Rural Roundup for Oct. 19, 2023

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This article was published 19/10/2023 (1064 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RUSSELL

The Russell Beef and Barley festival celebrated 50 years earlier this month. Since 1973, the event has been a major one for the community, said Sadie McCauley, who was involved with planning the festival.

Highlighting the town’s deep agricultural roots, beef and barley was chosen as the festival’s theme when it first began to celebrate and honour the area’s high-quality farm production, with special emphasis on the beef and barley industries. The event was first spearheaded by Art Kinney, the then-mayor of Russell, along with a small group of community members.

A group begins planning the celebration in early March each year. That group has grown along with the event, which has turned into a homecoming celebration for the community. More volunteers are always welcome McCauley said.

“It takes a village to make it all come together.”

The festival has offered a large variety of events throughout the years, including a cabaret, pancake breakfast, cribbage tournament and volleyball tournaments, soap box derbies, midways, mini casinos and more.

Since its inception, the festival has been involved in a bonspiel, bike-a-thon, and a homemade beer contest, including other events that no longer run. But one thing that has not changed is the welcoming atmosphere of the event, McAuley said.

“The homecoming spirit has always remained the same.”

This year’s event included a scarecrow contest, a tradeshow, a touch-a-truck and a cabaret. The pancake breakfast and Russel Lions Club Car Rally also returned, and a much-looked-forward-to event was the Charity Buckin’ Rodeo, where local “celebrities” rode for their favourite charity or local organization. A newcomer welcome reception was also part of the festival.

» Crossroads This Week

VIRDEN

The Sound of Freedom opened at the Derrick Theatre in Virden last month and, during the two nights of showing, delivered a message about human trafficking.

The movie is based on the true story of a U.S. federal agent’s quest to rescue and free children who had fallen victim to human traffickers. Local Virden-area resident Nicole Hunter said that she is living proof that what happened in the Hollywood blockbuster can also happen closer to home.

Now a member of the victim services team of the Joy Smith Foundation (JSF), Canada’s leading authority on the prevention and intervention of human trafficking, Hunter was a victim of human trafficking for two years just over 13 years ago.

“People need to open up and talk about the hard stuff,” said Hunter, who realized she had been trafficked after hearing Joy Smith speak at the Virden Alliance Church. “It was the first time I had acknowledged what happened to me.”

People often don’t think human trafficking can happen in their community, said Janet Campbell, chief executive officer of the JSF.

“Of the 7,000 case files that have gone across my desk, I can tell you that this can happen to any family in any part of Canada,” she said. “It is not someone else’s problem. Children are being bought and sold for sexual services on a daily basis.”

With today’s social media connections, a victim can be approached in under two minutes, and kids can be convinced to meet a perpetrator in person in just 18 minutes of an online encounter.

The best defence against human trafficking is a good offense, Campbell said, and all communities — especially rural ones — should play a pivotal role in fighting human trafficking, as they are usually more close-knit and in a better position to know if someone or something seems off.

» Crossroads This Week

KILLARNEY

The Performing Arts Series hosted by the Killarney-Turtle Mountain Arts Council will start this month on Oct. 21.

Arts Administrator Giselle Beaupre says she’s excited to bring this series of entertainment to Killarney.

“All of these concerts will be held at the Killarney Legion. The tickets are each $30, but we are selling a series pass of $75,” she said.

In addition to the four concerts at the Royal Canadian Legion, two coffee houses will be hosted at the Oak & Owl Café. The first one was held on Oct. 7, and the second will take place on Nov. 4.

On Oct. 21, Jake Vaadeland and the Sturgeon River Boys will play rockabilly music at 7 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion. On Nov. 4, Greg Personius will bring his classic country style to the Oak & Owl Café; tickets will cost $20. Notas de Quatro, a Latin jazz ensemble, will play at 7 p.m. at the legion on Jan. 17, and Chase Padgett 6 Guitars, a musical comedy group, will perform at the legion on March 16 at 7 p.m.

