Explore Moose Jaw 2023

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Editor’s Note

12th edition

Residents & Vis ors Guide

20 23

468 High St W Moose Jaw, SK. S6H 1T3

306-694-1322 Fax: 888-241-5291

jritchie@moosejawtoday.com

Special Thanks to all who contributed their time, effort and knowledge to this project:

Editorial: Joan Ritchie, Gordon Edgar, Jason Antonio, Randy Palmer, April Meersman, Chris Istace

Sales: Wanda Hallborg, Gladys Baigent-Therens, Kevin Ogle, Rob Ritchie

Design: Sandra Stewart

The contents of this publication are the property of Moose Jaw Express. Reproduction of any of the contents of this publication including, but without limiting the generality of the following: photographs, artwork and graphic designs, is strictly prohibited. There shall be no reproduction without the Express written consent of the publisher. (rob@mjvexpress.com) All ads are published in good faith without verification, and the Moose Jaw Express does not under any circumstances accept responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise of any ads or messages in any of the publications editions. The Moose Jaw Express specifically disclaims all and any liability to advertisers and readers of any kind for loss or damages of any nature what so ever and however arising, whether due to inaccuracy, error, omission of any other cause.

Time doesn’t stand still. The years come and go and again we at the Moose Jaw Express and MooseJawToday.com bring you our annual offering of this year’s Explore Moose Jaw 2022-23. The magazine is a special publication for those within our community, as well as visitors, to encourage people to get out and experience all there is to see and do within our region.

Moose Jaw is steeped in historic charm and there’s lots going-on for people of all ages. Sometimes exploring one’s own community and area can open our eyes to the jewel of a province we live in and the allure it has to bring visitors back time and time again. Although we all marvel at the grandeur of the mountains, the beauty here on the prairies is breathtaking…the beautiful fields of clover, canola and flax during the growing season create a magnificent vista against our living skies, and the magnificent juxtaposition of the golden wheat fields during fall harvest positioned against a harvest moon create beauty beyond belief. As spring is a time of renewal, winter holds a new focus on life and the special activities of that season. Experience all this and more in Moose Jaw and area!

But again I must say, the people here on the prairies and right here in Moose Jaw are truly the salt of the earth and our greatest resource. I am so proud of their enduring optimism and the pride they hold in our province’s heritage as a welcoming and all-inclusive province. With happy hearts, we are willing to embrace anyone who is willing to embrace us.

I am hoping that through these pages, you will find jewels to visit that will create marvelous memories to remember. Hope to see you soon!

Joan Ritchie

Joan Ritchie

COMPLIMENTARY BROUGHTTOYOUBY MOOSEJAWBUSINESSES

4. What’s Inside?

6. Visitors Information

CHURCHES

8. Church Listings

10. The Salvation Army in Moose Jaw

11. Service Clubs

MURALS OF MOOSE JAW

12. Moose Jaw Downtown & Murals Map

13. Tourist Guide: Murals Locations

17. Grand murals depict early life of community

SHOP LOCAL

18. Wandering Market, growing a community organically

19. Parsons Dietrich Pottery Studio: Creativity at its best

20. Against the Grain Artisian Gallery and Tattoo

What’sinside?

21. Discover fresh, local, artisnal goods at Moose Jaw’s Farmer’s Market

23. Hub Meat Market: providing premium proteins in Moose Jaw for over 100 years

24. “Gifts galore from ceiling to floor”: Past Times Photography & Gifts full of unique decor

PEOPLE’S CHOICE

25. Jaymin Stewart, owner, mom, local artist with a non-traditional passion for outfits that help keep women truly “One of a Kind”

SASKATCHEWAN’S OWN BREW

26. Popular Ogema train tours now offering Harry Potter - and craft beer-themed trips

27. Savouring Spirits Local Distilleries

30. Eat in Moose Jaw

31. Bevies Moose Jaw

32. Lumsden’s Over the Hill Orchards and Winery combines tasty meals with beautiful sights

AROUND THE REGION

33. Southwest Saskatchewan home to Earth’s largest glacial push hills

34. How to visit Saskachewan’s famous sand dunes from Moose Jaw

35. Buffalo Pound - Moose Jaw’s favourite holiday destination

37. Duck Mountain Provincial Park - from resort to wilderness camping experience

38. Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park and Historic Fort Walsh

SUMMER IN MOOSE JAW

40. Wholesome family fun at Moose Jaw’s Hometown Fair

41. Homestead concert a true Moose Jaw - grown party for charity

42. Car Shows During Summer Months

44. Sidewalk Days: The Moose Jaw summer festival you absolutely cannot miss

45. Calling all bookworms: The Saskatchewan Festival of Words awaits!

46. Park Art by the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery is a perfect Canada Day

MORE AROUND THE REGION

47. Grab a cup of culture at the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery

49. Mortlach Military Museum features nearly 1,000 model planes and vehicles

50. St. Victor Petroglyphs offer glimpse into province’s past over 1,700 years

52. RCMP Heritage Centre a must-visit day trip from Moose Jaw

53. Aboriginal-focused artwork, relics from pioneer days displayed at Mortlach Museum

54. Discovering the Royal Saskatchewan Museum: Engaging exhibits, natural history, and modern science

56. Eastend’s T.Rex Discovery Centre hosting exciting new activities this summer

SEE MOOSE JAW

57. Historic treasure trove: Western Development Museum hosts massive collection

58. Sukanen Village Museum features famous ship and early pioneer life

59. A true Moose Jaw landmark: Experience luxury, heritage and splendor at Grant Hall Hotel

60. MJ Exhibition Company: Where Sask’s agricultural roots shine brightest

SPORTS

62. Hit the Links Course Locations

65. Moose Jaw golf courses bring variety and different looks for local players

66. Moose Jaw Lawn Bowling Club continues to grow sport

67. Golden Ticket Sports Centre has massive impact on local sports scene in short time

68. Moose Jaw Tennis Club a popular place during summer months

69. Kayaking and canoeing a great way to relax, exercise, see wildlife

70. Yara Centre continues to offer a host of indoor activities throughout the year

71. Moose Jaw Curling Centre a busy place throughout the winter months

72. Pickleball continues to grow in Moose Jaw with brand-new outdoor courts

73. Miller Express look to build on incredible Western Canadian Baseball League season

74. Warriors return to 40-win mark with impressive Western Hockey League regular season

75. Visit Moose Jaw: Leading the charge to make Moose Jaw an event-full destination

76. Disc golf continues to grow in popularity in Moose Jaw

77. Kinsmen Sportsplex a hub of activity all year round

78. Moose Jaw activity parks remain as popular as ever in summer months - dog park, skate park and bike park

79. Prairie Storm Paintball and Battle Creek offer unique and fun adventures

SENIORS WELCOME

80. Cosmo Centre keeping seniors in the game

81. Amused and active with the M.J. and District Seniors’ Assoc.

SEE MORE OF MOOSE JAW

82. Close encounters at the Burrowing Owl Centre

83. Musician Jeffery Straker to perform at 14th Annual Mortlach Berry Festival

84. Take hauling to the next level with Moose Jaw’s Top Gun Trailers

85. M.J. Cultural Centre presents modern art from historic venues

Mae Wilson Theatre historic venue with great acoustics

86. Moose Jaw Library meets the summer needs of any reader 87. Award-winning Community Players theatre troupe have entertained for decades 88. Canadian Forces Snowbirds one of the pride and joys of 15 Wing and Moose Jaw 90. CJay Trailers: Filling the niche for a better-built cargo trailer

EXPLORE SOME MORE

91. The Antique Abbey in Mortlach offers items that can be centuries old

92. Riverhurst Annual Walleye Classic

93. Catch the Spirit of Watrous-Manitou Beach’s magic waters

Visitors Information

BMO Bank of Montreal

39 Manitoba St. E (306) 694-8130

CIBC

204 Main St. N (306) 691-4444

CONEXUS

High Street Branch

80 High St. W (306) 691-4800

RBC Royal Bank

1251 Main St. N (306) 691-4100

Scotiabank 303 Main St. N (306) 693-3691

Moose Jaw’s climate is transitional between semiarid and humid continental Moose Jaw’s winters are long, cold and dry, while its summers are short, but very warm and relatively wet. The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of −12 °C (10 °F), while the warmest is July, with a mean temperature of 19.3 °C (66.7 °F). The driest month is February, in which an average of 11 millimetres (0.43 in) of precipitation falls, while the wettest month is July, which brings an average of 63 millimetres (2.5 in). Annual

365 millimetres

in).

THE SALVATION ARMY IN MOOSE JAW

The Salvation Army has been at work in Moose Jaw for more than 135 years and is known for its work through the church, community and family services in the city. The Salvation Army exists to share hope wherever there is hardship, building communities, and know the love of Jesus. Important program priorities include disaster and relief services, Community Care Ministry in personal care homes, financial trustee services for vulnerable adults, and emergency family services. These programs, operated in Moose Jaw and Assiniboia, are directed by Lieutenants Lester and Almeta Ward, who are the pastors appointed by The Salvation Army. They are supported by roughly 25 employees and countless volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure that the Army is committed to “Giving Hope Today”!

The Army has been best known for the operation of its Thrift Stores in Moose Jaw and Assiniboia. This is associated with the Donation and Sorting Centre, where donations of good used items are received from generous citizens of the city and surrounding areas. Profits from the sale of these goods go toward developing and maintaining programs within the Moose Jaw and Assiniboia region. These funds provide food, clothing and practical assistance to individuals who may require assistance. In addition, hundreds of children are sponsored to attend vacation camps at Beaver Creek Camp each year near Saskatoon. Within the church, there are opportunities for Christian worship weekly through Sunday worship services, weekly Bible study programs, children and youth ministries and community service opportunities.

Contact us:

Community and Family Services; Emergency and Disaster Services:

175 – 1st Ave. NE, Moose Jaw, S6H 0Y9

Telephone 306-692-5899

Director of Community and Family Services / Corps Officer

Hours: Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

(Closed statutory holidays)

The Salvation Army Thrift Store

175 – 1st Ave. NE, Moose Jaw, S6H 0Y9

Telephone 306-692-8858

Hours: Monday thru Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

(Closed statutory holidays)

The Salvation Army Community Church

Sunday services: 11 a.m.

2 Wintergreen Drive, Moose Jaw, S6J 1M9

Telephone 306-694-0045

Corps Officer / Community and Family Services Officer

www.salvationarmymoosejaw.ca or www.facebook.com/TheSalvationArmyInMooseJaw

The Donation & Sorting Centre

670 High Street West, Moose Jaw, S6H 1T6

Telephone 306-693-0814

Donations of good used items accepted Monday thru Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Assiniboia Thrift Store / Food Bank

204 Centre Street, S0H 0B0

Telephone 306-642-3833

Hours: Tuesday thru Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

(Closed statutory holidays)

Many people in Moose Jaw belong to various service clubs and offer up their time to make Moose Jaw a great place to live. Consider joining one of the many clubs and get involved in your community.

Tourist Guide Murals Locations

1. CRUISING MAIN STREET: Behind the Mae Wilson Theatre at 217 Main Street North. By Grant McLaughlin, Moose Jaw, 2011. A lively scene of Moose Jaw’s Main Street in the 1920s. since the mural is painted on the back of the Old Capital Theatre Building, some elements from the theatre are incorporated in the design.

2. OPENING DAY PARADE: 82 Manitoba Street, west wall. By Gus Froese, Moose Jaw, 1990. The opening day parade of the 1910 baseball season from railway station up Main Street.

6. A TRIBUTE TO LEWIS RICE: 70 Stadacona Street West (McMaster Studio Building). By Grant McLaughlin, Moose Jaw, 2011. The mural is a tribute to Lewis Rice, an early resident and photographer. Using the equipment of the time, he created valuable historic records of rural and city life, especially the scenery and buildings.

7. FIRST WATCH: 100 Fairford Street West, east wall. By Grant McLaughlin, Moose Jaw, 2009. The mural celebrates the history of the Moose Jaw Fire Department. Moose Jaw’s past, and other communities, contain stories of devastating fires and the effort of firefighters to protect life and property. The gradual changes in equipment and methods are illustrated along with the awareness that the dedication and courage remain the same.

