Stepping up for the planet

Water runs and rages, flows and drips through the opening performance of Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers’ 59th season.

The Impossible Has Already Happened is a multimedia dance production that uses water as a vessel for discussing the human and environmental implications of climate change. The piece — which is currently touring through Western Canada — is an international collaboration between choreographers Claire O’Neil of Footnote Dance New Zealand and Jennifer Mascall of Vancouver’s MascallDance.

The pair started working together virtually amid the pandemic and quickly found common ground.

“We both use text in our work, we both work from improvisation, we both are interested in social dance,” Mascall says over the phone during a stop in Medicine Hat, Alta. “There were many, many similarities, though the esthetics are slightly different and that just adds a little bit of spice.”

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

Most TV shows, especially the ones that defined the heyday of network television, do the Holiday Episode — a chance to get silly or sentimental against the backdrop of the December holidays, which are loaded with opportunities for tragedy and comedy, both.

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

TORONTO - Canadian series "The Porter" has landed two nominations at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.

The CBC and BET co-production is up for best new scripted series, while one of its stars, British actor Aml Ameen, received a best lead performance nomination.

"The Porter" focuses on the lives of a group of Canadian and American railway workers in the 1920s who come together to form North America’s first Black union.

The Spirit Awards announced its list of television nominees Tuesday after unveiling contenders for its film categories last month.

Homemade holidays: 12 days of vintage sweets

To cap off the Free Press’s anniversary year, we’re plumbing the archives for holiday recipes of yore. Follow along until Dec. 23 for a sampling of the sweet, strange and trendy desserts to grace our pages and your tables over the last 150 years.

To see our archive of previous years of holiday baking click here.

Canadian/Ukrainian opera star celebrates music from ancestral homeland

World renowned Canadian/Ukrainian opera star Andriana Chuchman returned to her roots Saturday night, with her own curated program for Virtuosi Concerts, “Vinok: The Ukrainian Wreath” celebrating both traditional and contemporary music from her ancestral homeland.

What’s up this week: Ads that pop, markets that pop up, comedy and Country Roads

Cannes Lions returns to the WAG-Qaumajuq

St. Boniface Cathedral’s revitalization pays homage to building’s history

The St. Boniface Cathedral, designed by Étienne Gaboury from 1969 to 1972, is partly sheltered within the remains of the 1906 cathedral, much of which was lost to a catastrophic fire in 1968. Within the narthex of Gaboury’s church is a wooden maquette depicting that earlier structure.

Words and images resonate across the pages in charming coffee-table offerings

For booksellers, publishers and authors, the holiday season is one that’s looked upon with great anticipation. For book lovers, of course, December is also a time to eagerly contemplate what new titles might end up stuffed in a stocking or tucked under the tree.

Ale and arty: face the chill with latest sips of the season

After a summer of light, citrusy lagers and ales, the arrival of fall typically brings darker, more malt-driven beers. But once December hits, things get serious — malty red ales, heartier IPAs and pumpkin beers and the like make way for the festive flavours of the holiday season.

Small studio turned into a large shrine to the PTE's past

Carman Johnston, the director of development for Prairie Theatre Exchange, was tasked with the job this year to mark the semi-centennial anniversary of his organization, which began in a crumbling, gritty building on Princess Street in 1972.