Big Laughs, Bigger Smiles ROUND 2 is set to take place on Friday, October 14th at I Want that Stuff-Boardgame Empire (1150-19th St) in Brandon.  This year’s show features award winning comedian Matt Falk of Giggles Comedy Agency. The event is 18+, so no minors will be allowed. - Tickets for the event will be $20 each. - Doors will open at 6:00 with specials on food and drinks up until 7:30! - Matt will be on stage from 8-9. - Please note, tickets will not be available at the door and must be purchased in advance!! - Tickets will go on sale to the public Monday, September 5th and will be based off first come, first served!! - Tons of raffle prizes including autographed memorabilia and gift certificates will be up for grabs among others, as well as 50/50! The proceeds from this event will be donated to the Pediatrics Center in Brandon to purchase new gaming systems for the children to use during their hospital stay. The hope is to raise enough funds to purchase an Xbox One and a PlayStation 4 for the hospitalized children to use. Currently, they do not have these gaming stations and it is something that would definitely be put to use daily! The event is sponsored by James Ruser of I Want That Stuff, Jarret Kehler of Donald Legal Services and Tyler Monckton of 3% Realty. Anybody that may want to be a part of this great cause, whether it be via sponsorship, or raffle prizes is asked to contact Ryan Pandolfi at 204-725-9320 or email r_pandolfi@hotmail.com.  Your support sincerely means everything in making this event as successful as possible! Please also note that any businesses interested in being a sponsor needs to be collected by September 1st at the latest. Sponsors will also get first opportunity at a very limited amount of tickets as well as the opportunity to reserve a table!  Thank you to everyone for the support!

Headline Act Pre-maturely Takes their leave from Minnedosa Festival   Ironically, “Our Lady Peace” nearly created a riotous situation in Minnedosa over the weekend.  The popular 1990’s Toronto rock band was slated as the Sunday night headliner to close the annual three day Rockin’ the Fields of Minnedosa festival and had barely begun their set when the decision was made to make their exit because of an looming thunderstorm warning.   Within minutes, the threat of angry skies about was quickly eclipsed by an angered crowd of more than 3,000 and a chorus of boos rang out over the valley for the first time of the weekend.  As tempers flared and the crowd grew aggressive, the band was already tucked away on their bus and off site.   “I drove fifteen hours to see Our Lady Peace,” declared one man. “I’ll never come back to Minnedosa again.”   However, while disappointed, many spectators who were stage-side for the performance reluctantly resigned themselves to the risks of outdoor concerts and their reliance on favorable weather.   The weekend was highlighted by a show-stealing performance by Calgary rockers Loverboy on Saturday night.   “Michael Reno has my bra!,” exclaimed a noticeably flushed patron after Saturday night’s set. “Can you imagine?,” she continued, “I’m 51 years old and my bra finally made it on Loverboy’s stage!”   While the weekend featured some popular acts among the all-Canadian line up for the 13th annual festival along the eastern shore of Minnedosa Lake, few had the full engagement of the crowd like lead singer Mike Reno and company.  Belting out hits like “Lovin’ Every Minute of It” and “Workin’ for the Weekend”, even fans who appeared too young to have enjoyed the tunes when they were chart-toppers were singing along enthusiastically.  Reno, now 61, was touted by long time fans as ‘not missing a beat’ in his performance be-fitting headliner status.   But it wasn’t only the main stage performances that drew rave reviews over the weekend.  On the Heritage Co-op stage atop the hillside, a great line up of emerging artists and supporting acts was convened, including some local musicians from the area.  However, patrons were unanimous in favorable feedback for “A Travellin’ Band”, a Creedence Clearwater Revival” tribute act who paid proper tribute to their material.   It’s of interest to note that the weekend’s line-up featured the first all-Canadian slate of acts since the festival began in 2003.  Other bands on the bill included Kenny Shields & Streetheart, Sloan, 54/40 and Age of Electric.