3. BREAKING NEW GROUND: 80 High Street West, north wall. By Paul Geraghty, Avonlea, 1990. Representing the pioneer’s hopes of a golden future by “proving his land” five acres per year for five years to obtain title of ownership.

8. SUNDAY OUTING: 105 Ominica Street West, east wall. By Wee Lee, Regina, 1991. A delicately painted view of an engagement party boating on the Moose Jaw River.

9. ALL IN A DAY’S WORK: 80 Stadacona Street West, west wall. By Stefan Csiszar, Santa Fe, N.M., USA., 1991. This unique art form depicts three successful businesses of early Moose Jaw.

10. THE FIRST RUN: 125 Main Street North, north wall. By Brian Volke, Regina, 1991. On Aug. 19, 1911 Moose Jaw’s streetcar took its first run.

4. SUNDAY SCHOOL: 60 Hochelaga Street West. By Marsha Wade Charlebois, Welland, Ont., 1991. This mural pays tribute to Eva Hasell and Winifred Tricehurst, who did missionary work in the district in the 1920s.

5. THE LADY AND THE COW: 602 Main Street North, west wall. By Ernie Bereti, McLean, Sask., 1991. For pioneer women on the prairies a cow was a prized possession. The lady is Mrs. Elizabeth Elliot.

11. HOPES AND DREAMS: 21 Fairford Street West, west wall. By Grant McLaughlin, Moose Jaw, 1991. This bas-relief shows a pioneer wagon loaded with all they need to homestead around 1882.

12. LIVING WITH THE LAND: 55 Ominica Street West. By Grant McLaughlin, Moose Jaw, 2013. This mural honours the Lakota Sioux, Cree, Assiniboine, Metis, and other Aboriginal people who camped in the Moose Jaw Valley, a natural oasis that provided shelter, wood, water and food, and was mainly used in the winter. The hide painting in the background

ties the design together and shows the importance of the horse and buffalo. The Sioux quote is another recognition of traditional Aboriginal connection to nature and their world.

13. THE SISTERS OF SION: 1236 3rd Avenue Northwest, north wall. By Ernie Bereti, McLean, Sask., 1992. Celebrating the centennial of the founding order, the mural is an open-book format.

14. LEST WE FORGET: 268 High Street West. By Dale Cline, Moose Jaw, 1992. Sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion, this mural is dedicated to the men who fought in two World Wars and beyond.

15. FOR THE VETERANS: 32 Manitoba Street West, west wall. By David Paul, Moose Jaw, 2006. The mural was created to honour all veterans who fought and are still fighting for the freedoms we enjoy and take for granted. The work depicts the profile of a war-era female nurse, a sailor, a soldier, and an airman. Paul based it on old war recruiting posters and meant it to acknowledge all generations of people from Moose Jaw who have been affected by war.

16. OLD TIME THRESTHING BEE: 32 River Street East. By Paul Geraghty, Avonlea, Sask., 1992. A tribute to the farmers who made the prairies the breadbasket of the world.

17. WINTER CARNIVAL: 35 High Street East. By Grant McLaughlin, Moose Jaw, 1992. This mural shows winter carnival events that were popular during the long prairie winters.

18. NATIONAL LIGHT AND POWER CO.: 821 Main Street North. By Gus Froese, Moose Jaw, 1993. This mural sponsored by the Moose Jaw Asphalt Co. and depicts the change that electric lights made to the community.

19. MARCH TO THE PIPES FOREVER: 500 First Avenue N.W., north wall. By Gus Froese, Moose Jaw, 1993. A tribute to the Springs O’Heather All Girls Pipe Band and the Heather Highlanders Dancers.

20. DRIVING THROUGH THE YEARS: 80 Caribou Street West, west wall. By Nikki Howell and Bobbi Romanuk, Moose Jaw, 1994. This ceramic tile mosaic depicts the

history of the CAA Saskatchewan Motor Club from 1905 to the present.

21. TEMPLE GARDENS 1921: 24 Fairford Street East, inside spa. By Violet Bechtold, Jo-Anne Dusel, Dale Cline, Moose Jaw, 1994. This mural of a popular local nightspot was made from about 9,000 pieces of broken china.

22. AIR FORCE BLUE: 112 First Avenue N.E., west wall. By Dale Cline, Moose Jaw, 1994. Sponsored by 15 Wing Moose Jaw and members of Course 9401. It is a tribute to the training of pilots at the base since 1940 to date.

23. DISCOVERY: 83 Ominica Street West. By Rob Froese, Moose Jaw, 1994. Sponsored by SaskTel, it consists of 750 handmade clay tiles, depicting images of advancements in communication.

24. PEACOCK PRESENTS: 145 Ross Street East. By Grant McLaughlin, Moose Jaw, 1994. A bas-relief of Peacock Collegiate aspects, such as academics, art, drama, choral and sports.

25. COLLAGE OF LOST MURALS: 88 Second Avenue N.W. Completed 2017. Remembering our lost murals that were loved and are missed. Remember Old 80 was Moose Jaw’s first mural and was lost when the building was demolished. Another favourite, River Street Red, was destroyed by fire. Lost to demolition were The Incorporation of the City of Moose Jaw and Moose Jaw Union Hospital Mural. Our Ukrainian Heritage was lost to remodelling, while Summer Games was lost to deterioration. Since 2007 murals have been painted on panels, so hopefully no more will be lost.

26. THE JEWELS AND THE ROYALS: 145 Ross Street East, east wall. By Kelly Friesen, Grant McLaughlin, and Michelle Wheatley, Moose Jaw, 1996. A tribute to the excellent women’s baseball teams in Moose Jaw in the ’30s,’40s and ’50s.

27. CLARKE BROS. CIRCA 1902: 37 Main Street north, west wall. By Ruth Hamilton, Moose Jaw, 1999. This mural shows the artist’s father and uncle’s interior of their store operated from 1902-50.

ROSS WELLS TRIBUTE TO BASEBALL: Ross Wells Diamond at corner of Ross Crescent and Caribou Street East. By Gus Froese, Moose Jaw, 1999. A tribute to the long history of world-class baseball played in Moose Jaw over the years.

29. TRIBUTE TO VICTORIA SCHOOL: 175 First Avenue N.E. By Joanne Dusel, Moose Jaw, 2000. Whimsical look at Victoria School on opening day featuring long-time teacher Faye Baker.

30. HISTORY CPR STATION: Free-standing wall, Five Manitoba Street East. Design by Dale Cline, Moose Jaw, 1999. Painted by students in tribute to their teacher Dale Cline, who died in 1999.

31. DANCING ON RIVER STREET: 21 Fairford Street East, north wall. By Brian Romagnoli, Lincoln, Ont., 2002. This mural offers a romantic retrospective glimpse of the exciting nightlife of River Street in the 1920s.

32. TRIBUTE TO THE AGE OF THEATRE: 21 Fairford Street East, west wall. By Brian Romagnoli, Lincoln, Ont., 2002. This mural celebrates the theatres that made Moose Jaw the cultural centre of southern Saskatchewan in the 1920s.

33. FAMILY GATHERING INDOORS: Inside Mosaic Place, 110 First Avenue N.W. McCaig Mezzanine view from the front stairs. By Wei Luan, Edmonton, Alta., 2002. A life-size bronze sculpture of a family of moose.

34. CENTENNIAL MURAL: Crescent Park Band Shell near the library. By Grant McLaughlin, Moose Jaw, 2003. A pictorial history of Moose Jaw from 1902 to 2003 on the band shell in Crescent Park.

35. TRIBUTE TO GARY HYLAND: Corner of Home Street and Fourth Avenue SE. By Grant McLaughlin, Moose Jaw, 2012. A

tribute to Gary Hyland, a teacher, poet, and arts advocate; was commissioned by the South Hill Community Association and The Riverview Alumni association. The images depict his poetic memories of growing up in the South Hill area in the ’40s and ’50s.

36. HISTORY OF THE MOOSE JAW EXHIBITION COMPANY: 250 Thatcher Drive, south wall. Shows the many facets of the exhibition company over the years.

37. BATTLE OF THE BOOZE: Tourism Centre on Thatcher Drive East. By Joe Dombowsky. Prohibition played a major role in the early years of our province. This is particularly true for Moose Jaw, the central point where “The Battle for the Booze” was fought and finally decided. As Saskatchewan’s Chief Prohibition Officer, A.J. Hawke was one of the leading characters in this great cat-andmouse game known as the prohibition era.

38. VETERINARIAN MURAL: 0 block of Hochelaga Street West on the back wall of Patterson Plaza/Rogers/Shoppers Drug Mart. By Noella Cotnam. A tribute to all the veterinarians who served in Moose Jaw over the years and helped keep pets and animals healthy.

39. A TRIBUTE TO THE METIS COMMUNITY: 0 block of Hochelaga Street West on the back wall of Patterson Plaza/ Rogers/Shoppers Drug Mart. By Ray Renooy Winnipeg, Man., 2007. A mural of Louis Riel, the leader of the Metis and founder of Manitoba.

40. THE LAST DAMBUSTER: South wall of 212 Main Street North (view from High Street). By Jon (Bushie) Butterworth, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia 2007. Ken Brown was a Moose Jaw native who flew with the famous Dambuster Squadron

during the Second World War and was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. The Dambusters bombed dams in Germany. The operation was one of great difficulty, demanding very low flying and a high degree of skill, courage, and close co-operation with the crews of the aircraft engaged. Flying Officer Robert Alexander Urquhart, DFC, another Moose Jaw native, was also part of the Dambuster mission, but his plane was damaged in the bomb drop, and then shot down on the return to base, killing all on board.

41. CAPITAL THEATRE MURAL: North wall of the cultural centre (view from Fairford Street). By David Butler. A ticket for the theatre in its heyday with a bevy of beauties to grace the stage.

42. RIDING FOR THE BRAND: East wall of Ashdown’s Furniture on 38 High Street West. By Grant McLaughlin. Commissioned by Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association on its 100th anniversary and dedicated past and current cattlemen and women of Saskatchewan. Riding for the Brand is an Old West term for a loyal and dedicated ranch hand, while the mural shows an early scene of driving cattle to the rail yard, with a photo of the original Saskatchewan Stock Growers’ founders in the centre.

43. STORMIN’ MAIN STREET, 1883: Fairford Street West, east wall of the former TimesHerald building. By Dale Cline, Moose Jaw, 1991. An awesome perspective of Main Street looking north, as a Prairie storm heads for town.

44. CANADA MOSAIC 150: On the wall of Moose Jaw Tourism facing Tim Hortons at 450 Diefenbaker Drive. September 2016. Nearly 200 communities and thousands of participants across Canada created

community murals that reflected the history and culture of Canada. Moose Jaw’s unique mural is composed of 828 tiles painted by residents and honour the Snowbirds flying team. The mural is a historic legacy that celebrates Canada’s sesquicentennial (150th birthday).

45. POSTCARDS FROM MOOSE JAW: On Kiwanis Lodge in River Park. By Grant McLaughlin, 2016. A mosaic of pictures that honours Paxton Lake, market gardens, greenhouses, a brick plant, the aquatic club, the River Park Campground, and Wakamow Valley’s many activities.

46. SOUTH HILL MURAL: On the wall of Palliser Regional Library at 366 Coteau Street West, painted by Carly Jaye in October 2021. The colourful mural features scenes from across South Hill in a design that incorporates a shelf of books — a nod to the building on which it is painted.

Grand murals depict early life of community

Moose Jaw is the mural capital of North America, featuring 46 giant outdoor murals. This classic collection is painted on the exterior walls of downtown buildings and depict the challenges and excitement of the city’s early years.

Lights and Power Co.,” “March to the Pipes Forever,” “Ross Wells Tribute to Baseball,” and others. McLaughlin painted “Cruising Main Street,” “Postcards from Moose Jaw,” “Hopes and Dreams,” “Living with the land,” “Winter Carnival,” the centennial mural on the Crescent Park amphitheatre, “Tribute to Gary Hyland,” and others.

The first of Moose Jaw’s murals was painted in grant scale in 1990. Scenes depicting the community’s early history can be found on the sides and fronts of buildings throughout the downtown core.

