Colombian Independence Day is celebrated annually on the July the 20th.  The event marks the day in 1810 "when protests in Bogotá, the capital, led to the formation of an independent government and ultimately to independence from Spain in 1819." The Colombian community would like to invite people in Brandon Manitoba to join them and be part of their celebration, learn about their culture and diversity of their beautiful home country, To help celebrate a parade will start at the North Hill Inn parking lot, and move forward to 18th street south to Victoria Ave E and finish at the Rideau Park. The event will have food, dance performances, music, games, and entertainment.

Contrary to popular belief, gambling in one form or another is legal everywhere across Canada. However, due to the sheer size of the country and its administrative division, gambling is regulated differently in each of the country’s ten provinces and three territories. Whether we are talking about lotteries, racetracks or casinos, all gambling organizations must follow state’s laws. Therefore, factors such as how you gamble, what you play, as well as the minimum age are entirely dependant on where you are. Here is what you need to know about gambling in Canada. Types of Gambling in Canada Canada offers a wide range of gambling options and opportunities across the country, from commercial casino operations, racetracks, small bingo halls, to slot machines, ticket lotteries, and Video Lottery Terminals (also known as VLTs). Further on, if you want to get a clearer picture of what Canada has to offer in terms online gambling, video slots, casino bonuses and the like, you can see more about this subject on Casino Bonus Canada. Suffice to say, when it comes to gambling, Canada is nothing short of generous. As we have stated in the introduction of this article, all types of gambling are regulated on a state level. For example, the largest gambling city in Canada is arguably Edmonton, state of Alberta, with 15 gambling facilities, 201 tables games, and about 5,000 gaming, slot and video poker machines. Furthermore, the largest Casino is located in Montreal, Quebec. Speaking of which… Gambling Casinos in Canada Casino gambling is the form of gambling that appeals the most to visitors and locals, right after online slots and poker. Naturally, Canada has a lot to offer in terms of gambling facilities. There are more than 100 casinos operating as we speak across the country, except three provinces – Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. But surprisingly, gambling is not the only thing that some of Canada’s casinos have to offer. Several gambling operations, such as the Mont-Tremblant and Manoir Richelieu (both are located in the province of Quebec), for example, are sumptuous, picturesque facilities that have become local landmarks, attracting tourists from across the country and the world. However, visitors who want a Vegas-style gambling experience can get it at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Sand Hills Casino in Manitoba or the Montreal Casino or Caesars in Windsor, Ontario. These facilities offer live shows, restaurants as well as various stores and boutiques. Resort Casinos in Canada In terms of numbers, Ontario has the most casinos (25), with four of them being resorts: Casino Rama in Orillia Caesars in Windsor, right across the border from Detroit Casino Niagara Other worthy casino resorts are located in the province of British Columbia: River Rock Casino Resort – a huge complex that will satisfy all gambling aficionados. St Eugene Golf Resort & Casino – located in the Rocky Mountains. Lake City Casino – a gorgeous resort located right in the Okanagan Valley, near golf courses and wineries. Age Requirements The age requirement for entering casinos in Canada generally corresponds to the drinking age, which varies depending on the province and territory. For example, people as young as 19 can enter a casino in Canada, except Quebec, Alberta, and Manitoba, where the minimum age is 18. These age restrictions apply to the restaurants and theatres within casinos as well. Conclusion In terms of gambling destinations, most people will think about Las Vegas and Atlantic City, rather than Quebec or Alberta. But Canada has a lot of good things to offer when it comes to quality gambling and casino resorts, a fact which many visitors will confirm. If you are planning a visit to the country or you are simply looking for a novel destination to play a round of BlackJack, then Canada’s resorts might be right up your alley.

