Dauphin’s Countryfest is Canada’s longest running country music festival celebrating 27 years. The weekend celebration was a fun-filled, 4 day event that was packed with music and activities. So many options available, that it is impossible for one person to partake in everything! There was something for everyone’s preferences; great entertainment, contests(flip cup & perogy eating), beach volleyball, helicopter rides, mechanical bull ride, bubble soccer and endless games at campsites and creek gatherings. Countryfest is about meeting old friends and making new friends and enjoying what the weekend has to offer. Thursday night, Trooper and BlackJack Billy kicked off the festival on the hill top stages with high energy shows. These bands had both the Credit Union Corral stage and the MTS stage crowd fired up for a good time. Friday coincided with Canada Day, so celebrations were definitely in order. The Manitoba Liquor Lotteries Main stage was loaded with talented Canadian music all day long from Autumn Hill, The Lovelocks, Cold Creek County, High Valley, Dallas Smith and Dean Brody. The unique amphitheatre is quite a powerful environment, when the musicians have the crowd on their feet dancing and singing the lyrics to the songs. In between one of the sets, the crowd spontaneously burst into patriotism by singing Oh Canada. The night of Canadian entertainment ended on the hilltop with Chad Brownlee on the MTS stage and Barrcuda(Heart tribute band) on the Credit Union Corral stage. Saturday was another day of solid musical acts. The Manitoba Liquor Lotteries Main stage featured local Roblin, Manitoba talent of the Ryan Keown Band in the afternoon. The evening line up was spectacular with Chris Janson, Thomas Rhett and Lady Antebellum. Chris Janson brought two young siblings(Jace and Jordan Woloski) from Rapid City, Manitoba on stage to help sing his hit, “Buy Me A Boat”. Thomas Rhett also brought a male out of the crowd to sing a verse of Garth Brooks “Friends In Low Places”. Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley came right through the crowd! The full amphitheatre was high energy all evening! Sunday musical acts were pure classic country. The Merle Haggard Tribute was pretty empowering. Merle’s sons, Noel and Ben Haggard, as well as Merle’s long time band, The Strangers put on a spectacular show. For anyone that was at Countryfest on Sunday, they can attest that the weather was pretty dreary and wet all day, but from the moment The Merle Tribute started, the sun came out for the first time. Maybe Merle was watching over his sons! The crowd enjoyed the classic songs of “Mama Tried”, “Silver Wings” and “Okie from Muskogee”. Unfortunately, Jamey Johnson was unable to attend. Following, the Merle Haggard Tribute, Terri Clark proved that 21 years in the music business that she has hit after hit. She put on an incredible performance. After a delay, the patient crowd enjoyed Dwight Yoakam. He sang all his classics from “Guitars, Cadillacs”, “Fast as You”, “Streets of Bakersfield”, “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere”, “Lttle Sister” and “Suspicious Minds”. The night ended on the hilltop stages with Dirty Catfish Brass Band and Deric Ruttan. Overall, the weekend was fantastic and social media accounts are booming with pictures and videos, check out #cfest2016, to see what you may have missed this year. Watch the Chevy Top 20 Countdown on CMT to see clips and interviews from Dauphin’s Countryfest, that airs this Saturday July 9. I just wanna say, job well done to all the Dauphin’s Countryfest organizers and volunteers for yet another memorable year. I can't wait till the lineup for Dauphin’s Countryfest 2017 is announced …. Who would you like to see there next year?

