Fried Chicken Fest set to kick off

Ready to launch: Inside the massive undertaking to revitalize the beloved Nonsuch replica

For 44 years, the Nonsuch has been enchanting visitors to the Manitoba Museum, bringing a whiff of adventure and the romance of the sea to our landlocked city.The jewel in the crown of the Hudson’s Bay Company Museum Collection, the replica of the 17th-century fur-trading ship takes those who board her back in time.

Decades’ worth of schoolchildren have clutched the rails at the side of the rickety gangway that leads you onboard and descended the narrow stairs — backwards, please, for safety! — into the fo’c’sle, where they could marvel at the tiny bunks — how short men were back then — and peer out the round portholes, imagining them being lashed by salt spray as you crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a grand adventure to find a new trade route for England.

Few of us on long-ago field trips ever stopped to think about why this Prairie city was honouring a British ship that never actually visited Manitoba — let alone why we had built an entire museum wing around a replica that, while it sailed more than 14,000 kilometres in European, Canadian and American waters, was hauled into Winnipeg in pieces.

As the first phase of its $17.5-million Bringing Our Stories Forward capital campaign, the museum has spent about three years planning its refurbishment of the Nonsuch exhibit, which has remained largely untouched since it was installed in 1974, in part to better tell that story.

Bombers not tipping their hand on starting quarterback

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are going to keep the Montreal Alouettes guessing for as long as possible.

The Blue and Gold aren’t offering any clues about who will be under centre in Saturday’s East Division final at Percival Molson Stadium (3 p.m. kickoff).

The Bombers practised in an official capacity on Wednesday — their first since a stunning 25-22 win over Toronto in the East Division semifinal on the weekend.

They typically start the week with an open session, but the practice was closed to the general public and media.

How do you decolonize Canada’s museums? It’s a transformation that’s finally getting underway

The Canadian Museum of Human Rights is one of a number of museums across the country working to better their representation of traditionally marginalized groups.