Sadly, Moose Jaw has lost several murals due to fire, demolition, or deterioration. This list includes two beloved murals “Remember Old 80” (demolished in 2009) and “River Street Red” (destroyed by fire in 2014).

Painting, glassworks and a bas-relief all provide insight into the development of the community. Tributes abound to early pioneers, historic occasions and buildings, activities, and achievements. Self-guided walking tours are suggested.

A group of Moose Javians wanted to replicate the murals of Chemainus, B.C., so they asked the creator of the idea there, Karl Schutz, to teach them how to develop a similar concept. The first mural painted here was “Remember Old 80,” which was promptly followed by “Opening Day Parade.” Several local artists have contributed murals over the years, such as Grant McLaughlin, the late Gus Froese, and Dale Cline. Cline was instrumental in establishing murals in Moose Jaw, while he also served as president of the murals committee. Froese painted several murals, such as “National

Not all is lost, though, as you can find a display honouring the city’s lost murals on the McKarr’s Furniture building at 88 Second Avenue Northwest. Meanwhile, the original version of “Town’s Afire” — initially located where “Fire Watch” is now — was re-created by Gus Froese on the third floor of the Hammond Building in 2015. The newest murals have been painted onto panels so they can be saved if the building is scheduled for demolition. For more information about the murals, contact city hall at 306-694-4426.

Wandering Market - Growing a community organically

When in Moose Jaw, stop in at the Wandering Market located at 461 Athabasca Street West. Artisan sourdough bread fills your soul as you walk in the door. A spread of freshly baked goodies catches the eye making it impossible to focus on just one item. Then the smell of fresh produce makes you think, “I haven’t had lunch yet, maybe we should grab some fresh bread, fruits, and veggies.” You now have the start to a luscious picnic but as you turn about the room, homemade chips, and salsa tantalize you and pull you in for a closer look. You are now hooked on Moose Jaw’s best organic food market.

the province can feed itself while supporting the local food-growing community.

The staff is friendly and helpful. You will be greeted with a smile as you begin to wander around the market. Canned goods, children’s aprons, and fridges are the first part of the journey….I will not spoil the rest but I will say that when you take a second glance, you will find new treasures. The market started 15 years ago when Nadine Lee and Michael Neuman moved their family to Moose Jaw. With the idea of buying locally grown foods, they quickly realized the farmers needed a market where they could sell their wares. A seedling business put down roots and as they added one grower after another, they soon found themselves with a flourishing market.

What makes the Wandering Market so unique is that the food is locally sourced from over a hundred growers in the area. The local foodgrowing community is bringing us back to the roots of healthy nutrition. From regular oldfashion gardens to indoor farming, the Wandering Market only sources food with no sprays or fertilizers. The meat must be free-range and humanly raised. From nuts to eggs, you will only find the best in this market.

With passion and a smile, Nadine Lee (aka Nadine LeBean) has worked hard over the years as the business grew and today it is still growing. There is enough locally grown food in Saskatchewan that

Open Monday-Friday from 10 am - 6 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10 am-5 pm, at 461 Athabasca Street West. Alternatively, you can order online with deliveries scheduled to Saskatoon, Regina, and Swift Current. The order schedule is posted on their Facebook page at: https://www. facebook.com/TheWanderingMarket Follow the online store link to create your account. To contact the market, please call 306-690-3553.

Parsons Dietrich Pottery Studio:

Parsons Dietrich Pottery Studio is located off Highway 1 at 1200 Lakeview Service Road in Moose Jaw. On arriving at this destination, you will find an unassuming old white church with red trim. This building provides a unique backdrop to the artistry you will find within its doors. Upon entering, you will see three high-arched windows illuminating the depth of artistry within its walls while framing a stunning view of Wakamow Valley. Your own creativity will begin to flow like the prairie winds as you peruse the gallery of handmade pottery. Artistry and experience shine through each handmade mug, wall hanging and plate.

ages these artists to develop new and exciting functional ware such as bowls, mugs, goblets, plates and more.

Wendy is also known for her sculptured pieces. Faces, animals and bodies are all moulded and shaped into unique designs to capture characters that she brings to life.

Their son Devon has been trained and taken his place in the family business alongside his parents. This is truly a family business.

If you cannot find what you are looking for with their one-of-a-kind works of art, they can take custom orders to suit their client’s needs from large orders to handmade gifts made for a special occasions.

Zach Dietrich and his wife Wendy Parson are wellknown Saskatchewan artists who have been featured in shows and exhibits around the province. Wendy and Zach both dedicate time to the community and share their love of art through workshops and various projects. Their studio, located on the lower floor of the church, uses the best Saskatchewan-sourced clay. Zach and Wendy hand-mix their own food-safe grade glazes in prairie colours giving their artistry its own unique style. They have three kilns on the premises opening up avenues of creative options. Working with glazes and new techniques encour-

Summer hours: Mon-Sat from 10 am - 5 pm. Offseason hours are open from Sept. through to Dec. 24th - Tues-Sat from 10 am - 5 pm. The studio and gallery are closed Jan and Feb and reopen in March Check out their Facebook page at: https:// www.facebook.com/Parsons-Dietrich-Pottery-158696807522571 Their website at: https:// www.parsons-dietrich-pottery.com/ or phone ahead at (306) 693-4212.

Wendy Parson’s tour of their gallery and studio is worth the trip. Her knowledge of each item showcases the passion that imprints Parsons Dietrich Pottery into each piece of art and functional ware. Please feel free to call ahead before your visit.

Zach Dietrich, Devon Dietrich and Wendy Parsons

Against the Grain Artisan Gallery

Stepping in the unassuming door of 220 Main Street N. seems like just another shop. Then, as your eyes begin to focus, you quickly realize this isn’t any ordinary stop on Main Street. Against the Grain Artisan Gallery and Tattoo has beautiful decors lining both sides of the walls from floor to ceiling with a river of wooden art winding its way toward the far end of the shop.

The stunning wood furniture is created by local artists from Harlen Woodcraft. Functional and beautiful, the unique, live-edge furniture and art pieces are handcrafted right here in Saskatchewan using reclaimed wood that has been ethically sourced. Whether it’s a statement piece for the entryway or a gorgeous bench to boost the front yard, their works are sure to grab everyone’s attention. The gallery space showcases the works of Harlen Woodcraft, Enchantress Beauty, Emdee Elle Custom Designs, Low Glo Candle Co, Precious Light Alchemy, The Witching Hour, and many more!

Against the Grain created an inclusive art gallery/ marketplace for local creators to have their work more accessible to the public. It is important to support all local artists by bringing together all mediums of art while achieving the ultimate goal of selling their work. Connecting the creators with art enthusiasts adds to our downtown core’s aesthetic with a fresh new excitement while shopping locally.

There are treasures in every corner and as you pe-

ruse the shop you find the walls burst alive with colour and design created by passionate artists. The gallery space showcases the works of Emma’s Corner, Emdee Elle Design, New Moon Apothecary, Brownlee Ironwork, Beechy Co, Metrics of Muses, Enchantress Beauty, Replated and Rustic Revival Metal Works with many more.

They carry unique and functional indoor and outdoor furniture, decorative housewares, yard art & birdhouses, bath/body products, jewellery, permanent wearable art for the body and art for the home. Statues of every stature from wood-carved Pegasus to tiny nesting birds there is something for every spot in your home and gifts for every occasion.

Alana is an accomplished tattoo artist. She too creates works of art but on live canvases. Her work can be seen on her Instagram @ alana_rae_ rempel or Against the Grain. Her passion for life shows through her love of art, dance lessons and tattooing. This is truly a shop not to be missed.

To schedule a tattoo consultation or come see/ browse/purchase art: Monday: 10:30 am – 5 pm and Tuesday-Saturday: 10:30 am - 6 pm Sunday: Closed. Please call at: 306 313-9065. Follow them on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgainstTheGrainArtMJ

Website: https://againstthegraintattoo.ca/

Discover fresh, local, artisanal goods at Moose Jaw’s farmer’s markets

Moose Jaw’s vibrant and thriving farmer’s markets are the perfect destination for those seeking fresh, local Saskatchewan flavours, art, crafts, jewellery, produce, and much more. The city boasts two popular markets, the Homegrown Farmer’s Market and the Wakamow Farmer’s Market, each with their own distinct theme and offerings.

Homegrown Farmer’s Market — traditional handmade goods

handmade arts and crafts, teas, and more. Visitors can browse through a variety of stalls offering everything from seasonal fruits and vegetables to homemade bread, jams, honey, and flowers.

At the Homegrown Farmer’s Market, the vendors are always friendly and ready to chat. Visitors can learn about how the goods on hand were made, grown, or repurposed, and how the producers and artisans learned their craft. The market usually features live music as well, adding to the lively, creative feeling on the street.

Wakamow Farmer’s Market — find almost anything

One of the highlights of the Wakamow Farmer’s Market is the wide variety of food trucks and vendors offering delicious food and drink options. Visitors can indulge in mouth-watering street food like tacos, burgers, and ice cream, or quench their thirst with fresh-squeezed lemonade and other locally produced beverages.

Located in the heart of downtown Moose Jaw on scenic Langdon Crescent in front of Crescent Park and the Moose Jaw Public Library, the Homegrown Farmer’s Market is a bustling open-air market that has been a part of life in the city for more than 20 years.

The Homegrown Farmer’s Market is held every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., beginning May 27 and running until the Thanksgiving weekend.

It is a celebration of the region’s agricultural heritage and showcases the freshest locally grown produce, baked goods,

The Wakamow Farmer’s Market is a newer fundraising initiative by the Wakamow Valley Authority, beginning in 2021 and immediately exploding in popularity.

Unlike the Homegrown market, there are no restrictions on who can sell goods at the Wakamow market, leading to a much wider variety of vendors.

The Wakamow Farmer’s Market is held every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., located in the beautiful Wakamow Valley park at the Kiwanis Oval and Pavilion. It begins May 27 and runs until September 9.

Both the Homegrown Farmer’s Market and the Wakamow Farmer’s Market are important community events that bring together local farmers, food producers, craftspeople, artists, and visitors alike. They offer a unique opportunity to support local businesses, learn about the region’s agricultural heritage, and taste some of the freshest and most delicious produce around.

Visit Moose Jaw’s farmer’s markets this summer and see what catches your eye! With their plentiful offerings, welcoming atmospheres, and friendly vendors, the Homegrown Farmer’s Market and the Wakamow Farmer’s Market are not to be missed.

Hub Meat Market: providing premium proteins in

Moose Jaw for over 100 years

Hub Meat Market is one of the longest continually running businesses in Moose Jaw, first opening in 1904, and although time has changed a lot of things about the local butcher shop, the dedication to old-fashioned friendly service hasn’t swayed an inch.

Located at 75 3rd Avenue NW, Hub Meats is a second-generation family-owned business specializing in providing premium-cut proteins with a personal touch. The Downey family purchased the business in 1978 from Harley and Cecile Woode, continuing to run the familiar market with great success.

Today, Hub Meats is still known as an “old-fashioned market where everyone knows your name,” a description that co-owners Gene Dupuis and the Downey family are proud to claim. The entire staff is dedicated to offering a personal experience to every customer who walks through the door, following the core values of the family business. Since opening more than a century ago, the market has transitioned to be more than just a butcher’s shop. The market’s motto is “Eat well, to live well,” and it offers plenty of options for customers looking for the perfect meat option for their next meal. Whether it’s a blank-slate protein or something already seasoned and marinated, Hub Meats is the place to go.

Hub Meat Market has a large retail space, stocked with plenty of options from kebabs to rib-eye steaks, as well as a deli service behind the counter ready to slice fresh meats on request. The market can also take custom processing orders, including handling wild game, and it carries a large selection of seafood options.

All of the proteins in the storefront are chosen for their high quality, with many sourced locally from around Saskatchewan, and the market stocks exclusively AAA Canadian beef. Hub Meats carries some of the best grade products in Moose Jaw, including top-tier steaks, and the well-stocked coolers have plenty of cuts you won’t see in just any grocers.

Popular items include the market’s famous jerky and its large selection of beef burgers — with 10 different varieties of patties available. The in-house smoked sausages are also a fan-favourite, offered in flavours like garlic or jalapeno and cheddar, and the selection of seasoned and prepared kebabs are like no other.

