In the past few months, we have introduced readers to several under-the-radar, road trip worthy restaurants serving up some unique and wonderful food. The canteen, located inside the Oak Lake arena 35 minutes from Brandon, is another must-visit restaurant worth getting into your car for. Marge Van Meer has been running the restaurant at this location since 2016. Open year round the menu has a little bit of everything, including breakfast and daily lunch specials. The canteen is best known (in the local hockey community) for making an amazing home-made rink burger. Once a week, on Friday, the restaurant likes to serve up a Bannock inspired menu. Marge tells bdnmb.ca that she started running the weekly Bannock specials, with the assistance of Lola, in May of this year. Among the featured items is a perfectly grilled, juicy, mouth watering bison Bannock burger and an absolutely delicious Bannock taco.  Several dessert options are also available: Bannock bliss: fried Bannock with a cherry, blueberry, or apple topping, & whipped cream Elephant ears: fried Bannock served with cinnamon and sugar Hours of operation: Open 7 days a week: 7:30 am-1 pm, 4 pm-6 pm Dine-in or takeout. For updates on daily lunch specials, or scheduled bannock days, please visit this link. As with most small town restaurants, the service is always friendly and the food always reasonably priced.

If you are looking for a family day trip that won't break the bank then you need to check out CJ's Snack Shack and Mini Golf.  Located at Rivers Provincial Park (beach and campground), CJ's has been in operation for approximately 25 years now. Lorne & Sue Green have operated the business since the summer of 2015. The couple told bdnmb.ca that one of the first things they did when taking over the business was to expand the menu. The burgers, perogies, and mozza sticks are all homemade and the fries are hand-cut daily. They recently added several flavors of wings to the menu. In addition to all the hot food, CJ's also offers a variety of ice cream treats like hard ice cream, floats, milkshakes, deep fried ice cream, and a funnel cake sundae. One of the first things you will notice about Cj's Snack Shack and Mini Golf, in addition to the outstanding customer service, is how reasonably priced everything is. The food portions are not only large but also very easy on the wallet. A round of mini golf is only $5 for adults and $3 for children. Cj's Snack Shack and Mini Golf has a number of activities for visitors to participate in including an 18-hole mini golf course. Kayak and paddle boat rentals (life-jackets provided) are also available for rent by the hour, for those looking to spend a relaxing afternoon on the lake. Hours of Operation: Daily from 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/cjssnackshack/ CJ’s Snack Shack and Mini Golf is open from mid-May to mid-September.

August 14.2020 BRANDON, MB – The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Manitoba Ag Ex.which was scheduled for the last week of October 2020. “The health and safety of our community is of the utmost importance,” said Greg Crisanti, President. Due to the current health concerns related to the global pandemic of COVID-19, as well as the provincially mandated regulations for public health and safety, the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba made this difficult decision. Already having to cancel the Flagship event, Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, and Manitoba Summer Fair, as well as Midway Madness and numerous events in the Dome Building, our board decided this is the most fiscally and socially responsible action to take at this time. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic some hard decisions were made to change the format of Ag Ex for 2020, but we remained cautiously optimistic we would be able to proceed with some form of livestock show for Manitoba Ag Ex. We have worked closely with other fairs and our exhibitors to monitor the situation and adjust plans as we could. The current evolving situation and the regulations for public safety mean we must step back. The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba will continue to monitor the evolving COVID situation and will update the public on the status of future events. The cancellation of Ag Ex, our final event of the year, impacts the Cattle industry greatly. The opportunity to showcase and market cattle at this event is yet another hit to the cattle producers, the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba and the community as a whole. “What’s even more difficult is this doesn’t just affect our organization. There are many businesses who rely on our events to generate revenue to support their families,” said Crisanti, “we are intertwined with the fabric of the community in so many ways. Everyone is hurting right now and while we want to help our community through celebration, we cannot commit to that right now.” The sponsors of all the events of the Provincial Exhibition are part of our community that have also been impacted tremendously by this pandemic. Our heartfelt thank you to every sponsor, every exhibitor and all the community members that support us, and our commitment to do all we can to be here to bring you the events our community needs when the time is right. Crisanti added, “None of our events could happen without the dedication and hard work of the staff at the Provincial Exhibition, as well as the countless volunteers, so I’d like to extend a heartfelt thanks to each one of them.” The Events hosted by the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba were expected to generate more than $18 million in economic impact for the community in 2020. These events and activities also create hundreds of jobs, including first-time job opportunities for many youths. The Provincial Exhibition is working closely with the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions (CAFE) to advocate to the federal government for financial support to continue the legacy of events like this. “Our industry has a very short seasonal window that has now all but passed. Events specifically have one shot to generate revenue for the next 365 days and we’ve lost that, this is particularly challenging operating as a non-profit,” says Christina Franc, Executive Director of CAFE, “this is why we are calling on the government to provide federal support to our industry. Recovery is going to start local, and that’s us so we need to make sure we are there and ready when the time is right.” Nevertheless, the Provincial Exhibition will do everything in its power to continue to bring high quality community events for years to come, continuing to be an integral part of the community as we have been for more than 138 years. “We are committed to producing the events our community needs, but when the time is right,” says Crisanti. (submitted)

Victoria Mini Mart is now open for business at 510-1st Street in Brandon. The locally owned/operated convenience store stocks a range of everyday items for people on the go such as snack foods, confectionery, grocery, lottery tickets, soft drinks, tobacco products, movie rentals, ice-cream and more.

The Community Health and Housing Association Westman Region (CHHA Westman) through the Global Kitchen is proud to announce that we are a recipient of the Westoba Inspire Program through Westoba Credit Union (WCU). “Projects like the Global Kitchen are such an important resource for Brandon in the multi-use it provides.” said-Reta Saborowski, WCU Community Investment Committee Chair.-“Westoba recognizes the need for these types of community infrastructure projects now more than ever.” The Global Kitchen is a community program that CHHA Westman built in 2015 that provides an inclusive setting to prepare, learn about, and produce food in a community setting.  The funds received from Westoba Inspire will be utilized to upgrade the Global Kitchen into a space where CHHA staff can interact, and prepare healthy food with clients, for clients, and the community.  Food prepared will be available for clients, Sober Rocks Health and Recovery Centre which includes Brandon’s first Sober Bar (currently under renovation), low-income families, and given to individuals and/or families staying in CHHA Emergency Homeless shelters. “The Global Kitchen is more than just preparing and providing food.  It provides opportunities for individuals to meet and develop new relations, share their heritage, cultures, experiences and help build understanding and acceptance between people of diverse backgrounds while increasing food security in our community,” said Stephanie Lockerby, CHHA Assistant Regional Manager. (submitted)