If you’re feeling stressed or in need of relaxing, floating just might be in your future. What is floating you ask? "Floating is a practice where you enter into a float tank/cabin which is a well-engineered enclosed tub filled with 10″ of water that has dissolved Epsom salts in it. The individual lies down in the water and floats effortlessly". Natural Elements Wellness Centre, a new business in Brandon, is targeting an opening date of May 1, 2019. They will be offering two state of the art float cabins aimed at relieving aches and pain, reducing chronic pain, lowering stress and anxiety, and so much more. Inside these cabins you will have full control over the environment including lights and music/mediation. Individual floats can be 60, 90, or 120 minutes. For those looking to book an appointment prior to the opening, they have started accepting bookings on their web site. Natural Elements will be located at 2940 Victoria Ave (South Entrance). For additional information please check out their Facebook page.

The 32ND annual Westman Communications Group YWCA Women of Distinction Awards Gala will take place inside the MNP Hall at the Keystone Centre on Thursday, May 2nd. The dinner and awards gala (started in 1985) honours the achievements of women from the Brandon, Westman and Parkland regions. It is a major fundraising event for the YWCA Brandon. There are nine awards categories including Leadership in Business, Arts & Culture, Agriculture, Social Action & Community Service, Excellence in Education, Healthy Living, Wellness & Recreation, Lifetime Achievement, a Youth Award (16-21 years) and a Young Woman Award (22-29 years). Nominations for the 2019 YWCA Women of Distinction Awards close March 22, 2019.

Paradise Island Curry House Bar & Grill, located at 935 Rosser Avenue, officially opened their doors to the public on February 10, 2019. The new restaurant will be serving a variety of authentic East Indian food and Mauritian cuisine, with an emphasis on the East Indian offering. They offer a daily buffet ($13.99) Monday to Friday, 11am-2pm —> 5pm-9:30pm. In addition to the daily buffet they also had a wide selection of different dishes on their menu including: chicken, lamb & beef, seafood, biryani, breads, fried rice & chow mein, and vegetarian.

The countdown is on and the wait is nearly over.  The new 70-seat, 2650 sq foot Dairy Queen Grill & Chill restaurant and drive-thru in Brandon is slated to open Louis Riel Day (February 18, 2019).   BDNMB.CA first broke the news on June 6, 2018 and the story quickly created a major buzz (over 23,000 views to date) among our readers with comments on our official Facebook page like "This is super exciting!!", "Dad is going to be so happy LOL", "Yahooo! Super excited" and "This is awesome! We need something at the corral centre!!!!". Located at 915-18th Street North (Corral Centre) the restaurant is expected to employ 35-40 people.  Dairy Queen will continue to operate at its 18th Street location as well.

Heidi & Andrew Curr own and operate ‘Heart of a Sweet Current’ out of a cute and petite central space in the city of Brandon, Manitoba. The unique bake shop was renovated during the summer of 2018, and is fully licensed as a commercial kitchen. The shop operates by appointment & custom order only, rather than as a storefront. Additionally, they are taking on local pop-ups and vendor events. This unique business model allows the couple to fit their little shop in with Andrew's unpredictable military life as a Major in the Artillery, and of course with their 3 month old son, Kingston. Originally self-taught, Heidi has always had a love for creativity, and commitment to quality- this eventually translated into experimenting with recipes for all things sweet.  In 2011, she decided to pursue her new found passion and trained as a Cake Designer in Toronto at the Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts. Another dream was realized by earning her Pastry Chef designation in 2017 from The French Pastry School, located in Chicago, Illinois. The next logical step was actively pursuing a local space where she could create specialty and designer cakes, and confectionery. The gourmet items they are marketing are created using only real and high quality ingredients. Customer favourites include biscotti, salted caramels, marshmallows, pâtede fruit (fruit jellies), and of course, cupcakes. Every enticing element is hand-crafted by Heidi with great attention to detail resulting in delightful flavour and a lovely finished product. The debut for their unique business was at the AGSM Gala of Gifts December 2018, and less than month ago they were a vendor at the popular Westman Wedding Expo. Currently, their Valentine's Day menu is open for orders until Tuesday, February 12th. Next up will be a booth at the 2019 Royal Manitoba Winter Fair! Custom orders for weddings are already being booked throughout 2019 and additional vendor events are on the calendar for this little shop! Like and follow them on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with their sweet journey, and to book ‘exquisite flavour and finesse’ for your next event. Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/heartofasweetcurrent/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartofasweetcurrent/ Email: heartofasweetcurrent@hotmail.com