With an industrial smoker available on site, Hub Meats is currently working on launching more

new, house-made products to include next to tried-and-true brands currently on shelves. The market has debuted a new logo that will soon be featured on all of its in-house products, so customers know they’re shopping locally made.

Hub Meats is also a unique meat market because it’s a one-stop shop for putting together a meal, as inventory has expanded to offer items other than just meats and proteins.

There’s plenty of options for sides, sauces and even desserts to pair with whatever cut of meat is on the block, including house-made stuffed mushrooms caps, bacon-wrapped jalapenos, veggie kabobs and more.

Hub Meats also has frozen options, for customers looking to pick up something for later, as well as ready-made meals with a quick preparation time that sacrifices none of their good taste — like the cherry bacon and chicken alfredo.

In addition to the rest of its wide services, Hub Meats is also a prime stop for smoker enthusiasts. As a Yoder smoker distributor, the market offers expert knowledge on smokers, including tips on which cuts of meat best suit the method as well as products already primed for smoking. It also carries a selection of prep necessities like meat rubs, pellets and marinades.

At Hub Meats, everyone who walks into the store is greeted with a welcoming atmosphere and staff who take the time to say hello and offer their help with whatever meal idea is in the works.

As a local family business that’s been around for over a century, Hub Meats puts time and care into the products and services it offers customers. It also places a lot of value on supporting the community, working with non-profits like the food bank and Riverside Mission to help with food security, as well as offering a hand to local fundraisers and events.

The Downey family expressed gratitude on behalf of the entire Hub Meats team for the continued support and loyalty customers have shown — and continue to show — over the many years the market has been serving Moose Jaw and area.

Hub Meats is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed on holidays. The market currently offers curbside pickup for customer orders, as well as delivery service within Moose Jaw for orders over $100.

For updates on Hub Meats and its products, visit its Facebook page to stay in the loop or give the market a call at 1 (306) 692-4026.

“Gifts galore from ceiling to floor”:

Past Times Photography & Gifts full of unique decor

Tucked near the end of Main Street, right beside the famous Moose Jaw tunnels, Past Times Photography & Gifts is a muststop for Moose Jaw locals and visitors alike.

wind-spinners on display. The store also carries several lines of handmade products, stocked by local makers.

One of the store’s most popular features is the refinished furniture it regularly stocks. From dressers to cabinets to repurposed doors, furniture is one of Past Time’s most interesting offers. Each piece is individual and one-of-a-kind, which means customers are unlikely to encounter the same item twice.

tos set in the Old West era, the roaring ‘20s or the Victorian era, with costumes to fit a range of sizes.

According to its slogan, Past Times has “gifts galore from ceiling to floor” and it’s hardly an exaggeration. One step through the front door will have visitors craning their necks to take in everything the store has on display.

The fullness of the store is entirely part of its charm, and owner Mike Thul has been filling Past Times with giftwares, collectibles and decor for over twenty years. He looks to find the most unique items possible to include in the collection. From decorative signs to postcards to artwork to mugs with funny sayings, Past Times carries a little something for everyone. Whether your taste runs towards shiny and crystal, or rustic and country, this gift shop likely has what you’re looking for and more.

Decor makes up the largest part of the offering at Past Times, and garden wares are big in the summer, with lots of things like decorative yard spikes and

Although Past Times has the word “antiques” on its sign outside, the store doesn’t carry as many old collectible items as it used to — but there are some historical gems scattered throughout the shelves for customers to stumble across like a scavenger hunt.

Items like old comic books, serving dishes, luggage sets and even vintage toys are ready to be discovered by the right eyes. The most “antique” offering at Past Times is its photography service — but only because it allows customers to take a step into the past themselves. The studio on the left-hand side of the store specializes in oldtimey photos, where customers can choose from a variety of costumes and settings to immerse themselves in the past for a unique memento. Past Times Photography is able to do pho-

Past Times is also the official supplier of Chocolate Moose candy and fudge, a Moose Jaw staple that makes for a perfect shopping treat. The shop also carries a whole selection of other old-fashioned candies, like Cracker Jacks and Lucky Elephant popcorn.

Thul purposely stocks his store with things people aren’t likely to find in any other gift shops in Moose Jaw, and he hears often that every visit to Past Times is like a whole new experience because there’s always something new to see.

Past Times is a great experience for a first-time visitor, but regular customers also find the store is “surprisingly unexpected” every time they stop by — which is actually the city of Moose Jaw’s logo these days.

The store is located at 26 Main Street North, open from Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Sundays from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on available products, check out the Past Times Antiques Facebook page or visit pasttimesphotos.com.

Jaymin Stewart, owner, mom, local artist

with a non-traditional passion for outfits that help keep women truly “One of a Kind”

She has recently expanded her online store and has expanded her business to include homemade bracelets, purses, bags, accessories clothing after being asked where she finds the unique outfits she wears when traveling to markets for ShadesofJay. It has become another passion and Jay felt it was time to have some added fun by opening her store at 285 8th Ave NW.

She loves encouraging women, and helping them with outfits that leave them empowered and feeling beautiful.

“My main goal is to have everything one of a kind. I do not want to bring in too many of the same outfits so that the women of Moose Jaw can be really unique.”

In keeping Moose Jaw as unique as possible , most of the clothing items are limited editions and will only be the store once. Be One Of A Kind stop in today!

Popular Ogema train tours now offering

Harry Potter - and craft beer-themed trips

Train lovers should get a kick out of Ogema-based Southern Prairie Railway’s tours, which take travellers on a ride using a General Electric 44-ton switcher locomotive pulling a 1925 passenger car. Southern Prairie Railway (SPR) is Saskatchewan’s first full-sized tourist railway. Formed in 2010, SPR’s goal is to provide an authentic prairie pioneer experience. SPR travels east and west to the towns of Pangman and Horizon, respectively, taking passengers through picturesque fields of the prairies and past an abundance of wildlife. Ogema Heritage Railway Association — a registered charity that oversees SPR — began offering heritage train tours in 2012 with one excursion a month but increased that to 10 trips a month because seats sold out quickly. The kids’ tours proved to be a big hit, while food-focused excursions were equally popular.

There are 10 trips passengers can take with Southern Prairie Railway. Some trips include:

• Heritage train ride: Travellers can discover heritage as they ride through the prairies with a guide who shares historical facts. The tour leaves Ogema Train Station and goes to Horizon, Sask, where passengers receive an exclusive tour of a 1922 Federal Grain Elevator

• Kids’ fun train: The train departs Ogema for a few hours of fun. Balloon animals, face painting, lunch, cake, and plenty of festivities, as well as the train tour to Pangman, ensure the kids have a day full of memories

• Morning or afternoon robbery train rides: Take the train to Pangman if you dare! Local outlaws will rob the train during the trip. When you arrive, there will be a farmer’s market with goods such as fresh vegetables, baked goods, homemade crafts, and more. All money stolen will go to STARS Air Ambulance and the Saskatchewan Cancer Society

• Prairie pitchfork fondue train ride: This is a Western steak oil fry where pitchforks are used. This tour includes a pitchfork fondue supper featuring a fondue-cooked 10 oz. ribeye Canadian AAA steak, roasted potatoes, creamy Caesar salad, pasta salad, veggies, assorted desserts, a non-alcoholic beverage, museum entry, and the train trip to Horizon

and back

• Settlers’ supper train ride: Experience the yesteryear of pioneer travel and way of life. Step back in time on a beautiful train ride across the prairies to Horizon

• Texas-style BBQ and train ride: Enjoy an old-school Texas-style barbecue meal during a 3.5-hour trip. Bud’s BBQ in Ogema will cater this trip

• Craft beer train trip (new): Enjoy a sampling of some of southern Saskatchewan’s finest locally brewed beer from companies like Rebellion Brewing and District Brewing while admiring the beauty of the open prairie. Trip includes a ride to Horizon with a tour of a 1922 grain elevator

• Enchanted 9 3/4 (new): This Harry Potterthemed trip will surely delight all fans of the boy wizard. Travellers are encouraged to wear their best costumes and bring their favourite wands as they travel to Horizon as they watch for dragons or flying cars

There are also many heritage locations in Ogema to visit, such as a walking tour of Main Street and two museums with a combined one million artifacts. The well-known Deep South Pioneer Museum — celebrating 46 years this year — has 33 heritage buildings on its property, along with over 150 pieces of antique farm machinery. For more information and prices, call Southern Prairie Railway at 306-459-7808 or visit www. southernprairierailway.ca.

Savouring Spirit Local

Distilleries

Savouring the spirits of Moose Jaw: A guide to the local distilleries

The distillery scene in Moose Jaw has been heating up in recent years, with Canada’s Most Notorious City welcoming the Moose Jaw Brewing Company, Honey Pot Distillery, and Luby Bower Distillery all within the last three years. More established distilleries in Moose Jaw and surrounding areas include the city’s own Prairie Bee Meadery and Last Mountain Distillery in Lumsden.

Each of the area’s crafters emphasizes the taste, quality, and consistency of their products. Tourand-tasting sessions allow patrons a look at the production process, let them meet the owners and artisans behind the business, learn how the various alcohols are produced and flavoured, and appreciate the history and effort that goes into making a unique spirit or brew.

1. Last Mountain Distillery in Lumsden

Located in Lumsden, SK, about an hour outside of Moose Jaw, Last Mountain Distillery specializes in unique flavours and producing a smooth flavour experience.

specializes in traditional alcoholic beverages made from honey. The Meadery sources its honey from its own apiaries and offers a selection of meads include spiced and fruitinfused blends.

Colin and Meredith Schmidt first built their business in 2010 — Saskatchewan’s first micro-distillery. They offer a diverse range of whiskies, vodkas, gins, rums, and flavoured liqueurs.

Their signature products include a bestselling, naturally infused dill pickle vodka, an organic cherry whisky, and their apple pie moonshine.

2. Prairie Bee Meadery

Prairie Bee Meadery, as the name suggests,

The Meadery grew from a u-pick farm called Grandpa’s Garden. It grew sour cherries, strawberries, raspberries, haskap berries, melons, and some market garden vegetables. Since bees are essential to the pollination of so many fruit plants, Grandpa’s Garden soon branched out into honey — Grandpa’s Garden Fruit Honey is still sold at their farm and storefront.

The family soon began finding another use for all their honey, and in 2016, Prairie Bee Meadery was launched. Signature products include pineapple, strawberry, Saskatoon berry, and plum meads.

Another family project, Luby Bower is named after the founders’ grandmothers and opened its doors at 1300 Lakeview Road in March 2023. They offer tours of the distillery, which includes a giant, custom-built still from Canadian company Revival Stillworks, and rentals of the beautifully laid out front seating area with copper-topped bar and their Irish snug-style dart room.

The distillery’s initial product line includes a Luby Bower Vodka and a popular lavenderhibiscus Luby Bower Gin. A properly aged Luby Bower Whisky is on the way, along with a variety of other spirits as the business establishes itself in the coming years.

Luby Bower Distillery is currently closed on Mondays and Sundays, open for reservations and tours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays,

3. Luby Bower Distillery

and Thursdays, and open to the public from 4 to 8 p.m. on Fridays and 12 to 6 p.m. on Saturdays.

4. Moose Jaw Brewing Company

This nano/micro-brewery is another hobby project by locals who simply love the craftmanship of making their own beer. The co-founders are Terry Zwarich and brothers Cody and Cory Schulze. After years learning the necessary skills, developing a launch plan, and renovating their warehouse space, the three enthusiasts launched their first product line in January 2022.

• Bugsy’s Irsh Pub

• Cask82

• Sobey’s Liquor

• The Crushed Can Rec Room & Bar

• Moose Jaw Events Centre

• Temple Gardens Mineral Spa

5. Honey Pot Distillery & Pub

The family-owned and run Honey Pot Distillery held its grand opening in Dec. 2022. Located about 20 minutes west of Moose Jaw, they currently offer two beverage products: the Honey Pot Distillery Vodka and the Honey Pot Distillery Whikie — an unaged whisky.

Proprietors Cory and Stacey Martin decided to open a micro-distillery and restaurant in 2017 after a particularly good honey harvest from their onsite apiary. Rather than go the mead route, the couple specialize in vodka and whiskey, with a fully aged selection on the way that will eventually expand to include rum and gin.

