Get on up, it’s bonspiel time

When you think of the island country of Jamaica, curling isn’t what comes to mind.

But when Chris Sharpe’s high school gym class at Vincent Massey Collegiate crossed the street to try the sport at the Pembina Curling Club, it gave the Jamaican Canadian an idea.

You’ve heard of Cool Runnings — the hit movie inspired by the Jamaican bobsled team at the 1988 Winter Olympics. And while the country has yet to make its “ice chess” debut on the world’s biggest stage, that hasn’t stopped Sharpe from coming up with Cool Sweepings.

Sharpe, founder and creative producer of Black Film Space Manitoba, and his team filmed four episodes of the fictional series inside the Fort Rouge Curling Club in November. The show is scheduled to air this spring or summer on Bell Fibe TV’s streaming service.

“In my head, as a creator, as a storyteller, I just thought of an idea of adding some Caribbean culture to curling, some Black culture, pop culture, music culture, and Cool Sweepings was born,” Sharpe, 46, told the Free Press.

It certainly wasn’t born overnight. In fact, Cool Sweepings is nearly two decades in the making.

Through college and the years that followed, he pitched his vision to countless people until, finally, in 2025, Bell Canada gave him the answer he was looking for.

“I’m a believer that an idea is dead when you decide it’s over. Every year, there’s different people that are in these organizations, so, you just keep pitching. And if you believe in something, the right moment will materialize for you,” said Sharpe.

“And now, here we are making the first-ever Black curling, Jamaican curling, comedy series here in Winnipeg.”

The story is about a father from Jamaica who realizes his dream of owning a curling club in Winnipeg. Then, when his son hears the rink is falling on hard times and struggling to keep the lights on, he rallies his friends to do whatever they can — including entering a bonspiel with a cash prize despite their limited on-ice skills — to save his father’s establishment.

“This story kind of has some truth to it because Winnipeg used to have the double the amount of curling rinks, and they started closing down all over the country,” said Sharpe. “I didn’t realize that until we were actually making this story. By us coming and adding this youthful, Caribbean culture and all this kind of stuff, it could help curling as well get back to its luster.”

The main cast and crew are all Manitobans, including the four leading actors — Nathan Zayac, Joshua Calder, Darryan Edwards, and Dillin Morgan. None of them had much, if any, prior experience with acting — let alone curling.

Former Winnipeg police chief Devon Clunis is also involved as an executive producer.

“We didn’t have a huge budget to make the production, but in my head, I was like ‘What can we look for to find the best talent in the city?’ So, I looked at music artists and all four are independent music artists that perform regularly on stage,” said Sharpe.

“If you have to make a music video, you have to tell a story in five minutes, so, we cast it for artists.”

Edwards, who performs under the moniker Young Prince and has collaborated with world-renowned rapper The Game, had a blast making his acting debut and thinks this series can make a difference.

“I think it’s very, very important to showcase a side of Winnipeg that maybe isn’t highlighted as much,” he said.

“So, I think it’s very important for the youth from those communities to see ‘Oh, shoot, there are people out here that are really trying to push a dream forward from our community and represent it (well).’”

Memorizing his lines was a breeze. Stepping on the frozen playing surface? Not so much.

“I definitely fell a bunch of times at first, but we had some great instructors which was awesome,” said Edwards.

“But at first, we were falling and couldn’t really throw the rock that far, so it was pretty funny.”

Edwards and Co. will get to show how far they’ve come this weekend when they’re one of the 24 teams competing in the Cool Sweepings Curling Bonspiel at Fort Rouge. The festivites, which run through Sunday, will feature a live DJ, steel drum performances, a Carribean dinner, an after party, and more.

“It’s turning into a great, cultural curling event with a Carribean vibe,” said Sharpe.

“We’re super excited to do the event and we’re gonna film it and then eventually share it with the world when we’re done.”

winnipegfreepress.com/taylorallen