Painful engagement sting for blindsided ex

Prost! Raise a glass to Oktoberfest

As September comes to a close, a pair of local breweries are bringing some serious gemütlichkeit.

For the uninitiated, gemütlichkeit’s a word that doesn’t translate neatly from German to English, but which roughly means friendliness and good cheer.

Both Devil May Care Brewing Co. (155 Fort St.) and Kilter Brewing Co. (450 Rue Deschambault) are hosting Oktoberfest parties this weekend featuring food, music, games and, of course, plenty of beer.

Both breweries are rolling out special releases to coincide with their respective Oktoberfests — expect malty festbiers, marzens, rauchbiers and other German-inspired brews, served up in hefty steins alongside Bavarian-inspired fare. Devil May Care’s festivities run through to Sunday and feature eats by Freebird Kitchen, while Kilter keeps the party going through to Saturday, Oct. 3, and is offering pretzels and Oktoberfest-themed hot dogs. Lederhosen is encouraged.

Marathon racer Diver, 44, picked for Australian Olympic team

Canadian golfer uses her length to her advantage during a six-birdie day.

WSO season kicks off with two fateful fifths

On a dark and stormy autumnal night, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra opened its 2026-27 season with a pair of equally foreboding works both driven by fate — and ultimately, the triumphant power of the human spirit.

Saturday night’s Masterworks program, titled Beethoven 5 and Tchaikovsky 5 and led by Daniel Raiskin, also officially introduced the WSO’s new composer-in-residence, Kelly-Marie Murphy, to the weekend crowd of 1,720. She was met with enthusiastic applause and cheers upon taking the stage.

The 120-minute evening — and the WSO season — launched with the Ottawa-based Murphy’s Dark Nights, Bright Stars, Vast Universe, commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra under the baton of its former music director Alexander Shelley in 2023.

With the internationally renowned composer’s compelling works heard on this stage during many a Winnipeg New Music Festival, local music fans (and music critics) are still jumping for joy over this truly fine appointment.

Winnipeg author Joan Thomas wins GG fiction award

Winnipeg author Joan Thomas has been awarded the 2019 Governor General's English-language award for fiction for her fourth novel, Five Wives.

The winners of the Governor General's Literary Awards were announced Tuesday morning; each winner in the English and French categories receives $25,000, while each publisher receives $3,000. Five Wives was published in September by HarperCollins.

“It's incredible,” Thomas said on the phone from HarperCollins' Toronto office, where she was doing media interviews following the announcement of the win.

“I woke up this morning to my phone going crazy. I know there are a lot of people in Winnipeg who were cheering for me, and who are very happy, and that just deepens my joy about the whole thing. I was calm at first, but when I walked into the offices here I started crying.”

‘Premier of Costa Rica’ moniker in the making

Will Brian Pallister ever get a break?

Last week, the premier was back in the hot seat, this time for the revelation that he is not, while vacationing at his estate in Costa Rica, connected to the government he leads by email. In fact, he doesn’t really use email at all, a somewhat surprising admission from a political leader in this digital age.

Allies will howl at the unfairness of this story, but the underlying point it raises is valid: can a premier still be a premier when he spends, by his own admission, up to two months away from Manitoba in a Central American paradise without using email, a critical productivity tool that most people could not live without?

Pallister responded quickly to the story, holding a number of one-on-one interviews with journalists late last week. For each interview, the premier showed off the raft of reading material he ferries back and forth to Costa Rica and stressed repeatedly that he remains in telephone contact with his office the entire time he is away.