Moose Jaw Brewing Company is committed to quality, freshness, and consistency in their product. They produce four carefully tuned beverages: the Sleep Walker, a Belgian IPA; the Cabaret, a crisp and light premium pale lager; the Inkwell, a dramatically dark German Schwarzbier lager; and the Long English Lager, a refreshing, juicy, light pour. The Moose Jaw Brewing Company does not yet have a tap room. Their products can be found locally at the following businesses:

Their smokehouse pub menu — called the ‘Grazing Trough’ — includes smoked surf and turf tacos, burnt pork ends, and deepfried pickles.

The Honey Pot Distillery is currently open on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 to 10 p.m.

Lumsden’s Over the Hills Orchards and Winery combines tasty meals with beautiful sights

Nestled in the Qu’Appelle Valley is Lumsden’s Over the Hills Orchards and Winery, which grows various organic fruits and offers picnics, suppers, tours and wine-tasting activities.

Husband and wife team Dean and Sylvia Kreutzer left behind their careers in Regina in 2000 and purchased 16 hectares (40 acres) in hopes of breeding exotic fruits in Saskatchewan’s cooler climate and short growing season.

spreads, preserves, toppings, and chocolates, and yes — tourists can even buy fruit trees from their orchards. It is also well-known for its selection of dry and semi-sweet fruit wines.

The company has won several awards and is also Saskatchewan’s first accredited “Economusée.” Originating in France, this highly regarded international network of artisanal businesses welcomes tourists to experience their unique, local products right where they’re produced.

During the summer, visitors can drive to the orchard for a glass of wine and a piece of pie. In recent years, the company began offering picnics in the orchard and a special chef supper series on weekend evenings.

With suppers, a different local chef will create a multi-course supper using ingredients mostly from area farms and the orchard. Doors open at

It was quite the transformation for Dean: from computer programmer to certified organic fruit grower. Many people questioned his decision, but never his enthusiasm. Meanwhile, 30 years of city life never prepared him for rural life — the learning curve was vertical. Moreover, while Sylvia grew up on the farm, growing fruit was different than slopping pigs and herding cattle.

Dean took horticulture classes via correspondence through the University of Saskatchewan to acquire the basics of plant anatomy and fruit production, while he learned the art of fruit breeding in hopes of creating hardier varieties that could grow in this climate.

The couple travelled to many regions in North America to learn from growers who had accumulated years of knowledge. They also made many connections through the internet with growers and fruit breeders around the world.

The Kreutzers soon found that the challenge was to incorporate and adapt this knowledge to the challenges of Saskatchewan’s climate; in many cases, they were breaking new ground.

While the province is known for fruits such as saskatoons and cranberries, what the Kreutzers are growing — plums, peaches, figs, nectarines, grapes, pears, apricots and almonds — is usually unheard of here.

Today, Over the Hill is known for its specialty fruit

5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the evening ending around 9:30 p.m. The supper costs $75 per person, while drinks are extra.

With picnics, visitors will receive a backpack containing bread, cheese, bison jerky, wine, wine glasses, a blanket, utensils, and napkins. The one-hour activity costs $65 for the site or $100 for the deluxe gazebo. Adding more people to the group does not increase the cost unless more food/ drinks are ordered. No outside food/drink is allowed.

Other activities include a Mother’s Day Brunch, a Stay ‘n’ Play, a private wine-tasting event and an orchard tour.

The business’ season began May 5 and closes Sunday, Oct. 15. To book a reservation, call 306-5351278 or visit overthehillorchards.ca.

Southwest Saskatchewan home to Earth’s largest glacial push hills

The Dirt Hills and neighbouring Cactus Hills are the largest glacial push slopes in the world and formed more than 10,000 years ago as the glaciers moved north.

The advancing ice sheet acted like a bulldozer, pushing, moving, and uplifting earth until it ran into the upward slope of the escarpment. The Dirt Hills are composed mostly of bedrock and drift and were stacked to form a single block 215 metres (705 ft) thick. The moraine is almost 1,000 square kilometres (390 square miles) in size with a height of 880 metres (2,890 ft) above sea level, while both major hills form an amphitheatre-shaped landform. These hills run from the Village of Avonlea’s Blue Hills west to the Cactus Hills near the Village of Briercrest and south to the Dirt Hills around the Hamlet of Spring Valley. The Dirt Hills region is covered with interesting sights, from the ridges and hills to deep coulees and wildlife.

Federal surveyors in the 1880s identified the Dirt Hills as the highest point in a line between Cypress Hills and the hills in Ontario.

In 1886, Moose Jaw-area homesteader Thomas McWilliams discovered clay northeast of Dirt Hills while berry picking and looking for lost cattle. Recognizing the value of this clay, he laid claim to the land and moved his family there to a new homestead.

McWilliams also began mining the refractory clay, the first official record of the Claybank clay. In 1914, a brick plant was built and began selling bricks throughout Canada and the United States. This location is now the Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site.

Several years ago, residents of Dirt hills recognized the area’s significance and importance of connecting nature and culture. They developed the Spring Valley and District Interpretive Centre and located it in the hamlet’s historic Artesian School.

There are also the Wood Mountain and Fort Qu’Appelle Trails, Oro Lake — saltier than the Dead Sea — and the routes the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) took in 1874 while travelling to their headquarters in Fort McLeod, North-West Territories (now southern Alberta).

The centre welcomes tourists and conducts guided tours of the area while explaining the region’s many features. The tours include panoramic views, a trip to Oro Lake, and visits to a bison jump and pioneer’s stone home.

Visitors should also view the over 100-year-old Roman Catholic Church in the hamlet with its unique plaster Stations of the Cross. The centre is open by appointment from Monday, May 15 to Friday, Sept. 15. To arrange a tour, call 306-475-2542 or 306-630-6060 or email gmbeitel@hotmail.com.

Spring Valley’s Sugar Loaf Hill. Photo courtesy Tourism Saskatchewan

Spring Valley and District Interpretive Centre and Area. Photo courtesy Tourism Saskatchewan

How to visit Saskatchewan’s famous sand dunes from Moose Jaw

Saskatchewan is an enormous province, twice the size of Germany and only just smaller than Texas, and it includes boreal forest in the north, transitional parklands in the middle, grasslands in the south — and, scattered all over, some of the world’s most prominent sand dunes.

Saskatchewan’s dunes are thousands of years old, dating to the end of the planet’s last ice age approximately 12,000 years ago. Continent-sized glaciers nearly two kilometres thick were forced into movement as they melted, creating enormous temporary rivers, carving out floodpaths, and grinding rock into fine powder, called ‘rock flour’ by geologists and ‘sand’ by the rest of us.

The process of sand deposition and erosion continues to this day and combines with prevailing winds to create an evolving scenery that can change dramatically between visits. Rolling dunes, constantly shifting sand patterns, and clear blue skies create a surreal and otherworldly landscape that is a photographer’s dream — and a must-see for those seeking the full Saskatchewan experience.

To see larger dunes, the Great Sandhills to the west are second in Canada only to the Athabasca Sand Dunes, which are nigh-inaccessible in the province’s far north. Reaching the Great Sandhills from Moose Jaw takes about three and a half hours. Visitors will take the Trans-Canada west for an hour and 45 minutes, then take SK-32 W exit just past Swift Current. Another hour on SK-32 W will bring you to Township Road 214 heading south. Half an hour on the township road will bring you to the Great Sandhills.

There are no amenities at the Great Sandhills, and

The Great Sandhills of southwestern Saskatchewan (sprokop/iStock/Getty Images)

Buffalo Pound – Moose Jaw’s favourite holiday destination

Nestled in the rolling hills, Buffalo Pound Provincial Park uses every square inch to your advantage. Open year-round, the park activities change with the seasons. Located 20 minutes northeast of Moose Jaw, Buffalo Pound Provincial Park offers a balanced blend of nature and recreational opportunities. Once used by First Nations to corral bison, the park maintains a captive herd in a paddock that’s situated among the area’s scenic rolling hills.

For that perfect getaway with minimal effort and preparation, Buffalo Pound has two Camp-Easy yurts available for booking. One yurt per site rental (no other camping equipment on-site). 2 new camp easy yurts in Elmview campground (E34, E35); it replaces the camp easy tents.

New this year, visitors can experience hammock camping. The weaver structure can accommodate up to six hammocks, so grab some friends and come hang out at the park!

The park offers excellent hiking, mountain biking, and fat biking trails. But, if getting on the lake is where your ambition lay, then fishing, canoeing, and kayaking are awaiting your arrival. And keep in mind, Buffalo Pound offers two disc golf courses - a 9-hole beginner course and an 18-hole professional course. After a round of disc golf, allow yourself a chance to sit back and let the stress melt away in the heated outdoor pool. Enjoy migrant waterfowl viewing at Nicolle Flats Interpretive Area and Marsh Boardwalk. The park is a great destination for day trips, offering awesome views of the Qu’Appelle Valley, which are especially spectacular in the fall. Along with multiple-night camping options, Buffalo Pound is the perfect choice for your next visit.

You will be welcomed like family at the newly renovated chalet visitors center that has a Bistrostyle food service. The “Traveling Bakery” opens this winter on the weekends. Please check out their Facebook page for hours of operation.

Buffalo Pound Services include free firewood, groceries/supplies, laundry, and off-season, and winter camping with reduced or no services. Amenities include 30 or 50-amp service, sewage disposal, boat launch, fire pit, drinking water, fish cleaning facility, group camping, washrooms/showers, outdoor pool, playground, non-electric sites, tenting area, and more.

Activities continue throughout the year. Observing birds and wildlife, boating/canoeing/sailing, swimming, cycling/fat biking, trails, disc golf,

Buffalo Pound Provincial Park is an ideal spot to enjoy nature.

Looking over the Elmview camping area and the swimming pool.

mini-golf, snowshoeing(rentals available)/cross country skiing, hiking fishing, Geocaching (GPS treasure hunt), children’s activities and more. The swimming pool will be open to the public starting on Friday, June 16 at 1 pm.

Weekend hours for June 17th,18th, 24th & 25th will be from 11am-6pm

Weekend hours from July 1st - August 26th will be from 10 am-7 pm

Weekday hours from July 3rd - August 11th will be from 1 pm-7 pm

Hours are subject to change as needed. For more information, please follow the link: https://parks.saskatchewan.ca/memberSignInSig nUp.do

Accessibility access to barrier-free campsites,

sloped access entry pool, washrooms and showers with wheelchair access. Pet friendly. Take the 301 north off highway 1 or the 202 off the number 2, then follow the signs

For maps of Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, Shady Lane and Trails End Campground, Maple Vale, Lakeside, Elm view, Lower Chalet A and B campgrounds, and what to do doc, click on the maps and docs button on the website at https://www. tourismsaskatchewan.com/provincialpark/303/

To contact Buffalo Pound you can email: parks.

Buffalo Pound is the only park in Saskatchewan to have a herd of bison.

Educational programs are held throughout the summer.

Duck Mountain Provincial Park – from resort to wilderness camping experience

Duck Mountain is an interprovincial park bordering Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is the southernmost tip of the boreal forest covering about 150 square km. Found 14km east of Kamsack, the park is the transit point into the aspen parkland.

country skiing, sledding, tobogganing, and snowshoeing.

There are multiple campgrounds throughout the park that have varying levels of services, including electrical hook-ups, potable water, laundry, sanidumps, washrooms, and showers. Fern, Sellwood, Poplar, Spruce (on Madge Lake), and Birch A, B, & C Campgrounds are set up as individual sites. Most of the individual sites can accommodate larger vehicles, such as RVs and trailers. On the other hand, Moose, Elk and Deer Campgrounds are group camping sites that have camp kitchens and covered areas.

Duck Mountain Provincial Park is a family-friendly park offering guests a wide range of activities to satisfy their outdoor cravings. If you’re an angler looking for a quiet spot, then catching pike, perch, or walleye at Madge Lake (or one of the various other lakes found in and around the park) is what is calling you. If you are a nature enthusiast, the park provides an abundance of wildlife viewing opportunities such as following the migration and nesting of flocks of ducks and waterfowl. If speeding through the trees is what you crave then bike a section of the Trans Canada Trail or sample one of the other self-guided or interpretive trails. Whatever the case may be, canoe, swim, or sit by the campfire and listen to the loons on the lake as the sunsets. It all waits for you!

