Black History Month on campus

Major campuses across Winnipeg are hosting events celebrating Black History Month. On Feb. 11 at 6 p.m., the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry Campus will host a free screening of the documentary The Ninth Floor about the 1969 protests against racial discrimination at Montreal’s Sir George Williams University. Registration is required and can be found on the umanitoba.ca events calendar. On Feb. 15 from 5 to 10 p.m., Golden Lions of Winnipeg and CKUW’s Fantastic Friday will host a Black & African History Month Celebration at the University of Winnipeg Bulman Centre. The night will include a talk by an African historian, live music and art and a fashion show of African attire. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door.

Free music workshops for North End youth

Starting Feb. 7, Manitoba Music will begin its ongoing event #AIRsessions, or Artist in Residence sessions. These workshops, free for youth ages 13 to 25, will occur twice monthly on Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Indigenous Family Centre (470 Selkirk Ave.). Singer/songwriter Ila Barker will serve as the recurring mentor with a different guest musician for every workshop, creating “an organic, safe and comfortable space” for youth to engage with the musical creative process. There will be 10 sessions total. Bring an instrument if you have one, but no prior experience is required.

La Poutine Week

For the next week, more than 70 local restaurants will compete in the Winnipeg division of La Poutine Week. Voted on by local diners, chefs across the city have crafted elaborate and sometimes bizarre poutine dishes. Whether they be inspired by local themes (“Pizza Pop Poutine” or “Golden Boy Poutine”), ripped from today’s headline (“El Chapo” or “Bird Box Poutine”) or utilized international flair (“Japanese Teriyaki Poutine” or “A Brazilian Reasons to Love Poutine”), there will be every possible variation on “fries with cheese and gravy” one could want. For a complete list of participating restaurants and dishes, visit the Winnipeg section of lapoutineweek.com.

Canadian International Comedy Film Festival

Since 2013, the Canadian International Comedy Film Festival has provided a place for Winnipeggers to see new short and feature-length comedy movies that they won’t find anywhere else. With screenings at both Cinematheque and the Park Theatre, there will be films from Canada, the US, the UK, Australia and Sweden. There will also be themed short programs of local fare, including “Winnipeg's Golden Boys of the Golden Age” (Winnipeg Film Group classics) and “Commercials, Kubasa, Birds, Bees and Dating in Winnipeg” (a pastiche of ’80s Winnipeg broadcasting weirdness). For ticket info, visit cicff.ca/tickets.

Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia at UWinnipeg

The University of Winnipeg Theatre and Film Department’s Acting III honours class and senior production students are presenting a production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, a play about the passage of time that takes place in both the 19th century and present day simultaneously. Directed by Shelagh Carter, with sets by Sean E. McMullen, costumes by Lauren Martin and lighting by Ksenia Broda-Milian, the show runs from Feb. 12 to 15 (8 p.m.) and Feb. 16 (2 p.m. and 7 p.m.) at the Asper Centre for Theatre and Film. Admission is free, but reservations are suggested.

Published in Volume 73, Number 17 of The Uniter (February 7, 2019)