Teghan's top 5 things to do this weekend in and near Winnipeg (Sept. 1-4)
Comedy, art, music and drinks on Friday night and an all-weekend festival at Riding Mountain
Postpone your trip to the lake this weekend by a day and check out a very impressive lineup of music, comedy and art in the city.
Times Change(d) is having a New Orleans night with two sets to fit in either before or after your plans Friday night.
Wee Johnny's is bringing back a ton of funny female comics with a brand new host and the Wall-to-Wall mural festival is getting things started in West Broadway.
If you stay all weekend, Forth's rooftop patio is probably the best way to go. It should be a little quieter because of the long weekend, and they're even doing a Sunday brunch with music and drinks on their other street-side patio.
People with medium-aged kids might want to check out Clear Lake this weekend. They're doing a "dark sky" weekend with guided hikes, astronomy talks, an inflatable planetarium and more.
WHAT: MUSIC — New Orleans night at Times Changed
When: Friday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Where: Times Changed at 234 Main St.
Cost: $10
There'll be southern music, food and drink specials all night.
This one is divided into two shows. The early one starts at 7 p.m. and you can check out the brass band, and the late show will have both Sol James and the band.
I recommend showing up right on time for the late show so you get a good spot. It's a long weekend so you likely don't have to worry too much about this small space filling up.
WHAT: COMEDY — Women's Open Mic Comedy
When: Friday, Sept. 1 at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Wee Johnny's at 177 McDermot Ave.
Cost: Free
Dana Smith is out of town, but Women's Open Mic Comedy is still happening at Wee Johnny's this weekend.
In her place, Alex Ateah is hosting a full night of comedy.
These shows are always very funny, very packed and drinks and snacks are cheap.
Cover is free, but if you can bring a donation of pads, tampons or other hygiene products for local women's shelters, organizers would very much appreciate it.
This is a good one to check out before heading down to West Broadway for the mural fest launch or to Times Changed for music and drinks.
WHAT: PARTY — Wall-to-Wall Mural + Culture Festival Opening
When: Friday, Sept. 1 at 9 p.m.
Where: The Tallest Poppy at 685 Westminster Ave.
Cost: $5
My top pick this weekend is at The Tallest Poppy in West Broadway.
This Friday, they're celebrating a brand new public art piece by Katherina Vermette and kicking off the month-long Wall-to-Wall festival.
ANDY_2_K will be DJing and as usual this one will have food, drinks, gender-neutral washrooms and it's wheelchair accessible!
This party is basically just the starting point for 13 new contemporary art murals going up all month long, and a lot of really lovely people involved with the festival will be celebrating a year's worth of hard work.
WHAT: FOOD – Le Burger Week
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Where: Multiple locations
Cost: $9 to $18.95
The annual celebration of all things burger is at dozens of locations this year, including Bouchée Boucher, Miss Brown's, Sous Sol, deer + almond, The Handsome Daughter, Shawarma Khan and more.
Info on what burgers you can get where was scarce until Friday, but Shawarma Khan revealed early what they will be serving, and it sounds pretty epic.
It's called the True Shawarma Burger and it has red pepper bean hummus, a beef and lamb patty infused with falafel, garlic sauce, Sriracha coleslaw, pickled turnips and mozzarella.
Apparently it comes with more fries and extra garlic. Maybe stop there first?
WHAT: FAMILY – Dark Sky Weekend in Riding Mountain
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Where: Riding Mountain National Park
Cost: Free to $20
Riding Mountain is sending off summer with a night-time festival.
Dark Sky Weekend has free guided hikes, astronomy talks at the boat cove, a wildlife caravan tour, an inflatable planetarium and a nighttime photography workshop.
If you're going up without kids, there's also a boat party Friday night for $20.
And one more for the long weekend
WHAT: DRINKS – Forth rooftop patio
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday night
Where: Forth at 171 McDermot Ave.
Cost: About $8 to $12 for a cocktail
If you stay in town, take advantage of the less-packed patios this weekend.
My favourite right now is Forth's rooftop patio.
There's usually a couple of cocktail specials specifically for the roof, and if you're really very lucky, Mama Cutsworth will be there manning the bar and spinning records.
This one is better for smaller groups, unless you check out their Sunday brunch on the street patio. There'll be a DJ from 1 p.m. till 4 p.m. for that one.
