaru Forester and others.

So it was puzzling when Stellantis pulled the plug on the Jeep Cherokee in 2023. The official line on why speaks volumes even though it appears to say little: “It was a decision taken by the previous management team.”

Well, the vehicle that arguably launched the segment is back, and in a big way. While the Cherokee name was first applied to a full-size, two-door Jeep in 1974, the model most people think about is the compact version launched in 1984.

The 2026 Jeep Cherokee joins the growing ranks of the partially electric. It is available as a hybrid only.

Today’s horoscope

MOON ALERT: Avoid shopping (except food and gas) or major decisions after 10 p.m. The moon is in Cancer.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Take it easy. Enjoy relaxing at home. You might entertain or do some research. Nevertheless, your home routine might also be interrupted by small appliances breaking down, a minor outage or someone unexpected showing up at your door. Get dressed.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Panellists look at social services for vulnerable people through a spiritual lens

Spiritual care has an important role to play when addressing social issues such as homelessness and mental health in Winnipeg.

That was the message shared Wednesday during a panel discussion at the Salvation Army’s Centre of Hope on Main Street.

The discussion was part of a half-day event titled Beyond the Physical: Spiritual Care in Community Care and Support. It was organized by the Interfaith Health Care Association of Manitoba, in partnership with the Manitoba Multifaith Council.

The goal of the event was to give people working in various community health and social service fields an opportunity to learn more about the role spiritual care can play in assisting people who experiencing homelessness, trauma, poverty and addiction.

The Love That Remains an intimate family divorce drama

From Icelandic writer-director Hlynur Palmason (Godland, A White, White Day), this family story is intimate but emotionally guarded, lightly funny but deeply melancholy.

The Love That Remains (in Icelandic, Swedish, French and English, with subtitles) could be called a divorce drama, but Palmason’s “scenes from a marriage” aren’t the usual round of regret, recrimination and wall-punching we see in such tumultuous films as Marriage Story.

Using a slow, subdued narrative that is both intermittently surreal and sweetly, completely mundane, the 41-year-old filmmaker starts with the separation of Anna (Saga Gardarsdottir) and Magnus (Sverrir Gudnason) as a quietly established fact.

He then tracks a year in the life of this rural family as the former couple and their somewhat confused children attempt to adjust, mostly with good intentions and the love that’s right there in the title. (Mostly.)

Today’s horoscope

MOON ALERT: Avoid shopping (except food and gas) or major decisions after 4:30 p.m. After that, the moon moves from Gemini into Cancer.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Mercury goes retrograde until March 21, triggering unusual dreams, especially about people from your past. You might have intuitive flashbacks about things. Secrets you “hid” from yourself might re-emerge. This will be an excellent time for counselling sessions.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Organizations join forces to make First Nation kids’ dreams a little sweeter

Nearly two dozen children in Pukatawagan will be able to sleep in their own new beds this week, thanks to the Manitoba chapter of the Knights of Columbus and Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

The Knights, an organization that helps Catholic men live out their faith through service to their parishes and the community, has partnered with Sleep in Heavenly Peace to provide 22 beds for the children.

The beds, which are being shipped in pieces, will arrive this week by truck and train, together with 500 donated coats and seven wheelchairs. The cost of all the items, along with transportation, has been covered by the Manitoba chapter of the Knights.

A group of volunteers, led by Mark Desjardins, who leads the chapter, will leave Wednesday, driving to the community located about 200 kilometres north of The Pas to assemble and install the beds.

Belated Lunar New Year party a feast of Korean culture

For the last month, Andrea Kitano has been spending her weekends hosting hanbok fashion shows at shopping centres across Winnipeg.

The pop-up events invite mall-goers to learn about Korean culture while trying on the traditional garments, usually featuring a jeogori (top), baji (trousers), chima (skirt) and po (coat).

“They learn a lot and I’m proud that people loved the outfit,” says Kitano, a co-founder of the Manitoba Korean Canadian Community Resource Network. “One of our members visited South Korea and she brought back over 100 pieces of hanbok.”

The fashion shows offered a taste of the belated Lunar New Year party Kitano and her colleagues are hosting with Foodtrip Market on Saturday at the Manitoba Museum. The event will feature food, games and entertainment.