When preparing to apply for life insurance, there are a few steps to the process.  First, one needs to decide how much to apply for. This is done by completing a needs analysis with your life insurance-licensed financial professional. Many things are taken into consideration, a few of which are income replacement, debt cancellation and final expenses.  Once the amount is determined, a look at different life insurance products is explored to come up with the best solution to one's situation. A combination of products may be the best way to go - permanent and temporary (term). Of course, the cost of the premium is important and needs to fit the budget but having the right product is also important.  When the amount being applied for and the best product are decided upon, the application process begins. Here are some pieces of information to have ready before applying:    - Date of last visit to a medical professional and the reason why    - Results of that visit with information on medication and/or treatment plan     - List of all medications being taken    - Health history on immediate family members (parents, siblings) There are also questions about one's travel and lifestyle activities for which the answers help the insurance company's underwriter determine the risk in providing coverage to an individual. For instance, if a person likes to hang glide, this provides more risk and is taken into consideration. This doesn't mean one wouldn't receive the life insurance because of the activity, but it may mean a rating to the premium. One could pay more for their premium than another person who doesn't hang glide nor participates in any other risky activities.  Based on the amount of insurance being applied for and the age of the proposed insured, there could be medical tests required, such as blood/urine tests and ECG. The insurance company pays a paramedical provider for this and, in most cases, a nurse can take the samples and do the ECG in the insured's home rather than in a clinic. The results are then given to the insurance company to help them make their decision in issuing the insurance. Also, the results can be made available to the insured for their own information and peace of mind.  It may seem like there is a lot to the application process but with the help of a licensed financial professional, it doesn't have to be so daunting.  Finally, something to remember is that money pays the life insurance premium but one's health buys the insurance coverage. 

Air Canada has rocketed into the social scene today by launching their own crowdfunding vacation site "Embarq." You can find it at www.embarq.aircanada.com/ In a nutshell, whether you are a stressed out mom in need of a spa vacation, or you are a recent graduate looking for family to sponsor your gap year adventure, you can use their crowd funding site to have others pay for your vacation. Crowdfunding got its start and has primarily been used as a charitable fundraising option. However, there aren't restrictions placed on its uses. A small percentage is paid to the website as an administrative charge, but people have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars this way for individual causes. This begs the question.... is a vacation a luxury item or should you expect others to help you pay for it? Is crowdfunding a good idea for personal travel? Love to hear your thoughts on this topic. It's a hot one!

You know I get this question at least 15 times a year….. It happened to me twice in Toronto on Saturday.  So this article is not going to be all dazzling and glowing by any means but this is my personal thoughts. Now I have made Brandon home for the last 26 years and you know overall this place isn’t that bad.  The two biggest complaints I hear from my friends is: # 1 – property taxes are insane compared to other cities # 2 – lack of good clothing stores So let’s look at some of the positives. Crime & safety factor – maybe I have been lucky but only had my truck broken into once in 26 years and that was my fault for not locking the doors.  But when people talk about crime etc. you really have to think the Brandon Police Service does a good job. Education – for a city of this size to have BU and ACC and all the other secondary education opportunities that exist we have nothing to complain about. Quality of Life – Golf Courses – Curling Rinks – Baseball diamonds – Hockey Rinks – Walking trails and paths – Indoor pools – gyms once again you have to give the city a passing grade. Nightlife – Trends have shifted for sure over the past 5 years and it appears that people just don’t go out.  The other day a girl said people meet other people now online and back in the day the only place you could really meet someone was in a nightclub.  We have Houstons and various other pubs and lounges and really if you need to see a major concert you have to go to Winnipeg or Minneapolis.  Unless you are into ZZ Top then you don’t need to go to Winnipeg for shows. Arts & Culture – I perhaps the worst person to ask about this topic but from what I see on Facebook and Twitter it appears that we have a pretty active community. Dining Out – This has greatly improved over the years and places like East Side Mario’s etc coming to Brandon just adds to your options for lunch and suppers.  