Brandon, MB – The City of Brandon’s Community Development Section is excited to announce the rebranding of its popular Summer Lights concert series and artist workshop program as the City of Brandon 100th Meridian Concerts, a new moniker that pays homage to Brandon’s place on the map and its small, but important place within Canadian rock ‘n’ roll lore. Formerly dubbed the Summer Lights Concert Series, the newly minted City of Brandon 100th Meridian Concerts program will offer three advance registration artist workshops and two FREE concert performances in the community this summer in collaboration with Brandon Pride and the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba. The name change will allow the Summer Lights Music Festival, a one-day music event that takes place annually in September on the grounds of the Keystone Centre, to further establish itself as a separate community not-for-profit event. The concert series and workshop program’s new name also seeks to reflect the fact that the 100th Meridian West line of longitude cuts across the western fringe of Brandon, a geographical location galvanized in Canadian music history by The Tragically Hip. “What better way to honour Brandon’s Prairie geographical and cultural association for many Canadians than to name our already-popular community concert series after it,” says City of Brandon Community Development Coordinator Richard Greer. “We see the City of Brandon 100th Meridian Concert Series as one that works with different community organizations to present events at all times during the year, not just the summer months, and so we’re excited for its first season and see what future partnerships can look like.” The first of two 100th Meridian Concert evening events this summer will be held on Thursday, July 12th on the grounds of the East End Community Centre, located at 405 Park Street. A partnership with the Brandon Pride committee, the event will feature headlining act, Yes We Mystic, an indie-alternative band from Winnipeg. They’ll be joined by opening act, The Young Pixels, a husband-and-wife garage pop duo from Western Manitoba. Plans are also well underway for the second City of Brandon 100th Meridian Concert event on Thursday, August 9th, to be held in downtown Brandon in conjunction with the launch of the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba’s continuing Billboard art series. Confirmed as the event’s headliner is Manitoba-born Indigenous singer and recent Juno nominee Iskwé, while opening the concert will be Sonia Eidse, an Indigenous singer-songwriter from Winnipeg. Staff in the City of Brandon’s Community Development Section is also working hard to plan artist workshops under the 100th Meridian program umbrella in June, July and August. More information on these workshops and the two upcoming concert events can be found at www.brandon.ca/100thmeridian. “One of the City of Brandon 100th Meridian Concerts program’s main goals is to provide the community with exposure to emerging and ‘on-the-rise’ artists they might not otherwise get the chance to see in their own backyard, and to provide that opportunity at no cost to the public,” added Greer. “We are so excited about the eclectic mix of artists we’ve been able to secure for this year’s programming and know they will put on amazing performances in our community.”

The Brandon Folk, Music & Art Festival will be held on Saturday, July 21st, 2018 in Princess Park.  Some of the musical acts listed to be performing include Sweet Alibi, Romi Mayes, Slow Leaves, Mitchell Mozdzen, and the Caitlin Baker Duo.  Other listed activities include workshops,  community groups, and craft and art displays and demonstrations. The event starts at noon and runs through to dark.  Admission is free.

Rockstar Energy Drink and McNabb Valley MX in Minnedosa present the MX Tour Motocross Tour on Saturday June 16th. The races will be held 1 mile west of the intersection of Highway 10 & 16.  40 Racers per class (250 and 450) Tickets and Information: Saturday June 16th Practice starts at 8am and racing starts at noon General Admission – $28.00 each Kids 4 – 12 years old - $20.00 each Buy 3 get one free Children under 3 years old are free! Tickets online by clicking this link - https://jetwerx.webconnex.com/mcnabbtickets  Sunday June 17th Amateur Day $15.00 for adults $5.00 for 12 and under  Joe Beeverz will be on site, selling food and drinks, as will be Busters Ice Cream. Event Websites http://www.rockstartriplecrown.com/events.html http://www.mbmotox.com/schedule/ https://www.facebook.com/McnabbValleyMx/

Adrian Paul of "Highlander - The Series" has been announced as the celebrity guest at this year's Comic Con.  The English born actor is best known for playing the role of Duncan Macleod on the fantasy science fiction action-adventure television series.  In total Paul appeared in 117 of the 119 episodes in the Highlander series.  He has also appeared in many other film and televison projects and his list of work can be found at this link. The announcement was made on their Facebook page this morning.  Brandon Comic Con takes place at the Keystone Centre on September 8th & 9th.

Food Truck Warz has already added several new features (increased # of food trucks, larger downtown location, Wonder Shows Midway, 3rd day) that could make the community celebration more popular than ever. Today organizers are pleased to announce the plan to add a fenced-in beer garden, hosted by Career Connections Inc, to this year's festivities.  The proposed occupancy for the beer garden will be approximately 750 people with both Budweiser and Bud Light being served.  Rum, Rye and Vodka will also be available. "We at Career Connections are excited to be able to host this event here in Brandon.  This will be our major fundraising event for 2018.  Funds raised will be put directly back into the services that we provide to residents of Westman.  We are on track to provide supports to over 300 individuals this year who identify with having a barrier to employment" said Tracy Williams, Executive Director at Career Connections Inc. Career Connections Inc. is a professional, results driven, employment agency which specializes in working with and securing employment for individuals living with a disability. Career Connections has been a leader in supplying these services for over 45 years in the Westman region. "We look forward to seeing everyone out enjoying Food Truck Warz, make sure you stop by for a cold beverage served to you by our staff and board members.  We thank Darryl and Jody for providing us with this opportunity" added Tracy. Food Truck Warz happens September 14th – 16th, 2018 in Brandon, MB at Princess Park.    The annual event is presented by BDNMB.CA, alongside corporate support from Westman Communications Group, Vanguard Credit Union, & Catalyst Credit Union.  Corporate media sponsors include Q Country 91.5FM and Star FM Brandon.  Admission is free.