For those that may have extra resources available (a.k.a. cash), they are often advised to invest in real estate. The concept and return on investment is mostly positive, that is until you are left dealing with an overflowing toilet at 11 o’clock at night or looking for new tenants for the same unit for the third month in a row. An investment in real estate does have many advantages, but when it comes to managing the property there are professionals who can take that job off your hands and make your life that much easier. Consider the following ways in which a property management company can add value to your investment. Depending on the size of the company, they will often have specialists or a team of people working together to complete all the required duties. A property management company can add value by having salespeople advertise and show the units, by having property managers enforce rules and follow up on late rent; by having maintenance staff attending to work orders, and having bookkeepers and accountants maintaining the financial records. After all, do you know of someone who is great at marketing, bookkeeping, responding diplomatically to tenant complaints and is handy enough to patch drywall, change out taps or clean out air exchange filters? Chances are there are few people who are great at all of these things and who have such a diverse skill set. If you do know of someone like this though, please send them my contact information (just kidding…sort of!). Property managers add value by knowing the market. When you are constantly leasing units, you have a good understanding of the value of the units in the market. If a two-bedroom apartment with in-suite laundry is worth $1,200 to most renters, you may be leaving money on the table if you are charging less for a similar unit. Property taxes, water, and building materials increase every year, sometimes faster than inflation, therefore it is important to increase the rent (if the market will bear it) in relation to those increasing costs. This helps to ensure that the return on your investment property is positive. They will have systems in place to track work orders. If a tenant reports a maintenance issue, a property manager will have it logged into a system and assigned to a maintenance team member according to priority. This helps with keeping tenants satisfied and the building maintained. Ensuring that the property is in good repair prevents tenants from being frustrated and eliminates the hassle of dealing with repeated calls or emails making the same request over and over again. It turns the investment into passive income. You can own a rental property and never have to meet or deal with the complaints of the tenants or issues like dealing with tenancy branch hearings, orders of possessions or evictions. This frees up more of your time to handle other pressing situations in other aspects of your life. Property management companies will have better screening systems. In the old days, people used to call the current landlord and/or the current employer of the prospective tenant. In many cases, the landlord wouldn’t give a good or bad reference they would only confirm if the rent was paid on time and if the place was kept tidy. With employers, it is difficult to get confirmation of employment due to privacy rules and regulations. In today’s world, many property management firms have software that does complete background checks on the prospects confirming their income and credit history, which is generally a good indication of their likelihood of pay the rent on time.  With these systems in place, screening a tenant is that much easier and reliable and takes away the element of surprise

June 13, 2018 marked the 27th anniversary of Weiming Zhao's move from China to Brandon. To help celebrate the date, he recently updated and shared his Facebook album of a collection of hundreds of plein air paintings and drawings that he has created over the last 15 years.  Plein air paintings refer to "leaving the four walls of your studio behind and experiencing painting and drawing in the landscape". Weiming has been painting almost daily for the last 15 years producing a portfolio of close to 6 thousand works of art. Most of his work is available for purchase and there are a few galleries and gift art craft stores selling his paintings in Manitoba today. Woodlands Gallery in Winnipeg is the gallery that represents his work. He mostly sells his work directly from his home studio which is 35 Balmoral Bay in Brandon. On average , Weiming spends about two hours on each painting.  His works are collected from all over Canada, United States, Russia, England and China. There are 14 pieces of his work in the Manitoba Provincial Art Collection. He has had 19 solo art shows over the past 15 years, and his paintings of Riding Mountain National Park are very popular among art collectors. Weiming tells bdnmb.ca that he started to paint daily in this way in the summer of 2003 trying to showcase the beauty of Brandon which he had called home for so many years. You can follow his work, and see more paintings of Brandon, on his Facebook page.  For more on Weiming, and his journey, please click here.

The City of Brandon's annual Canada Day Celebrations at the Riverbank Discovery Centre is quickly approaching and organizers have planned a fun-filled day for those attending.  This years the days festivities begin at 11:30 a.m. with the Canada Day Living Flag and ends with the popular fireworks show scheduled for 11:00 p.m. Throughout the day there are many activities/attractions planned including face painting, the Brandon Riverbank Duck Race, & Brandon Bouncy Castles inflatables.  Prairie Helicopters will be onsite offering scenic rides over the city.  The family stage includes shows from Sean Watson and a kids pedal tractor pull.    The 204, Full Flannel Jacket, Katie MacDoanld Duo and Jenerator are among the main stage entertainment.  A number of food vendors will also be on-site for those looking for a bite to eat.