What's Up – Winnipeg Free Press

Opportunities knock for X Ambassadors

X Ambassadors

Burton Cummings Theatre

Saturday, 8:00 p.m

Tickets: $54.50-$66.75 at ticketmaster.ca

A big break in music sometimes allows the right people to hear the right song at the right time.

That moment of fate happened in 2013 for X Ambassadors, a Brooklyn rock band playing the Burton Cummings Theater on a Saturday night.

Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds was at a hospital in Norfolk, Va., where he first heard X Ambassadors. Can't be consoled on an alternative radio station and urged his band's record label to sign the band immediately.

The quartet, which includes brothers Sam and Casey Harris and drummer Adam Levine, has gained traction since that brief introduction, racking up 1.3 billion streams on Spotify across five EPs and four albums, including X Ambassadors' latest record, TawnyReleased on April 5.

– Alan Jr

Mushrooms and Manitoba Maple Syrup

Richardson Interpretive Center, FortWhyte Alive, 1961 McCreary Road

Saturday, 1-2.30

Cost is included with general admission ($12 for adults 18-64; $11 for 65+; $10 for children 3 to 17) and free for members and Indigenous people.

You can learn how to grow mushrooms and harvest your own maple syrup.

During this 90-minute workshop led by expert Ken Fosti, participants will be taught how to “plant” mushroom spawn and grow their own shiitake mushrooms on oak logs.

The second part of the workshop will cover how to make syrup from native Manitoba maple and birch trees. Participants will learn to identify trees and choose the right one to tap before tapping the trees, boiling the sap, bottling and storing the syrup.

The workshop is recommended for adults and children over 10 years old.

Mushroom growing kits and wooden taps will be available for sale after the demonstration.

— AV Kitching

Luckygirl pop-up

Centennial Concert Hall

Sunday, from 11:00 to 17:00

Tickets: $8.50 at centennialconcerthall.com

This weekend, Centennial Concert Hall hosts the Luckygirl Spring Pop Up, a vibrant gathering celebrating creativity and community while supporting local businesses. From 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., more than 140 local producers and artisans will be on display, showcasing a variety of products and experiences.

Fashion lovers can explore the latest fashion trends from Hafsa or Sarah Sue Design, while art lovers can find interesting pieces from Black Artists WPG. And for coffee lovers, Bricolage Coffee Roasters offers aromatic brews.

Tickets are available on the Centennial Concert Hall website.

— Thandi Vera

A new collection of the poet was published

Chimewemwe Undi Book Launch

McNally Robinson Booksellers, Grant Park location (1120 Grant Ave.)

Tuesday, 19.00

Free admission

A Winnipeg poet on the verge of receiving the University of Manitoba's Alumni Honors is releasing his first collection of poetry.

Chimwemwe Undi (also a lawyer), who won the John Hirsch Emerging Writer Award from the 2022 Manitoba Book Awards, has released his collection. Scientific wonder Tuesday at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson Booksellers' Grant Park location, she will be speaking with Charlene Diehl, director of the Winnipeg International Writers' Festival.

Poems inside Scientific wonderPosted by House of Anansi Press on April 2 , Race, Gender, History, Immigration, and More. explore all kinds of concepts, all based on real place meanings, and what it means to write about Winnipeg about Winnipeggers. (The collection's title refers to the now-shuttered downtown beauty school.)

Admission to Undi's book launch is free; The event will also be broadcast on McNally Robinson's YouTube channel.

— Ben Sigurdson

Sustainable fashion is on the runway

Canadian Museum of Human Rights, 85 Israel Asper Way

Sunday, from 11.00 to 16.00

Free admission

Fast fashion is at this weekend's interactive runway show.

Organized by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the Manitoba International Cooperation Council, the event will feature games, workshops and exhibits aimed at educating visitors about the social and environmental harms of cheap, luxury clothing.

Local designers Andreanne Muller Dandeno, Lennard Taylor and Sarah Sue will share their insights on sustainability in the apparel industry during a fashion show of their latest collections in Bonney and John Butler Hall beginning at 1 p.m.

After the show, guests are invited to participate in hands-on demonstrations of sewing, mending, beading and dyeing with environmentally friendly dyes.

The event comes ahead of Fashion Revolution Week, an annual global campaign to promote luxury consumerism, which runs from April 15-24.

– Eva Vosni

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Alan Jr
Reporter

Alan Small has been a journalist with the Free Press for over 22 years in various roles, most recently as a reporter for Arts and Life.

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Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer

Ben Sigurdson edits the books section of the Free Press and also writes about wine, beer and spirits.

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Jen Zoratti
Appraiser

Jen Zoratti is a Winnipeg Free Press columnist and author of the NEXT newsletter, a weekly look at the post-pandemic future.

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