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Gallery: A royal goodbye for Queen Elizabeth II

The world gave a final farewell to the longest serving monarch of Great Britain and the Commonwealth of Nations today, with a funeral for Queen Elizabeth II that drew presidents, prime ministers and monarchs from other royal houses.

Throngs of mourners in Britain lines the streets as the Queen's coffin and funeral procession, which arrived at the west gate of the Westminster Abbey shortly before the service, which took place at 11 a.m. local time.

Canada's longest-serving head of state died on Sept. 8 at her holiday home of Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands at the age of 96, setting off 10 days of national mourning in the United Kingdom, and in all the countries that called her Queen.

The following are images gathered from our wire services from this morning's funeral and the funeral procession.

Brandon Humane Society surpasses fundraising goal at Wag-A-Tail

They may have run out of hot dogs, but there were plenty of happy dogs to be found at Brandon Humane Society’s Wag-A-Tail Walk-A-Thon this weekend at the Riverbank Discovery Centre.

Powwow returns to Sioux Valley

Paris Thompson, of Winnipeg, dances while waiting to take part in the Grand Entry at the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Powwow Friday evening.

The dynamic piano duo

The chamber music festival continues at Brandon University’s Lorne Watson Recital Hall with a performance by duo pianists Madeline Hildebrand and Everett Hopfner tonight, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Brandon Sun editor Matt Goerzen managed to catch up with the piano duo on Monday afternoon as they put in some practice time at the hall, playing La Valse by Maurice Ravel, and ironing out their upcoming performance.

Included are some of the images from that photo shoot.

Renowned Canadian tenor James McLennan will also be performing Wednesday evening (accompanied by pianist Laura Loewen and guest vocalist Lara Ciekiewitz).

A time for prayer

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, following months of military build up along the Russian-Ukrainian border. Since then, Canadians of Ukrainian descent have been gathering together to show solidarity with the homeland of their parents, grandparents and ancestors. 

In response to the Russian invasion of the country the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada has blessed all churches to be active centres of prayer and “havens for the storm-tossed” to provide solace to communities.

Here in Brandon, parishioners gathered at the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Sunday evening for a prayer service and candle light vigil in support of Ukraine.

The Brandon Sun's Chelsea Kemp was in attendance. 

Convoy to Ottawa

Hundreds of Westman residents endured an extreme cold warning on Tuesday morning to come out and watch the Freedom Rally convoy drive through Brandon.

The convoy started passing by the intersection of 18th Street and the Trans-Canada Highway around 11:30 a.m. and was still going by the time the Sun left the scene around 12:15 p.m.

This group of truckers is hoping to reach Ottawa this upcoming weekend, with the aim of convincing the federal government to do away with COVID-19 vaccine mandates across the board.

» The Brandon Sun

The Sun’s top photos of 2021: Matt Goerzen

For those of you who notice bylines on photos in the Sun, you may see my name attached to a photo or two now and again. I try to keep my hand in it, when time allows, or when necessity demands it.

One of the things you may notice about the images I take is that I tend to look to the skies for inspiration. Sunsets, the stars, even the birds in the skies -- I love to take the time for what has become a bit of a public hobby of mine.

I find it a way to relax outside of my time in the office or at home with the kids. Sometimes I even get to annoy the kids by taking them along with me.

But I feel privileged when I have the chance to share that hobby with Sun readers. So here are my favourite images of 2021. I'm looking forward to 2022 already.

From the porch light

Following the unseasonably warm weather Manitoba enjoyed in November, winter has offered up a rudely cold awakening this December as the temperatures have dipped below -20 C much of this week. 

While I am no fan of the extra-chilly weather, I must admit to being pleased with the dropping mercury as it allows me to enjoy the frosted-over windows of my porch every winter. 

There is so much variety in the swirls, fans and forms that take shape on the window panes when the temperatures drop below -20 C, and it's always a pleasure to shoot with my macro lens. I like to think of it as nature's cold-weather easel.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Around Westman for Halloween

Though the day was a bit cool, cloudy and windy, there was plenty of Halloween fun to be had on Oct. 31, which fell on a Sunday this year.

