Canadian country artists Dean Brody and Dallas Smith are headed to Brandon this fall. The two iconic country artists are teaming up to bring their Friends Don’t Let Friends Tour Alone tour to Brandon's Keystone Centre on Saturday, October 12. Both Brody and Smith have multiple JUNO Awards and CCMA Awards to each of their credits. Joining Brody and Smith on the tour is Chad Brownlee and MacKenzie Porter. The tour starts Sept. 18 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. and concludes at the end of October in Abbotsford, B.C. Tickets go on sale this Friday.

Wings-N-Fries is the premiere food truck in Manitoba for all things chicken wings! Chicken wings come in two different sizes (7 wings, 14 wings) with flavours like Salt & Pepper, Sweet Chili, Chipotle, Maple Bacon, Sriracha, and Electric Honey. Heat seekers will love Firehall #1, the hottest wing flavour on the menu. A selection of dipping sauces are also available. In addition to the variety of wings offered they also serve fries, poutine, and spicy mayo fries. Wings-N-Fries will be making their second appearance at Brandon's Food Truck Warz. Check them out all three days (September 13-15) at the Brandon Riverbank Discovery Centre.

The third annual Brandon Ribfest starts this Friday, on the grounds at the Keystone Centre (South End Parking Lot). Enjoy mouth-watering and succulent ribs, brisket, chicken and pork from three award winning and professional circuit BBQ experts.  A few other food vendors will be on-site this year including The Churro Stop and Hogs, Fries and Dogs. The event, presented by the Brandon Sunset Rotary, has a little bit of everything for the whole family. In addition to the great eats, there will a kid’s zone on the Saturday and Sunday afternoon. For those looking to enjoy an adult beverage there will be beer tents with live music located onsite.  Admission is free. Hours are from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm Friday and Saturday, and 11:00 am to 7:00 pm on the Sunday. The Facebook event page can be found here.

Build a kite or bring your own to help fill the sky with colour. Brandon's first ever Kite Festival will be held on Sunday, August 25th at the BYSA Soccer Field. The event, hosted by the Westman Jamaican Community, will be a fun filled day for the whole family including kite flying competitions, face-painting, kite-building, and a bouncy house. The event runs from 11am-6pm. Event admission is FREE but make sure to bring some cash for the food concessions that will be onsite and for the kite building materials/accessories that will be available for sale.

For event President Al Logan it was good to get home and have a long shower after spending some long hours and days at Rockin the Fields in Minnedosa. It isn’t difficult to see that concert numbers have increased over the past years and this year with April Wine – Collective Soul – and Tom Cochrane as headliners it was clear  what the public wanted.  According to Logan the numbers are not finalized but they hope to have those numbers in the very near future. The economic spin off is huge and people attended from far and wide.  During Sam Roberts performance he asked “WHO IS FROM SASKATCHEWAN OR WHO IS FROM WINNIPEG” and the crowd was loud and boisterous. “Even the local Co-Op gas station – grocery store saw a huge influx of sales” said Logan. Already major sponsors are contacting them to be involved for 2020.  “That says we are doing something right” added Logan. All the proceeds of this non-profit event will be go back into site and camping upgrades as well as to help local service clubs and organizations that made the event a true success. The guy will the most pressure to perform is talent buyer Rob Waloschuk from Yorkton.  Rob and his staff will soon have to get the wheels in motion for 2020 in search of more headline acts.  Logan also did mention to bring in the big name American acts is difficult with the US dollar being as strong as it is because those bands want to be paid in USD. Logan wants people to know that their committee is going to be mindful for the upcoming Manitoba 150th birthday in 2020 and want to make Rockin the Fields a very special part of that anniversary.