Madge Lake, the largest body of water in the park, serves as its central tourist attraction. Seasonal recreational activities in and around the lake include fishing, hunting, hiking part of the Trans Canada Trail, bicycling, swimming, boating, horseback riding, golfing - full course and mini, skiing in every form including water, downhill and cross-

Duck Mountain Lodge operates as a year-round resort hotel in the park. Summer seasonal campground and cabin rentals are also available. Over 300 private cottages can also be found around the lake. There are two public swimming beaches Ministik Beach and Pickerel Point Beach constructed with artificially supplied sand.

From resort hotel to wild wilderness camping, Duck Mountain offers the park up for every season. Choosing full amenities or no amenities, your stay is sure to leave you with warm memories and long-lasting experiences.

For more information go to https://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com/ and search for “Duck Mountain Provincial Park.” For reservations contact https://parks.saskatchewan.ca/ Email: duckmtn@gov.sk.ca

Photo credit @angel_serhan_seitz

Photo credit @jeanine.holowatuik

Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park and Historic Fort Walsh

Cypress Hills has not only carved out its hills through time but has the honor of being the highest point between Labrador and the Rocky Mountains. The history of the area from southwest Saskatchewan to southeast Alberta is filled with pioneering stories of First Nations and settlers to the first Royal Canadian Mounted Police being established in 1873 by Sir John A. MacDonald.

In 1754 Anthony Henday, a

a dark sky preserve.

Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park provides its guests with adventures and activities all year round. From swimming in the summer to winter camping, the beauty of the woods is breathtaking. Hiking through trails or ziplining through the trees, Cypress Hills is for everyone!

Fort Walsh

Fort Walsh National Historic Site is located off the 271. Experience life in the 1870s and dis-

daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, September 6 to September 24, Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Fees:

Daily: Adult $10.50, Seniors $9.00, Youth (ages 6 - 17) Free, group/person $9.00

Annual: Adult $21.50, Seniors

$17.75, Youth (ages 6 - 17) Free Parks Canada Discover Pass: Adult $72.25, Senior $61.75, Family/group $145.25 opens parks from Grasslands National Park, Prince Albert National Park, Batoche National Historic Site, Fort Battleford National Site Motherwell Homestead National Site, and Fort Walsh National Historic site. To order your Parks Discover Pass go to parks Canada and search “Discovery Pass”.

To Contact Cypress Hills: Park Administration Office -year-round - (306) 662-5411

trader and explorer, visited the Cypress Hills to try to encourage the Blackfoot Tribe to participate in the fur trade with the Hudson Bay Company. They declined. By 1859, John Palliser, a geographer, and explorer, led an expedition to the south of Alberta and Saskatchewan. When he came across Cypress hills his comment was, “A perfect oasis in the desert.”

As time passed, the history of the prairies carved its way through these historic hills. In 1951, Cypress Hills Provincial Park was established. 1967 saw its first visitor center. By 1991, Cypress Hills already had its 40th anniversary. And in 2004, Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Fort Walsh) was designated

cover how Fort Walsh presided over one of the most dramatic periods of change on the Prairies. While Cypress Hills continued to be a meeting ground for First Nations, Metis, fur traders, whiskey traders, and settlers. Fort Walsh, established in 1878 and served until 1882, was the headquarters of the North West Mounted Police. Come walk the trails and take a look at this historic site. Find one of the 200 red Adirondack chairs to sit and take a selfie while you take in the landscape that surrounds you.

Fort Walsh is open from May 20th to May 22nd, daily, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, then on May 23rd to June 24th, open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. From June 27th to September 4th, the park is open

Visitor Centre – open May long weekend to September long weekend; Displays and exhibits, Family activity room.

Amphitheatre - interpretive programs, special events. Private rentals for weddings Observatory - public viewing and programs.

Private bookings are available by calling (306) 662-5411

Email us at cypresshills@gov. sk.ca or visit the website at https://visitcypresshills.ca/

For Campground Online Reservations - http://parks.saskatchewan.ca

Or by phone: Campground Reservation Line: 1-833-775-7275

Fort Walsh:

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhnnhs/sk/walsh/visit/avanceahead

Cypress Hills Inter-provincial Park: Cypress Hills Centre Block

Wholesome family fun at Moose Jaw’s Hometown Fair

For some people, it’s the crack of the bat on a warm afternoon in the sun. For others, it’s the rhythmic lapping of the waves as they beat against a sandy shoreline.

In Moose Jaw, few things introduce the community to summer than the sweet smells, the screams, the rumble and the hustle of the Moose Jaw Hometown Fair. This year’s event is scheduled to take place June 22 to 25 at the Moose Jaw Exhibition Company grounds, 250 Thatcher Drive. The annual event has taken place in the city for more than a century, but pandemic restrictions in 2020 and 2021 caused it to go on hiatus until last summer. When it returned to the schedule, so did fairgoers pushing organizers to keep the event entrenched in the city’s cultural fabric.

The Exhibition Company was originally established in 1884 to run the event, which still features the agricultural roots it stems from. Among the many attractions hitting the fairgrounds that weekend are a Hunter/Jumper Horse Show and the annual Moose Jaw 4-H Cattle Show and Sale. But the over-arching theme of the fair is succinct, with its family-friendly attractions kicking off a multitude of seasonal events in the city. This year’s version is teased at 7 p.m. June 21 with the Hometown Parade running down Main Street. The parade includes entries from the region’s wide variety of businesses alongside various community organizations, such as the Shriners, the Moose Jaw Navy League Cadets, dance and cheer groups, horse riders and horse drawn wagons. The fair itself begins at 3 p.m. June 22. It runs until 10 p.m. Thursday, 3 to 11 p.m. Friday, Noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, and Noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. The events agenda works through the horse and 4-H shows while the sounds, scents and hustle of the other attractions denote the family-oriented entertainment that draws visitors and residents in. The 2023 event will include a petting zoo, pony rides, bouncy castles and a roving magician performing illusions throughout the park. Even more attractions were being booked at press time. At the centre of it all is the buzz and blur of the midway, presented by West Coast Amusements (WCA). The company is known throughout Western Canada for its carnival attractions, which include more than 120 rides and games touring in four separate units across the Prairies. WCA works more than 100 events per year. The games and rides available for the Moose Jaw Hometown Fair are yet to be determined.

And this year’s event will have an international twist with performances from the Canine Stars Dog Show from the United States. An entry in the 2021 America’s Got Talent televised competition, Canine Stars hosts a variety of dog breeds rescued from shelters and other sources in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. The dogs have been trained to accomplish amazing feats and tricks to highlight the organization’s mission to save the animals, educate the public on their value and entertain with the new skills they have learned. The show includes big air stunts, dock diving, freestyle frisbee routines, high jumping, agility exhibitions, flyball racing and more.

But the day is not complete without a little traditional fair food. Whether it’s hot dogs or hamburgers, mini-donuts or elephant ears, it’s hard to deny the unique, sweet temptations of carnival grub. The Moose Jaw Exhibition Company grounds hosts two permanent concessions, with several food trucks moving in during the four-day event. Participants will be fed, watered and fully entertained by the end of the day.

Tickets to the Moose Jaw Hometown Fair provide attendees access to most attractions, with exceptions being midway rides, games and other WCA infrastructure.

There are many ways to celebrate the opening of Saskatchewan’s summer season, but few are as traditional, wholesome and fun as the local annual fair. For more information about the 2023 event, contact the Moose Jaw Exhibition Company at 306.692.2723, on Facebook or at moosejawex.ca.

Photo credit to Robert Thomas

Homestand concert a true Moose Jawgrown party for charity

The Homestand series of concerts are Moose Jaw’s own home-grown charity event benefitting the mental wellness of youth throughout southern Saskatchewan.

The next concert is Homestand ’23 on Saturday, September 9 in Ross Wells Park. Homestand ’23 will feature headliner Corb Lund and his band The Hurtin’ Albertans, the Mike Plume Band, Lindi Ortega, and Jordyn Pollard. Tickets are available from Sasktix.ca.

Homestand was first created in 2021 by River Street Promotions, a volunteer-driven non-profit group. The original RSP group of five friends were experienced fundraisers who decided to pool their

Car Shows During Summer Months

Car shows always popular in and around Moose Jaw during summer months

Vintage vehicles, modern supercars and everything in between can be found at the many gatherings of car enthusiasts in southern Saskatchewan.

With the beautiful spring and summer weather comes one of the most popular weekend activities for folks in and around Moose Jaw -- visiting the many car shows and show and shines that take place throughout the season.

Folks from all over western Canada take part in the regular gatherings of vehicle fans and they’re rarely disappointed with what they see.

From the occasional Model T to 1950s cruisers and 1970s muscle cars all the way to hyper-modern supercars, if there’s an era you’re looking for, odds are the local car shows are going to have it. That’s because not only are local shows popular with patrons, they’re also popular with car owners, with events often featuring hundreds of entries and folks even driving hundreds of kilometres to take part.

The summer of 2023 promises to be another busy one on the car show circuit, and here’s some of the stuff folks can look forward to!

1. Moose Jaw Shrine Club MOMentum Mother’s Day Cruise

When: Sunday, May 14, 2023

Where: Town ‘N’ Country Mall starting point

Time: registration 12:15 p.m., cruise starts at 1 p.m.

Details… event began in 2021 as way to honour mothers and ladies in midst of pandemic… leading the cruise will be the 1998 Corvette Daytona Pace Car, the Shriner’s raffle car for this year… cruise is open to all makes and years of vehicles.

Website / more info: contact Aaron at (306) 684-1934 for more information.

2. NextGen Car Club Season Opener

When: Sunday, May 21, 2023.

Where: Tatawaw Park

Time: Show registration starting at 12 p.m., car show and competitions 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.;

sunset cruise on Saturday, May 20.

Details: Show registration is $10, spectators $5, kids and pets free, with collection of non-perishable food items for Moose Jaw and District Food Bank… live DJ and food vendors on site… awards, giveaways, competitions all part of event.

Website / more info: www.facebook.com/

3. Sukanen Museum Spring Fling Show and Shine

When: Saturday, June 3

Where: Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum, 13 km south of Moose Jaw

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Details… the Spring Fling has been a staple of the car show scene for the past 14 years… open to pre-1980s and special interest vehicles… Dash plaques for first 100 show vehicles… participant and one passenger free in show vehicle, extras $10… regular gate admission for spectators.

Website / more info: www.sukanenshipmuseum.ca or email fordnutz1927@gmail.com or call (306) 631-5972

When: Sunday, June 18

Where: Wakamow Valley Oval

Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Details: eighth annual edition of Bent Wrench Run show, one of the largest shows of the summer in Moose Jaw… car show entry $20 fee per vehicle… spectators admitted free… food and beverages available… plenty of vendors on site.

Website / more info: www.facebook.com/ groups/BentWrenchRun or email kjkincaid@icloud.com or call (306) 537-2420

4. ‘Those Guys’ Bent Wrench Run

Low riders are often a popular sit at the Next Gen Car Club Show and Shine.

Car shows in and around Moose Jaw always attract plenty of entries and remain very popular.

5. Highway to Heroes Car Show

When: Saturday, July 22, 2023

Where: Moose Jaw Exhibition Ground, 250 Thatcher Drive East

Time: Show car gates open at 8:30 a.m., spectator gates open at 10 a.m.

Details: Seventh annual edition of Friends of the Forces Fellowship event… all vehicles of interest welcome.. Food concessions on site… prizes, silent auction, 50/50 draw… adult admission $10, six-to-12 years $5, preschool free… funds raised go to projects for military families, veterans and community charities.

Website / more info: www.facebook.com/ FriendsoftheForcesFellowship or (306) 6927357.

Other Shows Upcoming

6. Little Chicago Show and Shine — downtown Moose Jaw event drew hundreds of vehicles in 2022, lining both sides of Main Street… held in September, check www. downtownmoosejaw.ca for more information.

7. Moose Jaw Legion Show and Shine — typically in June, no schedule announced, check Royal Canadian Legion Branch 59 Facebook page for latest.

