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Happy October, WPG! Whether you’ve been following our journey with We Heart Winnipeg, heard about us through a friend or found us on social media, we’re so glad you’re here for the inaugural edition of the WPG Pennant.

While we have plenty of exciting ideas and grand plans lined up for the coming weeks (and beyond), it all begins with this single newsletter going out to 10,554 of our closest friends. So sit back, relax and get to know your city a little bit better.

In today’s edition:

Let’s get to it!

— Ryan Bowman

🌡️ High 27 Low 14 💨 A mix of sun and cloud with wind south 30km/h gusting to 50

🌡️ High 28 Low 14 ☀️ Mostly sunny with cloud periods and a 30% chance of showers

🌡️ High 24 Low 12 ☁️ Mostly cloudy

In the past week alone, there have been some major star sightings in the city, including Kristen Bell (The Good Place, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and for those of you us old enough to remember, Veronica Mars) and David Harbour (Stranger Things, Hellboy, Black Widow), who took in a Jets game.

Both are in town filming Violent Night 2, a sequel to 2022’s action-packed Christmas comedy, which was also shot in Winnipeg.

This follows recent visits by Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler and John Travolta, not to mention early success for the Stephen King adaptation, The Long Road, which was shot in various locations across Manitoba. Then, of course, there’s the annual parade of Hallmark holiday productions taking over our city.

But buzzworthy as these ties to Tinseltown may be, their local impact goes far beyond celebrity fandom and photo ops.

According to a recent article in the Sun, “Manitoba’s film and television industry has contributed over $800 million to the province’s GDP and supported more than 11,000 full-time equivalent jobs” over the past five years.

Not too shabby for a city that’s a world away from the bright lights of Hollywood.

Based on some recent social media posts, it looks like a pair of iconic Winnipeg restaurants are expanding. Both Kevin’s Bistro and Stella’s Cafe have signage at the new development at the corner of Corydon and Wilton, making for some very difficult dining decisions in the near future.

Another new eatery appears to be nearing completion, this one in St. Vital. Forge Bagel Co., owned by a local father-daughter duo, promises handcrafted Polishire bagels (a fusion of Polish and English-style bagels) alongside cream cheeses, jams and - of course - coffee. Watch for their launch this fall at 100-692 St. Anne’s Rd.

The home of the Winnipeg Jets got even more Winnipeg-y this month, when Canada Life Centre introduced Market by Slurpee. In addition to serving up the city’s favourite slushy beverage, the self-serve kiosk sells a selection of other drinks and snacks. Slurpee Capital of the World indeed!

Other restaurant openings this fall include Aroma’s and Skyr at The Forks and Naan Culture at 20-1700 Corydon Ave.

Want to see your small business (or your favourite small business) featured here? Reach out to [email protected]

The Winnipeg Jets will start the 2025-2026 regular season shorthanded. Dylan Samberg, one of the team’s top defencemen, broke his wrist in Saturday ’s preseason game against the Calgary Flames and is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are back in the playoff picture after a dominant 40-3 win over the Hamilton Tiger Cats on Saturday. The Blue and Gold are now 8-7 and tied for third place in their division with three games left in the regular season.

From family-friendly attractions like Boo at the Zoo and Witchy Wonderland to jump-scare experiences like Farmageddon, Amaze In Corn’s Haunted Forest and Heebie Jeebies, there’s no shortage of ways to get spooked this October. Be sure to check out next week’s issue of the Pennant for our full guide to all things Halloween.

Culture Days Manitoba - highlighted by last weekend’s Nuit Blanche - features events at museums, art galleries and other cultural hubs across the province until Oct. 12. Check out the full schedule here.

Settle in as the sun slowly disappears beyond the horizon and thousands of birds begin landing on FortWhyte Alive’s lakes at sunset. More info here.

To submit future event listings, shoot us an email at [email protected]

In our introduction email last week, we asked you to share your single favourite thing about Winnipeg. Your responses covered everything from the year-round events and activities to the local food scene to our “built-in resiliency” (great phrase, Rob!)

Here are a few of the answers in full:

“I love how we’re totally cool making fun of ourselves and have that self deprecating humour, but the minute an outsider talks sh*t, we aren’t having any of it and will defend our city to the death.” - Craig

“One of my favourite things about Winnipeg are so many incredible makers and creatives like YOU!! Shop local for life.” - Pamela

“How it feels like a small town. Everyone seems to know everyone in some way. I’m constantly discovering connections in this city and I think it’s so cool!” - Kayla

“One of the things I absolutely love about Winnipeg is driving through the Exchange District. It’s my “scenic” route home. All of the old architecture and little alleyways remind me of when I vistied England and Victoria, BC. It’s like you can hear the history, not to mention feel it.” - Marcia

“My favourite thing about Winnipeg is how many Winnipeggers choose to embrace our perfectly imperfect city, and consciously make a choice to love it and look for the positives and ways they can make a difference. (Big thanks to you folks who are doing just that!) - Emma

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading the first-ever WPG Pennant in full! As always, feel free to tell a friend and submit your story ideas.

Til next time, Long live local✌️