Camera in hand, Sun journalist Chelsea Kemp spent much of her day in search of spooky celebrations around Westman on Sunday, stopping by the Calvary Temple Halloween Fun Stop to take in the petting zoo and free barbecue. She also made it out to Rivers and the Lucky Break Ranch Halloween Jackpot Race, where dressed up contestants and their horses competed in barrel racing events.

And of course, what Halloween is complete without kids and costumes in Brandon for the annual trick or treat call on city doorsteps?

Gotta love the spooky stuff.

Midsummer rising

The summer solstice, also known as "midsummer," takes place when one of the Earth's poles is tilted toward the sun at its maximum degree. In the northern hemisphere here in Canada, it is counted as the longest day of the year, and marks the beginning of our summer season.

Sun photographer Tim Smith headed out early on Monday morning to capture the rising sun on the day of solstice — June 21 — at the Richardson Pioneer Grain Terminal at Kemnay, west of Brandon, and was greeted with a mostly clear sunrise and a gorgeous summer sky. 

New life for Sacred Heart

Built in 1953, the former Sacred Heart Ukrainian Catholic Church in Erickson is listed as an historic site in Manitoba, though it no longer functions as a working place of worship. 

Thanks to Onanole residents Steve and Reghan Langston, who purchased the structure, the former church will have new life as an event space for weddings, concerts and other events. 

Sun photographer Tim Smith caught up with the Langston's this week to see the ongoing renovations to the building.

Freeze frame

During this latest cold snap I once again had the chance to use my macro lens to capture the magic of Jack Frost on the windows of my home's front porch. Every time the mercury plunges, the designs change, and it's a fun hobby to look for patterns and shapes in the frost. With outdoor temperatures reaching into the -30s over the last few nights, it's the perfect time to watch the sunrise from my front steps.

This week's deep freeze won't last long, as the forecast calls for more comfortable January temperatures by Thursday and Friday. While it lasts, I offer up my latest window pane portraits. 

Hook, line and sinker

One of the joys of the winter weather for many Manitoba anglers is the chance to get out onto the province's frozen lakes and rivers for a little ice fishing. The water is cold, and thus the fish are tasty. 

I caught up with Tyler Baker on Tuesday when I found him in his tent on the Assiniboine River near the Riverbank Discovery Centre. The ice was thick, and the weather was perfect. Though he hadn't had much luck when I arrived — and didn't for the half hour I spoke with him out on the ice — the day before he had caught four walleye at the same spot. 

The young Brandon man is an enthusiastic cold-weather fisher. I hope he had better luck after I left. 

FROSTY PATTERNS

Though the extreme cold that blanketed the Prairies over the weekend was an unpleasant reminder of just how frigid Canadian winters can be, there can be a few side benefits to the chilly air. When the temperatures fall below -20 C, the windows of my unheated porch become Mother Nature's canvasses, as frosty patterns swirl around the glass panes. Here is a selection of images taken with a macro lens over the weekend.

2018 Krug nominees

The 16 finalists for the 61st annual H.L. (Krug) Crawford Award, which is emblematic of sporting excellence in southwestern Manitoba.

Downtown Burning

Brandonites watched in horror and shock on Saturday as fires tore through several downtown buildings, destroying the Christie's Office Plus building on Pacific Avenue, and severely damaging the Massey Manor residence across the street, as well as a former night club and beer vendor on Rosser Avenue across from The Brandon Sun building.

Brandon Sun managing editor Matt Goerzen, reporter Michael Lee and others took these images from that devastating afternoon.

Beauty vs Brawn

On Tuesday, skaters hit the ice at the Keystone Centre in two very different competitions. At Kinsmen Arena, figure skaters performed during Skate Brandon's Rockin' the 80's year-end ice show. Not far away, at Westoba Place, the Brandon Wheat Kings defeated the Saskatoon Blades 5-3 in WHL action. (Photos by Tim Smith)

Dig those dance moves

The annual Brandon Festival of the Arts has been showcasing the wonderful performance skills of participating dances, speech artists, instrumentalists and choirs from our region since mid-February. Last week Brandon Sun photographer Tim Smith took in various dance performances at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium. Here is a sample of what he saw through the lens.