We have just about every franchise possible with the exception of a Red Lobster or Olive Garden. Cost of Living – House prices are perhaps considered high when you look at Winnipeg prices and all the time I hear our rental prices are crazy.  But it is all supply and demand and if someone can rent a condo for 2000 dollars a month and get it then so be it. Jobs and Opportunity – Good question because you hear people complain about no jobs and then you hear employers say they are so short staffed.  Tons of jobs for people with no training or education but then you are going to make 12 bucks an hour.  For the educated people expecting to make say 100k a year then those jobs are not as abundant. External Image – Wheat City image is perhaps outdated and needs a refresh.  Of course Agriculture is a major factor to overall economics of the city but those signs on the Trans Canada really tell you nothing about Brandon.  Not even sure what the sign is about.  But for sure the city does suffer from an identity crisis. Medical Services – Of course we are somewhat limited as to the doctors and specialists that say Winnipeg has but for all your basic medical requirements Brandon has you covered. Air Service – Huge leap forward and now with flights to Toronto this really does help people considering moving or doing business here that Westjet offers regular daily flights. Easy to be the armchair quarterback and bitch and complain about what the city does offer but for having roughly 50,000 people you have to set your expectations to a reasonable limit.  You won’t find a Gucci store or some huge outlet centre where you can buy a pair of Nikes for 30 bucks.  However we can cross the city normally in 10 minutes from point a to point b and not worry too much about crime and most people would agree a pretty good place to raise your kids.   Darryl Wolski  

It's that time of year again! Summer has arrived and what better way to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather than a backyard gathering with friends and family? Whether you are having a casual barbecue or a posh party, there is always a lot of work to do before your guests arrive; the following 10 tips will help you prepare (to have fun!). Clean up the Yard Appearance is everything! Mow the lawn in advance to give it a nice clean look. Turn and aerate the soil and check that there are no visible weeds. If you have a pool or pond don't forget to clean them a few days ahead.  Front Yard and Entry Always remember that the first thing your friends and family see when they arrive is the front yard and entry way. To make sure that all of your guests have a good first impression, use a spare closet or room to hold shoes and coats to keep the entry from becoming disorganized. Seating Areas Have ample seating for your guests by making use of any patio furniture you have, whether it's a swing, bench, camping chairs or patio couch. If you don't have enough, you might want to look into renting chairs through your local party supply store. Also, don't forget that you can bring the party indoors as to increase seating space, accommodate guests who may prefer to stay cool, or set up a kids table. Select the Food When planning your menu, take your guests' food into account; are any of your guests' vegetarian, gluten free, lactose intolerant or diabetic? An excellent host will ensure that every guest has options available, whether it's the appetizer or main course.  Prep in Advance  Depending on the dishes you are planning to serve, you may be able to do most of the prep work in advance (think: salads, veggies and food that requires marinating, etc.). On the day of the party you want to have everything ready to go at least one hour before your guests arrive to ensure you can focus on hosting, not cooking!  Lighting & Heat  Keep your guests comfortable long after the sun goes down with help from lighting and heat. Clear light strands or bamboo torches set up around your patio will improve the ambience and increase visibility as the party winds down. If you have portable heaters, it's a good idea to bring them out in advance, just in case you need them. Based on how your heaters are operated, you'll also want to make sure that you have gas, propane or an extension cord. If you have a fire pit, ensure you have enough wood chopped and ready - and s'mores (lots of s'mores!).  Barbecue Prepping the barbecue for action should be a top priority. Double check to make sure you have enough propane, gas or charcoal to last the entire party, scrape and clean the grill before your guests arrive and place any required grilling tools such as a spatula, tongs or marinating brush by the barbecue.  Chilling the Beverages Knowing that you will have a full fridge of food, decide in advance where you will keep your guests' drinks cool, or where you'll keep pop and juices for kids. You can use coolers filled with ice or try out a Pinterest-inspired DIY project! Yard Games Games that you can set up and play in the yard will add fun and excitement to your party or simply work to keep the kids entertained. Have the games set up and ready for guests to use, whether its croquet, badminton or a bean bag toss. You can even create some friendly competition with a round robin tournament complete with prizes and party favours! Last but not least, don't forget to relax and have fun with your friends and family.