Westman Communications Group is excited to announce that its 2020 #ConnectingWestman initiative donated $19,500 to local communities in which they serve. This year Westman Communications Group was unable to take their annual #ConnectingWestman Tour on the road due to COVID-19 restrictions, so they decided to take it digital. “Taking our #ConnectingWestman initiative digital allowed us to get all 39 of our communities involved and provide them with a donation. It is evident that now more than ever, all our communities need our support, and we want to make sure they know we are here for them, and we are in this together,” said Chief Customer Officer John Quail. Westman Communications Group services 39 communities across Western Manitoba, and each one of these communities received a $500 donation to a charity of their choice. The digital initiative allowed members of each community to submit which charity they thought was deserving of the $500 donation. The charities that received the most submissions from each community were the winners of the $500 donation. The 2020 #ConnectingWestman winners from each community are: Brandon – Brandon Humane Society Binscarth – Binscarth Little Bloomers Daycare Birtle – Birtle Riverside Golf Course Boissevain – Boissevain & Morton Community Foundation Carberry – Art Sear Memorial Park Play Structure Fundraising Committee Dauphin – Parkland Humane Society Deloraine – Deloraine Winchester Historical Society Elkhorn – Elkhorn Elks Community Fund Erickson – Score Store, Inc. Forrest – Elton Community Centre Gilbert Plains – Gilbert Plains Drop-In Senior Center Gladstone – Gladstone District Museum Glenboro – Glenboro Gaiety Theatre Grandview – Watson Crossley Museum Hamiota – Hamiota Community Foundation Inglis – Inglis and District Community Club Killarney – Killarney Turtle Mountain Arts Council McCreary – McCreary Heritage Advisory Committee Melita – Melita Food Bank Minitonas – Minitonas & District Arena Minnedosa – Friends of Lake Minnedosa Minto – Minto Recreation Facilities Committee Neepawa – Neepawa Salvation Army Rapid City - Rapid City Regional Library Rivers – Riverdale Early Learning Centre Roblin – Roblin and District Food Bank Rossburn – Rossburn Senior Resource Russell – Expanding Community Cancer Care Project Sandy Lake – Sandy Lake Playground Project Shilo – One At A Time Rescue Shoal Lake – Senior Services of Prairie Parkland Inc. Souris – Souris Railway Museum St. Claude – St. Claude Wellness Center St. Lazare – St. Lazare Athletics Ste Rose – Ste Rose Food Bank Strathclair – Strathclair United Church Swan River – Swan Valley Animal Protection League Virden – Virden Area Foundation Westman Communications Group looks forward to taking their 2021 #ConnectingWestman Tour back on the road to visit three communities. For more information about the #ConnectingWestman initiative, visit westmancom.com/personal/connectingwestman/connectingwestman-tour

I Want That Stuff, a local collectables/gaming store, recently shared an announcement on their Facebook page that the store would be moving to a new location at the Just4Kidz building on Park Avenue. In conversation with bdnmb.ca earlier today, they said they are targeting an October 1st opening at the new address. They have been in business for 11 years, over 4 of those years at the 19th Street location. Ownership is extremely excited to be relocating for a number of reasons including being able to offer an expanded selection of merchandise and new systems to make your visit as excellent as possible. I Want That Stuff will occupy approximately 40% off the space in the building including 2,000 sq feet on the main floor for a gaming area and 2,500 sq feet on the upper level for inflatable axe throwing for kids and other interActive fun zone activities. Renovations are currently underway. For additional/updated information, please visit their Facebook page. Just4Kidz will continue to operate out of the address as well. Private parties and bookings will soon be available and a potential daycare is in the works.

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)