Thank you to Lori Dmitruk for submitting this story to BDNMB.CA On Monday, July 18, 2016, Hunter Ferguson's life changed forever. Hunter was working on the roof of a pole shed when the board he was walking on broke. He fell through and on the way down he hit another board which turned him upside down and resulted in him falling on his head and neck. The fall severed Hunter’s spinal cord and left him paralyzed from the waist down. He had a fractured diaphragm, some broken ribs, punctured his lung and broke his back. Hunter underwent a seven hour surgery in Regina and is now facing a long road to recovery and rehabilitation in Winnipeg. Our very small community of Boissevain, Manitoba, is putting together a number of fundraisers to help support this family. Our goal is to raise enough money to build Hunter his own specialized home so that he can continue on with his life dreams and have the independence of a young man starting out in life, with the support of family close by. Our first fundraiser is Ferg Fest held on September 3, 2016 in Boissevain. We are hosting a golf tournament and a family fun day, including supper and beer gardens. We are still looking for teams to enter our 4 person golf scramble with a shot gun start of 12:30. $120 a team includes supper and shuttle service to town.  

KidSport Presents their 9th Annual 'For The Love of Chocolate' in the UCT Pavilion of the Keystone Centre on Friday, February the 24th from 7-11 pm. Cocktail hour will begin at 7pm, with a fashion show, chocolate dessert, light snacks and entertainment to follow. ENTERTANMENT TO BE ANNOUNCED! A rainbow auction featuring prizes donated by local businesses, a 50/50 draw, Mandy Wark Photography photo booth with amazing prizes as well and much more! Full Tables (of 8) will be available for purchase on October 11th, 2016 for $400. Single tickets purchases will be available on December 12th, 2016. ($50) Sponsorship packages available and do include tickets. Please inquire if you would like to sponsor this amazing event!

Brandon, MB – August 10, 2016 – Assiniboine Community College Students’ Association (ACCSA) in partnership with Brandon University’s LGBTTQ* Collective is pleased to present its first ever B-Queer event on Friday, September 16th at Houstons! This student led Pride event features a fund-raising supper and a live performance by Coco Montrese, a Las Vegas Drag Queen who will be returning to RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars from Season 5. “We are excited to host an event of this magnitude for the Queer community in Brandon,” says Stefon Irvine, chair of the BU LGBTTQ* Collective. “Our group approached ACCSA with the idea to partner and create an event that will bridge the gap between our students and the Brandon Queer community.” The evening kicks off with a Bud, Spud & Steak supper from 6:30pm-8:30pm, featuring Drag Queen bingo hosted by Prairie Sky and the Sunshine Gurlz. Tickets are just $25 and include your meal, bingo cards and VIP entrance for the evening show. The evening performance will feature Coco Montrese and Prairie Sky, who will hit the Houstons stage starting at 11:30pm. For those who only want to attend the social evening, tickets are $5 in advance from the Collective and ACCSA or $10 at the door. “This is going to be an amazing event like Brandon has never seen!” says Jenna Wade, ACCSA President. “There has never been an opportunity for ACCSA to support our Queer students and the community and this will show we are an inclusive campus.” Proceeds from the event will go towards future student events. Assiniboine Community College Students’ Association is a non-profit organization committed to encouraging student success by being the voice of students while enhancing the student life experience. The Brandon University LGBTTQ* Collective, is a student run organization working together to achieve a campus culture where queer people thrive as healthy, equal and complete members of Brandon University. For more information: Jenna Wade President, ACCSA SAPresident@assiniboine.net 204.725.8710 Stefon Irvine Chair, BU LGBTTQ* Collective IRVINESD26@BrandonU.CA 204.721.2385

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.