Courtesy:  Brandon University Press Release   July 26, 2016 BRANDON, MB. — Two Brandon musicians who will be competing in the National Music Festival later this summer will have a send-off performance at Brandon University (BU) this Sunday. Kayla Solomon and Jammie Lee will perform at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 31 in the Lorne Watson Recital Hall at Brandon University’s School of Music. The two were selected in May at the Manitoba Provincial Finals and will head to the National Music Festival in Edmonton from August 11–14. Solomon, a student of BU Music professor Dr. Ed Bach, will represent Manitoba on trumpet in the Brass at the National Music Festival. She has completed the second year of a Bachelor of Music program at BU. Her musical training began when she was three, in classes of Kodaly Music, followed by Music for Young Children. Following piano and theory lessons with Heidi Peters she completed Grade 9 in piano, and for three years she studied violin before taking up the trumpet at age 12. While in school, she joined Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Choir, and Vocal Jazz. In February she will tour Cuba as a guest soloist with the band from her high school, College Jeanne-Sauvé. Solomon has received scholarships in both academics and music, and performs with several Brandon University ensembles. She is the youngest member chosen to tour with Market Street Brass. She participates in several sports, including volleyball at the provincial level. She will be joined by pianist Danielle Guina. Lee, 15, has completed Grade 9 at Vincent Massey High School. Before he came to Canada, Lee was enrolled in the prestigious Musical Academy for gifted children at the Seoul Arts Centre, where he won several awards. After he immigrated to Manitoba from Korea, he studied piano for five years with Dr. Kyung Kim. Since September 2015, he has studied with Dr. Lawrence Jones, professor emeritus of the BU School of Music. Since arriving in Canada, Lee has advanced through several competitions, including the Canadian Music Competitions in 2011, where he placed second in his age group (9) for performances of a piano concerto by Mozart. In 2015, he was the youngest ever winner of the Western Financial Group Tudor Bowl in the Brandon Festival. The winner of many scholarships, he has performed throughout southern Manitoba. On June 26th, 2016, was invited to perform with the Winnipeg Symphony at its Open House “Made in Manitoba” concert. He has just returned from a two-week piano camp at the University of Minnesota, organized by Kyung and Michael Kim. While at Waverly Park School, Lee took up trombone (concert band and jazz). He continues these at Vincent Massey. He has also won awards in badminton, his preferred sport. Sundayʼs recital will give Solomon and Lee a chance to try out their Edmonton pieces before they travel to the National Music Festival. This festival of classical music brings together the best students from every province, to perform in the top venues in the country, to interact and hear and learn from each other, to have workshop sessions with Canada's best adjudicators, and to compete for the top prizes in Canada. Brandon University, founded in 1899, promotes excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship, and educates students so that they can make a meaningful difference as engaged citizens and leaders. For more information: Rob Henderson Marketing Communications Officer 204.727.9762 HendersonR@BrandonU.ca Grant Hamilton Marketing Communications Officer 204.571.8542 HamiltonG@BrandonU.ca    

The 3rd Annual Awesome Race for Breath will be held Saturday, October 15, 2016 at The Town Centre, Brandon, MB. Based on a popular TV Show, the Amazing Race, teams of two will receive clues to pit stops around Brandon in a fun and create fund-raising activity for the Manitoba Lung Association. Teams wanting to participate will be required to fund-raise a minimum of $200 to earn a spot at the starting line. Just like the television show teams will encounter bump cards, roadblocks, U-turns, and other detours to complete before racing to the finish line. Last year at a pit stop, inside a local coffee shop, teams were required to memorize and write down all 25 flavors of coffee sold in alphabetical order. They were provided with three minutes to study the list and then write them down. If they were not correct on the first attempt they were allowed to go back to study the list but were given less time each time they went back. Team categories have been broken down into three different participation groups: Celebrity/Media, Corporate and individual (friends/family). The top three teams in each category will be awarded prizes donated by local businesses as well as gold, silver or bronze medals in their respective divisions. The race will take place Saturday, October the 15, starting at 9:00 am at the Town Centre where teams will first be required to drop off their donations and pickup their passport and race t-shirts. Race time is slated for 10:00 am sharp. All money raised from the Awesome Race for Breath goes to programs and support and education services for people coping with lung disease. For more information on this event including registration or sponsorship.

Her name is Emma Peterson and she is an 18 year old country singer/songwriter from beautiful Winnipegosis, Manitoba. She began her musical journey when she was just 11 years old after she had purchased her first guitar. Emma had always loved singing and when she bought that first guitar is when she started taking singing seriously. She began to practice guitar every single day after school for hours and was determined to be successful. It was at that point in her young life when she started songwriting. Songwriting for Emma became an outlet to process her day to day emotions, help her make sense of what was going on in her head, and put it into music. As music is something everyone can relate to, she believes it helps people process their feelings, or even just generally help us have a good time. It has been 7 years since Emma picked up that first guitar and now she is very close to taking a big leap forward in her musical career. She is currently in CMT’s Chevy Tailgate Contest, a contest to find Canada's Next Country Music Star. Thanks to everyone who voted for her online in June, and at Dauphin’s Countryfest in July, Emma is now one of four finalists from Western Canada and is the only finalist from Manitoba. In this final round she will now face competitors from the three other Western Canadian provinces who are representing country music festivals in their respective provinces. This contest is about writing/performing original music and Emma's musical submission can be viewed here. The final prize is a trip to Nashville and includes $10,000 in studio time. Her dream ever since she started to play guitar was to be able to have her voice and music heard. Emma hopes to be able to represent Manitoba in a big way if she wins this contest. So this is where you come in as she needs your help. Voting for the finals in this contest runs from August 29th - September 10th. Tell your friends, family members, neighbors and whoever else to vote! Go to www.chevy-tailgate.com EVERYDAY from August 29 - September 10th and vote for Emma Peterson! Vote as often as you can.  Voting is unlimited.