8. Assiniboia Southern Cruisers Show and Shine — typically in September, no schedule announced, check www.southerncruisers.com for latest.

It wouldn’t be Moose Jaw car show without the local Volkswagen club showing up.

The first-ever Little Chicago Show and Shine was held in September and was a huge success.

Sidewalk Days: The Moose Jaw summer festival you absolutely cannot miss

The Moose Jaw Kinsmen Sidewalk Days Festival is the largest and most anticipated event in the Notorious City, transforming nine city blocks into a bustling hub of fun, food, and entertainment every summer.

With over 200 vendors, music stages, magicians, face painters, a Children’s Village, buskers, and much more, the festival offers something for everyone. Confirmed musical headliners for 2023 include Trick Ryder, the Tilted Kilts, and Tequila Mockingbird.

Last year, Sidewalk Days proved its enduring popularity by rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic in spectacular fashion — nearly 25,000 people flocked to the downtown core over the three festival days, making it the biggest ever. Organizers hope to build on that momentum. This year’s event is set to take place on July 6, 7, and 8 (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday), offering visitors a chance to experience the best of summer in Moose Jaw and one of the largest free festivals in the entire province.

The festival begins at 10:00 a.m. each day, and visitors can enjoy the festivities right into the evening hours.

Sidewalk Days brings the streets of Moose Jaw alive with activity as vendors line the roads with unique wares and mouth-watering food. From mini donuts to hot dogs and lemonade, baked goods, fresh produce, beverages, and an unbelievable range of artisanal goods, there is no shortage of interesting goods to explore. Visitors can browse through the various stalls, take in some live music, or enjoy the festive atmosphere and street performers. There are even flybys most years (depending on weather) featuring military aircraft from the nearby Canadian Forces Base, 15 Wing Moose Jaw! In 2022, Sidewalk Days participants were treated

to a Friday flyover from two Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CT-155 Hawk training jets and four CT-156 Harvard II from 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School.

One of the festival’s main draws is the Children’s Village, which offers a range of activities to keep the little ones entertained. From bouncy castles to games and face painting, the Children’s Village is the perfect place for kids to have some fun and take a relaxing break while caretakers shop or enjoy a music performance.

Vendor applications for the 2023 Sidewalk Days Festival opened in January, and many local businesses and artisans have already secured their spot. There are usually more than 200 vendors from far and wide, so visitors can expect to find an eclectic mix of items from familiar favs to innovative new entrepreneurs.

The festival is not just about fun and games; it is also an opportunity to support small and support local. The event draws a massive crowd each year, providing vendors, downtown businesses, and charitable non-profits with a platform to showcase their products, services, and causes to a wide audience.

Overall, Moose Jaw Sidewalk Days Festival is an exciting event that is not to be missed. With a diverse range of activities, food, and entertainment, the festival is the perfect way to spend a summer day in Moose Jaw. Whether you are a local or a visitor, be sure to mark your calendar for this year’s festival and experience the best of Moose Jaw’s summer celebrations.

Follow along with updates on the Tourism Moose Jaw website and the Sidewalk Days page: facebook.com/MJSidewalkDaysFestival tourismmoosejaw.com/sidewalk-days

The Moose Jaw Kinsmen Sidewalk Days festival

Calling all bookworms: The Saskatchewan Festival of Words awaits!

This July 13-16, visitors to Moose Jaw who love to read should mark their calendars and make attending the Saskatchewan Festival of Words a priority — the annual literary event brings together book lovers, writers, and industry professionals from across Canada and beyond for a celebration of storytelling, ideas, craft, and conversation. This year is the 27th edition of the Saskatchewan Festival of Words, which draws thousands of visitors each year and is one of the Notorious City’s biggest events.

One of the festival’s main draws is its impressive and varied lineup of authors and literary figures. Previous guests have included Margaret Atwood, Thomas King, Lorna Crozier, and Yann Martel. This year’s roster promises to be just as exciting, with a mix of established and emerging voices from a range of genres and backgrounds. The festival takes place over several days and features a wide range of events, including readings, panel discussions, workshops, book signings, a concert, and a spoken word showcase. Whether you’re a fan of poetry, non-fiction, fiction, the spoken word, travel writing, or humour, there’s something for everyone.

Some of the highlights of the 2023 schedule include a book club discussion with Suzette Mayr, whose book The Sleeping Car Porter (2022) won the 2022 Giller Prize; a workshop on Breathing Life into Characters with Michelle Good, whose 2020 debut novel Five Little Indians has become a Canadian literary sensation; and an interview with Guy Gavriel Kay, author of numerous internationally bestselling fantasy fiction novels, including Aurora Award-winner Tigana (1990) and World Fantasy Award-winner Ysabel (2007).

The full list of presenters at the 2023 Saskatchewan Festival of Words is available on the Festival

or Words website at https://www.festivalofwords. com/presenters. The festival’s organizers are committed to helping represent diverse and forgotten voices from marginalized communities and look for opportunities to bring perspectives on social justice, environmentalism, and human rights to the fore.

Another reason to attend the Saskatchewan Festival of Words is the chance to connect with likeminded individuals and expand your literary horizons. The festival offers a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere, with plenty of opportunities to meet other readers and writers, exchange ideas, and learn from one another.

In addition to its impressive programming, the Saskatchewan Festival of Words also offers a unique opportunity to explore the city of Moose Jaw itself. The festival takes place at various locations around town, from historic buildings to modern venues, providing a chance to discover Moose Jaw’s rich cultural heritage and vibrant community. Visitors can browse shops and entertainment on Main Street, sample the local foods, and explore the many attractions in the area. The festival’s bustling atmosphere, combined with Moose Jaw’s small-town charm, makes for an unforgettable experience that has added to the city’s reputation for friendliness and hospitality.

New this year is a Street Fair on Thursday, July 13, from 4 to 8 p.m. The fair will take place in front of the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre and include mini readings from Jeanette Lynes, Ted Barris, Ken Carriere, Ali Hassan, and S.C. Lalli. There will be food trucks on hand and booths from small and local businesses.

Festival passes go on sale on May 10 and include single-day, student, and other flexible options. The Full Pass is $175 plus applicable fees.

Park Art by the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery is a perfect Canada Day

If you and your family are looking for a place and time to spend Canada Day near Moose Jaw this summer, look no further than Park Art, one of Saskatchewan’s premier arts and crafts fairs, held annually in beautiful Crescent Park every July 1. Park Art is the year’s biggest fundraiser for programming at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery (MJMAG), one of the cultural jewels of the Notorious City. The arts and crafts fair transforms the area of Crescent Park immediately in front of the MJMAG and Moose Jaw Public Library into an outdoor gallery from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 1 to display and sell goods by artists and artisans from across the province and often even further.

In 2023, the MJMAG’s curator Jennifer McRorie and her staff hope to see the number of Park Art vendors return to pre-pandemic levels — at that time, there were around 80 vendors every year, providing the event with an extraordinary variety of paintings, sculptures, pottery, woodworking, photography, knives and other metalware, baked goods and sweets, toys, and more.

The vendor registration period closes June 2. Interested vendors can register at mjmag.ca/parkartregistration. All works must be original and created by the applicant to be considered for inclusion. The energy and enthusiasm of the event draws hundreds upon hundreds of attendees every year, typically kitted out in red and white, with Canadian flags and maple leaves to help celebrate Canada’s birthday.

Visitors to Park Art can have the satisfaction of knowing they are supporting the essential cultural service the museum and art gallery offer, as well as the artists and artisans who have put so much work into mastering their craft.

Because the event is on a Saturday in 2023, the same day as the weekly Langdon Crescent Home-

grown Farmer’s Market, McRorie said the MJMAG and farmer’s market organizers have decided to team up. The Homegrown market will move into the park for the day, giving families even more options for produce, handmade goods, and delicious foods and beverages.

The market will keep its normal hours of 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Children’s activities at Park Art will be held inside in the MJMAG education room, including handson crafts, games, and other engaging family projects. Outside, there are usually vendors doing face painting and marketing toys. Some artists even offer interactive workshops where kids can learn to make their own masterpieces. Families can also participate in a scavenger hunt all through the fair and enter a completed scavenger hunt form into a prize draw.

Admission to Park Art is $5, and all are welcome to attend. There will be buskers providing live music, a BBQ concession by a local service club, and possibly even some food trucks parked nearby. The event could not happen without the help of a small army of volunteers, who are rewarded with free attendance, a snack and beverage table, and a volunteer luncheon. Volunteers help organize Park Art from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the day, with each shift lasting two hours, so be sure to thank them for their efforts if you enjoy the fair — or even join them if you love Park Art!

Volunteer roles include setup and take-down, admissions, the Penny Parade, the Peggy Table, and volunteer/vendor support. If you’re interested in being part of things, register at mjmag.ca/parkartvolunteers

Moose Jaw’s famous and popular Park Art artisan fair is in support of the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery (file photo)

Grab a cup of culture at the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery

To reside in a community requires a home and employment within it.

To know a community requires a little more effort. The heart of any village, town or city lies in its culture. Like sports, music, enterprise and entertainment, a region’s art and history are integral to the ongoing development and collectivity within a shared hometown.

Residents and visitors to Moose Jaw get all this and more at the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery (MJMAG) at 461 Langdon Crescent where it sits below the Moose Jaw Public Library. Established in 1967 as part of Canada’s Centennial Celebrations, MJMAG has highlighted local and nationally renowned artists for more than five decades while

collecting a vast inventory of historical documents and display items featuring the Central Prairies and its people.

MJMAG includes three main exhibition areas, including the Norma Lang Gallery, the Heritage Museum Gallery, and a Lobby Gallery. The latter room hosts a rotating selection of work from the facility’s 10,000-piece collection alongside special events and displays. This summer, MJMAG celebrates the artistic talents of the region’s LGBTQ creators in the Lobby Gallery.

The “Moose Jaw Pride” exhibit is featured in a room that also hosts annual exhibitions for the Moose Jaw Art Guild, which was established in 1929. The guild is open to all artists from the area and includes a variety of mediums.

Meanwhile, the Norma Lang Gallery features a variety of exhibits on a seasonal basis and features artists located here and around the world. The gallery’s 2023 display from May through September is called “tRACES: Lines, Lives, Loves” by Jeannie Mah and Heidi McKenzie. This body of work features pieces by the ceramic artists portraying the stories of two immigrant individuals. It also in-

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cludes archival footage and solo works completed by each artist.

The MJMAG’s Heritage Museum Gallery is an immersive look at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, its people, its development and the culturally impressionable history that makes the city what it is today. The current feature display is the “Lost Children of the Residential School System,” which includes hundreds of pairs of shoes that were collected on the steps of the local St. Andrews United Church in 2021 as part of a memorial honoring missing aboriginal children. Organized by Cassidy and Kayleigh Olson, the display specifically notes the 215 missing Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation children who attended the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia through the 19th and 20th Centuries.

Both MJMAG and the City of Moose Jaw, through the Crescent Park Foundation Initiative, have taken their cultural exhibitions outdoors as well. A tree-carving installation surrounding MJMAG and the Moose Jaw Public Library opened in 2016 in adjacent Crescent Park. Artists have used the

trunks of damaged and fallen trees to both clean up the park and feature their work.

Especially exciting for 2023 is the scheduled opening of the MJMAG giftshop this summer. The store will be open Tuesday through Saturday along the same operating hours as the gallery.

Finally, art connoisseurs and local burgeoning artists can learn from the best via MJMAG’s intermittent talks from established creators. These are held in person in the gallery and can be seen on the museum and gallery’s YouTube page. The MJMAG can also be found on Facebook and Instagram. Otherwise, the facility can be contacted through its website at mjmag. ca, or by telephone at 306.692.4471. The Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery is open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; noon to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The MJMAG is funded in part by the City of Moose Jaw, SK Arts, Saskatchewan Lotteries and SaskCulture Inc., the Museums Assistance Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Community Initiatives Fund.

Tucked away in the Village of Mortlach is a military museum featuring nearly 1,000 miniature models of planes, tanks, vehicles, and ships — and one man has made them all.

Steve Apperley’s interest in model military vehicles began when he was six years old after his father gave him a tube of glue to play with. His dad — a Second World War air force veteran — built many models out of wood during his military career following the war.