Olympics Day 6

Canada added another gold to its collection with a first-place finish in speed skating by Ted-Jan Bloemen, who set a new Olympic record in the men’s 10,000-metre speed skating event. It was one of three medals on Day 6 of the games in South Korea. The second medal, a bronze, for Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford in pairs figure skating. Canada also won a silver in luge in the team relay event. On the ice it was a good day for Team Canada's hockey teams as the women's team defeated the United States 2-1 while the men defeated the Swiss team 5-1. It wasn't the best start for Team Homan, however, as her curling team lost their first two games to Korea and Sweden.

Olympics Day 5

Kevin Koe and his curling team hit the ice in South Korea for the first day of the team curling event at the 2018 Olympics. Canadian doubles lugers Tristan Walker and Justin Snith didn't land on the podium. Sitting in fourth after the first run, the pair lost speed halfway through their final run and had to settle for a fifth-place finish. They'll get another shot at the medal on Thursday.

35 must-see photos from the Olympics so far

Canadians Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris took home Canada's third gold in mixed doubles curling after defeating the Swiss pair 10-3. Lawes and Morris dominated the match from the first stone. It was over in just six ends.

Check out more photos from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Green Pages

EXPOSURE: After the Storm

One week ago, on the evening of Saturday, July 13, the community of Pipestone received the brunt of a powerful storm that pressed through to western Manitoba from Saskatchewan.In less than half-an-hour powerful winds destroyed buildings and homes, flipped vehicles and trailers, toppled gravestones, brought trees and hydro poles crashing down and caused other widespread damage.Brandon Sun reporter Graeme Bruce and I were already pulling into Souris on Highway 2 in anticipation of what weather radar predicted could be a powerful storm when we received word that Pipestone had been hit and damage was widespread. We arrived in town approximately an hour after the storm. I spent the next three days, two with Graeme, wandering the streets of Pipestone and the surrounding area talking to residents and documenting the destruction.The first night we were there everyone gathered in groups surveying the damage and swapping stories of what they had just been through. Pipestone was full of out-of-towners in for the Pipestone Fun Days and despite the damage and the shock many kept the positive atmosphere of the fun days going by candlelight or car headlights. By the next morning everyone was in clean up mode pulling together to help those who needed it most. As word got out about the storm, volunteers began to pour in and by Monday the town already looked different than in the days previous with many of the large trees that had fallen removed and debris cleaned up.For this weeks Exposure I wanted to create a portrait of the community and the volunteers that is different from the hundreds of images of the destruction and clean-up I had taken for the daily paper.I decided to create a series of portraits of the clean-up effort by combining digital and analog tools. I used both a Canon 5DIII digital SLR camera and my wife's old Rolleiflex twin-lens-reflex medium-format film camera to create the images. They may remind some photo enthusiasts of the filter effects that can be applied to digital photos using camera-phone apps such as Hipstamatic and Instagram but they took a great deal more effort to create.I mounted the Rolleiflex (circa 1960's) on a tripod and using a black shirt to block out the sunlight I pointed my digital camera down at the top-level viewfinder on the Rollei and photographed portraits of the subjects I had framed within.The Rollieflex viewfinder displays images backwards so the images you see are actually flipped 180 degrees along the horizontal plane from how they were in reality.So with the Rollie on a tripod in one hand and my digital SLR in the other I walked around the town meeting people and explaining my project. Despite being very busy with the clean-up almost everyone I met generously gave a few minutes of their time so I could take their photo.The RM of Pipestone has had an unfair share of bad luck when it comes to weather events this year. Here's hoping they catch a break.

Aerial flight over Ochre Beach Ice Shove

The phenomenon known as an ice shove damaged and destroyed 27 properties on the southern shore of Dauphin Lake at Ochre Beach. Described by some as an 'ice tsunami,' Ice Shoves have also recently destroyed or threatened property in Lake Mille Lacs, Minn., Lake Winnebago, Wis., Alberta Beach, Alta., and Lake Champlain, N.Y. These aerial photographs were taken three days after event.

--Files from Bartley Kives and Larry Kusch.