» DiscoverWestman.com

 

Country musician Brett Kissel is coming to Killarney for another summer concert.

The third annual Killarney Community Events Committee (KCEC) concert is scheduled for July 6 of next year. The first two KCEC concerts landed on Canada Day, with the Hunter Brothers headlining in 2022 and The Reklaws in 2023.

With Canada Day falling on a Monday this coming summer, committee members decided to keep the concert on a weekend, and go with the following Saturday.

Kissel is among a long list of other artists at the event, and boasts three platinum and 10 gold singles, two gold-certified albums, and 16 top-ten radio hits. He also toured with Garth Brooks and Brad Paisley.

The rest of last year’s lineup will also perform next year, including Justin LaBrash, Hicktown, Tangle Box, and Sentinel, and new acts will be the Mike Sacharko Band, a 2023 Manitoba Country Music Awards nominee.

» Killarney Guide

SANDY LAKE

Larry and Irish Andreychuk managed to grow several large pumpkins this year, with the biggest weighing 320 pounds.

With the help of their son Jason, the Andreychuks got the pumpkin onto a skid and then moved it with the help of a Swinger wheel loader onto the farm’s platform scale.

While busy with farming and producing large quantities of honey, Larry said they took on the project just for the fun of it. Every fall, Andreychuk’s bees make the trip to Penticton, B.C., where they overwinter far away from cold Prairie winters.

“While we were there, I met a fellow from Summerland, B.C., who offered us some seeds, harvested from a 1,026-pound pumpkin that he had grown. Growing big pumpkins is like a competitive sport around there,” he said.

The seeds — which were longer than a loonie — made the trek home and Irish started some in the greenhouse this past spring. When the seedlings were deemed big enough and the weather was just right, Larry planted them in the garden, where the soil had been fertilized without the use of chemicals but with plenty of well-aged cow manure.

When the plants were in flower, Larry let the bees do their job to assist with pollination.

“I was told that each flower needs 13 bee visits to properly pollinated a large pumpkin,” he said.

From sprouting to harvesting, the pumpkins take about 120 days to mature, and during that time, they also need plenty of sunshine and lots of water, which was pumped from Jackfish Lake. Steady watering was crucial to keep the soil moist but not soggy, which can cause rot.

Pruning was also important so that the plants’ energy would go to the pumpkins and not a proliferation of leaves and vines.

“I did three prunings, removing 20-foot-long vines, in an effort to maintain about a 50 foot circle,” Larry said. “Some of the competitive pumpkin growers roll their pumpkins to keep them from getting too misshapen by their own weight, but we were afraid to do that for fear of damaging the vine or stem. Instead, we just watched them grow and we figure the flat side will be good for designing the jack-o-lantern’s face.”

The biggest and best pumpkins are going to the couple’s sons, Jeremy, Jason and Ryan, to decorate with their families for fall and Halloween. After that, they’ll remain where they are for the birds and deer to eat. Then, Larry will do it all again next year.

“We’ll save some seeds for next year, and maybe start them a little bit earlier,” he said. “We’re also willing to share some of our seed, if anyone else wants to try it for themselves next year.”

» Minnedosa Tribune

NEEPAWA

Students at Neepawa Middle School (NMS) learned about democracy and how elections work — and the improtance of participating in them — at the start of the month.

On Oct. 2, all the classes at the NMS staged a student vote for the Manitoba election. JoAnne Freeman’s Grade 6 class was responsible for organizing the election, which was structured like the real one, including having the students serve as voting officers, registration agents and clerks. Freeman said it was very important to teach the students the exact government structure of an election.

The classes were also encouraged to research the local candidates to make informed choices at the ballot box. Results of the student election put Progressive Conservative Jody Byram in at the top with 239 votes; Richard Davies, the Liberal candidate, in second with 53 votes; Keystone Party candidate Mark Wilson at third with 55 votes; New Democratic Party candidate Danica Wiggins trailing with 45 votes. There were no declined ballots and 11 rejected ballots.

» Neepawa Banner & Press