Recently engaged? Grand Valley Park is a beautiful outdoor wedding venue with dates still available for 2017 & 2018. The park is an excellent location for both ceremonies and receptions, is located only minutes from Brandon, just off the Trans-Canada Highway. This outdoor chapel, nestled in the midst of 50 acres of beautiful oak forest, will provide a breathtaking experience for you and your guests. Owners, Katherine Jeroski and Jordan Ross, took over the lease on the park last spring, and have focused in on using the park as a wedding rental venue for both ceremonies and receptions. Jordan tells bdnmb.ca “ We have received a great response as the park is a beautiful setting with nice amenities, and an easily accessible location only minutes from Brandon. We can accommodate small to large ceremonies, and receptions, at affordable rates.  Prices are based on guest numbers and needs, so people are encouraged to contact them for quotes, at the contact information below. They will also have a booth at the up-coming Westman Wedding Expo on February 5th.     In addition to having an on-site wedding chapel, Grand Valley Provincial Park has a nicely treed campground set in the beautiful Assiniboine River Valley. Their campground has 22 electrical sites and 20 un-serviced sites. The campground has washroom facilities with showers, and water is available at different spots throughout the park. There is also a large cook shack that can be rented for group functions. The cook shack seats up to 80 people and is equipped with a fire place, stove, fridges, freezer and a BBQ.  Depending on the weather, they usually like to get the campground facilities open by May long weekend. Grand Valley Park also has a long First Nation History, and some information signs, explaining some of the history, can be found on the self guided interpretive trail with a look out tower. The park covers nearly 50 acres of beautiful oak forest, which has many summer and winter recreation opportunities. “We are open to discuss all types of usage of the park facilities this summer, including camps, retreats, reunions or any other group functions. Please email or call for more information!” Their plans for the near future are to continue to clean up the property, and invest in some of the facilities that exist already. They hope to work with the Parks Department to develop some plans for existing and possibly new trails throughout the park. Katherine Jeroski & Jordan Ross Grand Valley Provincial Park 204 573-3798 grandvalleyprovincialpark@gmail.com www.facebook.com/grandvalleypark     Owners, Katherine Jeroski and Jordan Ross      

A number of us will take for granted that if your dog is injured and requires blood that this will be no problem.. This is where the Canadian Animal Blood Bank comes in. The Blood Bank will set up in various Vet locations across Canada with the hope of getting as much blood possible. The Brandon Hills Vet Clinic on 17th street in Brandon was the location today, as roughly 15 dogs were on-hand donating their blood. Local Vet Jay Thrush feels this is, without a doubt, a very important idea and people should take part in the blood drive if they can. “ We normally have blood supplies locally, but if we needed a larger amount of blood ,we can access their services and have blood at our clinic within a few hours“ To be a candidate, your dog must meet the following criteria: over 55 pounds No older than 8 years old Current with vaccinations Somewhat calm personalit Next local times and dates where your dog can donate: Brandon Hills – February 2nd Grand Valley – February 9th Success stories from the Canadian Animal Blood Bank” http://www.canadiananimalbloodbank.ca/index.php/en/pet-owners/success-stories       (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

A pair of hockey players, both with ties to the Calgary Flames, will highlight a busy Friday evening for autograph seekers at next weekends Dakota Nation Winterfest.  Theoren Fleury, who spent 11 seasons with the Flames, will be in attendance for a series of events, including the opening ceremonies. The opening ceremonies get underway on the Friday evening at 6:00 pm, inside Westman Place. The former NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup winner and Olympic Gold Medalist is also scheduled to host a one hour speaking engagement, "Don't Quit Before the Miracle", inside the Amphitheater starting at 6:30 pm. A one hour autograph session with Fleury will follow on the concourse.   Photo: theofleury14.com   Current Flame, Michael Ferland, will be hosting a one hour autograph session on the main concourse as well.  His session starts at 5:00 pm on the Friday evening.  This season the rugged left winger has 11 points in 45 games. Ferland participated in last winters festivities when he dropped the puck for the ceremonial face off.   Photo: Dakota Nation Winterfest     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});    

