What’s up

Wet Hot Ukrainian Summer

Times Change(d), 234 Main St.

Today, 8 p.m.

Tickets $19 at reallovewpg.com

Ukrainian trad-rock is a thing and, in sporadic bursts, very much alive in Winnipeg.

Take Zrada, self-described as “a kaleidoscopic journey through the dark heart of Ukrainian folk music (who) emerge somewhere in the cosmos.”

The seven-piece brings to mind System of a Down or the Pogues for their fusion of heavy rock and traditional folk from overseas lands.

There’s something especially melodic about Zrada, with their booming cantors who feel like they’d be just as at home in an Orthodox Ukrainian Church as a rowdy Lviv bar. It’s unpretentious art rock, too campy to be self-serious — but experimental and affecting all the same.

Another mainstay is Tired Cossack, a band led by Stephen Levko Halas, who takes his musical cue from Cold War-era post-punk, Ukrainian folklore and shoegaze. (An atmospheric rock genre so named because its guitarists usually seem too immersed in their guitar pedals to look up.) The combination is as interesting live as it is on paper.

As Halas has publicly discussed, he was forced to pause the project to receive treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2024. Tired Cossack hit the road on its first Canadian tour two weeks after his final chemo dose. In the band’s words, Halas “has not looked back since… Tired Cossack hurtles forward, ironically tireless.”

Catch both bands tonight at Blue Note Park.

— Conrad Sweatman

Brittany Penner book launch

McNally Robinson Booksellers, Grant Park location (1120 Grant Ave.)

Friday, 7 p.m.

Free

Brittany Penner’s debut book-length work of non-fiction tells the story of the Métis woman’s adoption by a Mennonite family, her many fellow Indigenous foster siblings who came and went and the tangled roots of her identity she uncovered as an adult.

The Blumenort author will launch Children Like Us: A Métis Woman’s Memoir of Family, Identity and Walking Herself Home (Doubleday Canada) at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location at 7 p.m. Friday, where she’ll be joined in conversation by Shelagh Rogers, former host of CBC’s The Next Chapter, to help unpack the themes of cultural continuity and belonging that run through the book.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

A family physician and lecturer at the University of Manitoba, Penner is in the process of completing a master of liberal arts degree from Harvard.

Admission is free and the event will be streamed on McNally Robinson’s YouTube page.

— Ben Sigurdson

Bison Books celebrates 25 years

424 Graham Ave.

Friday, 5 to 8 p.m.

Free

No trip down the Graham Avenue business corridor would be complete without a pop-in at Bison Books, a meticulously stocked buyer and seller of rare, old and out-of-print books — you never know which you’ll grab, and which will grab you.

First opened on Donald Street in 2000, the business has spent the last 15 years just east of The Bay, where owner Aimee Peake has amassed a general stock of about 20,000 books with stories to tell.

On Friday, the shop stays open after hours with refreshments, in-store discounts and other surprises in honour of its silver anniversary.

— Ben Waldman

Gravity of Dreams: Surreal Tourism at the Edge of Consciousness

226 Main Street Gallery, 226 Main St.

Opening reception Friday, 6-10 p.m.

Free

The vivid, surrealist works that compose the latest major series from Ukrainian-born, Canada-based visual artist, sculptor and professor Pavlo Bovdur evoke the explorers we can become in our dreams. An astronaut traversing bright-green astroturf populated by hot-pink flamingos or riding a hot-pink bison under a cobalt sky.

Each line of paint in Bovdur’s works is applied individually using syringes and needles, giving his pieces a textural, embroidered feel.

The technique was born out of experimentation, but it’s also personal: Bovdur’s late father struggled with a heroin addiction.

“Each line I draw becomes both a memory and a healing gesture — a way of turning trauma into vision,” he says in an artist statement.

Gravity of Dreams is on view until Sept. 14.

— Jen Zoratti

Neighbours entertaining neighbours

Lord Roberts Community Centre, 725 Kylemore Ave.

Saturday, 2 to 11 p.m.

Free

The fourth annual Neighbour x Neighbour festival takes place this weekend at Lord Roberts Community Centre, a much-loved South Osborne hub.

“It’s the heart of the neighbourhood. The programming they provide for the whole community is phenomenal,” says Jordan Vandal, an area resident and event co-chair.

What started as a way to raise funds and awareness for said programming, has become an anticipated neighbourhood event with hundreds of annual visitors, says Vandal.

The free event will include a family area, farmers market, beer garden, food vendors and a clothing swap.

Musical entertainment will be running throughout the day, featuring performances by Jérémie & the Delicious Hounds, Tommyphyll, Fontine, Brandi Vezina, Gabriela Ocejo Trio, Tempo Collective and James Culleton’s Super Fun Family Show.

Visit lordrobertscc.ca for more information.

— Eva Wasney

Manitoba Fibre Festival

Red River Exhibition Place, 3977 Portage Avenue

Friday, 3-9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission $5-$20

Back for the 13th year, the annual festival features live animals, shearing demonstrations, fibre farmer chats, an art show and workshops on everything from modern English paper piecing to wet felting and hand carding.

For those who have already embarked on their Christmas present shopping, a visit to the vendor market is recommended. Featuring more than 100 local and small businesses, the market focuses on products made with natural materials, including wool, alpaca, silk, cotton, linen and leather.

The family-friendly event connects local fibre farmers with the crafting community, providing a chance for rural and urban fibre enthusiasts to come together and learn new skills, exchange ideas and spark creative collaborations.

“Our agricultural programming is definitely a highlight of the weekend,” says Ash Alberg from Manitoba Fibre Festival.

“Kids love to visit the sheep and alpacas every year and the angora rabbits have been a very popular new addition. The Fibre Farmer Chats are a fantastic opportunity to learn about the fibers we can grow right here in Manitoba too. We’ve got speakers this year sharing about linen, sheep, natural dyes and even nettles.”

— AV Kitching

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