A 27-year old Brandon female has been arrested and charged with a variety of offenses following an incident on Tuesday evening. Police say they responded to a call at 7:45 indicting some items had been stolen from a residence in the 800 block of 9th St. Upon arrival the suspect was located outside of the residence, was found to be in possession of a cell phone, which was property of the homeowner. She was arrested and a steak knife, which had been concealed under her belt, was found on the female. She now faces charges of Possession of Property obtained by Crime, Carry a concealed weapon and Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. In other police news Echo Tachan, who had been reported as missing on January 16th, has been located and is fine.     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

There is a particular irony that when local eateries and bistros talk about migrating back to a method of food preparation as nature intended that the story can’t take place without visiting Eden. Only we’re not talking about the Garden of Eden in this instance, instead the efforts of Avion Harvest which is based in the community just a few minutes north of Neepawa. Avion Harvest opened its doors earlier this year when Eden resident Tim Wiebe received a call from a colleague in the starch industry in Carberry, identifying that a former yellow pea producer was looking to get out of the production business and had some equipment for sale. After some preliminary negotiations on the purchase, Wiebe says that the seller unfortunately passed away before there could be any formal succession of the business – leaving Wiebe and his business partner Lewis Pohl to start from scratch both in sourcing the raw ingredients as well as marketing their finished product. Pohl, who came into the venture from the financial services realm, saw the potential for the business and came in as a partner, officially taking the title of marketing manager for the company. Both Wiebe and Pohl looked at the timing of coming into the industry during in 2016, recognized as the International Year of Pulses as advantageous and the company was incorporated in March. “We’ve certainly had a great deal of help from the industry and related agencies,” says Pohl. “We have reached out to M.A.F.R.D. (now Growth, Enterprise and Trade), Entrepreneurship Manitoba and Marilyn Crewe at the Town of Neepawa and they have all offered lots of advice that has been helpful for us to get things rolling.” With a grass roots marketing strategy, Wiebe and Pohl hit the road with their product in hand to market their wares to various grocery chains and restaurateurs. Now expanded from simply yellow peas to a line of seven products including lentils, flax, pot barley, pinto beans and white beans, they have seen an encouraging response from retailers. In their first eight months of operation, they have their product in 27 stores across the Province including Co-op Marketplace, Save On Foods, and a few Bigway locations around the region. Their goal is to expand their market radius even wider into the neighboring provinces. This past October, Wiebe scored a big win for his fledgling enterprise as a featured competitor at the “What’s the Big Idea?” entrepreneurship event held in Neepawa, securing awards in three categories and reaping $4,300 of the $6,900 in prize money issued that afternoon. The partners have an eye on growth with their prize win, specifically looking at the process to become industry certified in their production methods and food security practices. The H.A.A.S.P. certification opens the door to opportunities for international export. Other elements of future growth could present opportunities to work with local producers. “We would be interested in establishing a relationship with local producers,” says Wiebe. “The most important factor in that is ensuring a consistent quality and quantity of the raw product to allow us to fulfill our obligations.”     Aside from expanding their product line, other innovations that they have started to implement as part of their business growth is a migration from the traditional packaging which might lay on a cupboard shelf to a standing, re-sealable pouch which offers more convenience and a greater shelf life for the customers who have the products at hand in their own kitchens. For now, they continue to spread the word about Avion Harvest organically – placing cold calls to retailers, setting up shop in grocery stores to demonstrate and sample their wares, and drawing attention to their website for more details and healthy recipes that food-conscious consumers can create with their natural ingredients. “What we are seeing more and more is that people are becoming more aware of what it is that they are eating,” says Pohl. “People want to reduce the amount of processed and refined foods in their diet and consume healthy, natural alternatives.” The trend has started to gain momentum in western Manitoba, with a number of bistros including Boissevain’s Sawmill, Souris’ Woodfire Deli, and Minnedosa’s Corner Stone Grill adopting a mantra of “real food, the way it was intended” as part of their staple menus. In addition, culinary tourism is also gaining popularity and this year a guide entitled “From Scratch” was produced jointly with a number of regional tourism associations in Manitoba to highlight dining experiences that offer this type of non-processed fare for their patrons. For more information on Avion Harvest and where you can get your hands on their product line, you can visit their website at www.avionharvest.com or find them on Facebook. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});