The first model plane Apperley received — planes are his favourite — was a DC-8 Air Canada transport plane. This kickstarted his love for the hobby, which continued into high school and adulthood. That first model plane has now grown into a collection of 840 models of various military vehicles and aircraft.

Apperley initially stored his collection at home but outgrew that location. After a years-long journey to find a new spot, he moved into a building four years ago along the main street in Mortlach. Since then, he has enjoyed running the Military Memories Model Museum, which features his creations, his father’s military uniforms and memorabilia, and his grandfather’s attestation papers from the First World War.

One room features models from the Second World War, while a second room showcases models from the Cold War to today.

If you’re observant, you might also notice the four American Sherman tanks from the movie “Fury,” with a little Brad Pitt figurine sticking out of the hatch.

Every model that Apperley made during the last 12 years came from kits. He had more models years ago but sold many of them, saying he would need a warehouse to keep everything he’s built. Besides the models, the hobbyist has also created

dioramas. For example, there is a scene featuring a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan airbase, while another scene shows heavy vehicles pulling a tank out of a lake.

Most of his models are from the Second World War since there is more variety of kits. For example, it’s easier to acquire models of German tanks since there were many versions, while there are only four models of American tanks.

Apperley’s favourite models to build are Spitfires and B-17 bombers from the Second World War. Apperley enjoys making models since he can work with his hands. Furthermore, he likes to fact-check everything he makes to ensure they’re as accurate as possible.

Whether it’s a German tank or an AT-6 Harvard plane, he browses through books or the internet to ensure the decals and designs are correct. Sometimes, though, he also likes to paint or design a model the way he wants.

It usually takes Apperley a week to build a 1:32-scale model, three to five days to build a 1:48-scale model aircraft or tank, and minutes to build a 1:72-scale model aircraft.

Apperley will not sell any of the models he has made but does sell boxed kits.

The Military Memories Model Museum is open year-round. For more information, call 306-6304598.

The St. Victor Petroglyphs Interpretive Centre and Museum helps tell the story of the site’s importance and the history of the symbols, which archaeologists believe date back roughly 1,700 years.

Of the 364 glyphs found at the site — located about 30 kilometres southeast of Assiniboia off Highway 2 — none are related to the horse, which suggests that Aboriginal people carved the designs before horses arrived on the plains in 1750.

Some experts believe some petroglyphs date back to the 1200s AD, while others think the stonecarved drawings originated around 300 AD. While there is no definite dating of the site or when Aboriginal peoples made the carvings, archaeologists believe the drawings belong to the ancestors of the Siouan-speaking tribes.

Glyphs are carvings of human feet, hands, faces, animal tracks, designs and symbols. Using stone and wood tools, Aboriginals drilled, carved and pounded out the symbols. The glyphs tell the relationship between man and animals, living in harmony over centuries.

The interpretive centre uses 10 colourful panels to tell the story of the site’s importance, the petro-

glyphs’ history, and the site’s future. Also on display are exhibits of how Aboriginal people used the bison, a replica of endangered glyphs, a display of Mortlach pottery — created between the years 1250 and 1750 — and worked bone, bone tools and stone tools.

The centre is located in a log structure from the former Moose Jaw Wild Animal Park and is called the Monarch Lodge, named after the “monarch of the plains,” the Plains Grizzly, and the Monarch butterfly.

The petroglyphs are located within the provincial

Garbage removal

Aerating

A face carving at St. Victor Petroglyphs Provincial Historic Park. Photo courtesy Tourism Saskatchewan

heritage park, an area First Nations consider to be a sacred place because of the “living stones” there. The glyphs are on the flat surface of an outcropping of sandstone on the upper level of the Missouri Escarpment about 2.5 kilometre south of St. Victor. From the plateau’s top, visitors can look out over the prairie landscape 700 feet below. The water channel that the last glacier cut through the area and the deep coulee system likely provided a source of shelter and plants for Aboriginal people for centuries.

While tourists can visit the site at any time and view a magnificent vista, the best time to see the glyphs is in the late afternoon or early evening.

This is when the shadows grow longer and it’s easier to see the carvings.

The centre and museum are open in July and August from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday.

Friends of St. Victor Petroglyphs offers tours throughout the summer. Visitors can join a late evening tour or can arrange for a special tour after dark to experience the carvings up close with the assistance of special lighting.

Tickets are $7 for adults, while children under age 12 are free. Bus tours should inquire about special rates.

To arrange a tour, call 306-642-5386 or 306-6424016. The website is stvictorpetroglyphs.ca.

The Perfect Find is a unique gift store located in the heart of downtown Moose Jaw

We carry a variety of your favourite gifting brands including Jellycat, Thymes, Capri Blue, Gourmet Village, April Cornell, Tag, along with a variety of other products ranging from jewellery and accessories, garden items, clothing, and children’s gifts and books.

Stop in and let us help you find the “perfect” gift for yourself or someone else.

“Goods for you home, gifts for your friends”

A set of feet at St. Victor Petroglyphs Provincial Historic Park. Photo courtesy Tourism Saskatchewan

A tour of the petroglyph site. Photo courtesy Facebook

RCMP Heritage Centre a must-visit day trip from Moose Jaw

Visitors to Moose Jaw looking for an engaging and informative day trip should look no further than the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Heritage Centre, only an hour’s drive away and open year-round.

The RCMP Heritage Centre provides a state-ofthe-art, immersive exploration of the history and culture of Canada’s national police force, and the role of the RCMP in shaping the country’s identity. The Centre is located on the grounds of the RCMP Academy “Depot” Division at 5907 Dewdney Avenue, Regina. The RCMP Academy was established in 1885 and remains the exclusive training facility for all RCMP cadets. The Centennial Museum, precursor to the Heritage Centre, opened in 1933. In 2006, the Centennial Museum closed permanently, and the Heritage Centre opened in 2007. Upon arriving at the RCMP Heritage Centre, visitors are greeted by staff and volunteers who provide an overview of the facility’s offerings and can answer any questions. The centre is open yearround, with operating hours from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For the most up-to-date information on the centre’s schedule, visit their website at www.rcmphc.com.

Visitors can choose between self-guided and guided tours. To ensure a spot on a guided tour, it is recommended to book in advance through the centre’s website or by contacting the RCMP Heritage Centre at (306) 522-7333, toll-free at 1-866567-7267, or by email at info@rcmphc.com.

The centre features a variety of exhibits, including the popular “March of the Mounties,” which showcases a chronological timeline of the RCMP’s development, “Creating a Mounted Police,” which delves into the training and daily lives of officers, and “Cracking the Case,” which invites visitors into hands-on interactive exhibits to examine a scene

and help solve a crime.

Before leaving the RCMP Heritage Centre, visitors can stop by the gift shop, which offers a wide range of RCMP souvenirs, clothing, and collectibles. The centre also has a café on-site, providing a convenient spot to grab a snack or a meal during the visit. The Heritage Centre is currently completing a years-long quest to become a National Museum.

National museums are Crown Corporations with their operating costs federally funded. If they can succeed in 2023, the achievement will coincide with the 150th anniversary of the RCMP.

Fulfilling the National Museum requirements has meant a shift in direction for the Heritage Centre. The Centre’s executive team, with the full support of RCMP leadership, has created a strategy to address the full history of the force, including its impact on and relationship with marginalized populations in Canada.

The focus on current issues such as Truth and Reconciliation and positive changes in the RCMP’s relationship with 2SLGBTQ+ communities has coincided with increased resources toward outreach and education. Innovative new programs for high school students, for example, have engaged with thousands of youths so far in 2023, and connected them with serving RCMP officers across the country to answer questions and share experiences.

The RCMP Heritage Centre is the best place in Canada to learn about the legendary red-coated Mounties, including the force’s fascinating roles in both World Wars, Cold War-era espionage, and current status — recognized worldwide as an elite modern law-enforcement organization.

See the Future stars of tomorrow,

Located in a historic old fire hall, the Mortlach Museum features a fascinating array of artifacts that tell the tales of the early pioneers and nearby Aboriginal settlement since the community’s founding in 1902.

Among other things, the museum showcases a courthouse and jail cell that both used to operate in town. Tourists can take home a memorable keepsake from the old jail by posing for a picture inside the structure.

There is no doubt that posing for a photo is probably preferable to sleeping in a drafty old jail cell from 1911.

One of Mortlach’s first pioneers was Khamis Michael, an immigrant from Iraq. Some of his personal effects are on display at the museum, such as an artifact called a samovar, which is used to boil water for tea and is a staple in many Middle Eastern homes.

Michael also constructed one of the town’s first buildings, which became the Wagons West Restaurant. This building still exists and is across the street from the museum.

New this year are in-depth dis plays featuring the artworks of Casey Jones and Fred Lahrman. Jones extensively painted many

subjects, focusing on Aboriginal chiefs and First Nations camps. A carpenter for Canadian Pacific Railway, Jones was interested in the Sioux and often visiting a camp south of Mortlach to sketch their chiefs.

collection.

Jones determined that many arrowheads and spearpoints were similar to those found in New Mexico. This means a migration path likely existed from the southern United States to Western Canada and vice versa.

The Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery currently houses many of his paintings, so volunteers with the Mortlach Museum photographed some of those works and created a display at their venue.

Jones’ interest in First Nations extended to collecting and identifying artifacts such as spear points and arrowheads on the Prairies.

During the Dirty Thirties, the windstorms blew away the topsoil, revealing many relics from Aboriginal people. Jones was an amateur archaeologist and rec

Some of Jones’ relic collection is on display at the Glenbow Museum in Alberta, while the Moose Jaw Public Library archives also holds some items. Meanwhile, the Mortlach Museum’s art display about Lahrman looks at his work as a naturalist, his efforts to re-establish the Canada goose population when it was plummeting and his comprehensive whooping crane conservation work.

As a boy, Lahrman hooked a string to his box camera to take close-up photos of young burrowing owls. One picture is on display at the museum. Also, some of his artwork and dioramas are part of the Saskatchewan Museum of Natural History’s background scenes. The Mortlach Museum opens for the season during the Victoria Day long weekend in May and closes during the Labour Day long weekend. For more

Discovering the Royal Saskatchewan Museum: Engaging exhibits, natural history, and modern science

The Royal Saskatchewan Museum is a natural history museum located in Regina, the provincial capital, and is one of the largest museums in Western Canada, housing dioramas, learning activities, and a deep dive into the past, present, and future that will entertain the whole family. The museum is located at 2445 Albert Street in Regina and is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is by donation — the standard amount is $5 per person.

grasslands), and its First Nations history, including an exploration of traditional Indigenous culture and lifestyle and the ongoing impact of colonial policies.

Of course, no visit to the RSM would be complete without a close look at the paleontology section — fun fact, the RSM is home to the world’s largest and oldest Tyrannosaurus Rex! Nicknamed Scotty, the super-predator’s fossilized bones were discovered by an RSM research team in 1991. It took more than 20 years to separate stone from stone, resulting in a 65 per cent complete skeleton that was used to create the giant model in the dinosaur exhibit.

The Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) has two main sections. First, the main building is where visitors can explore a wide range of exhibits and displays showcasing the history of Saskatchewan and the surrounding areas. The second section is the archives and collections storage, where the scientists make the science happen.

Main Building — Exhibits, dioramas, and activities

In the main building, visitors will learn about the province’s geological history, including the era when it was an inland sea, its natural history (including the unique plant and animal species of the

The RSM’s latest exhibit is Home: Life in the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is the scientific term for the latest geological era, in which the greatest impact on the planet’s climate, environment, and biodiversity is from human beings. The exhibit features a huge “Science on a Sphere” floating globe system that provides an immersive

In the Indigenous sections, visitors learn more about the lives and culture of First Nations peoples.

The RSM’s exhibits help visitors understand the native plants and animals of the grassland ecosystem. Most of these species are critically endangered

journey of the earth powered by data from NASA and NOAA.

Archives and Collections

The second section of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum is what gives life, pun intended, to the visitor’s section. Here, scientists from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds study our world through the lenses of paleontology, archaeology, biology, zoology, and more.

Saskatchewan has rocks from the end of the Cretaceous period, when the dinosaurs went extinct, and geological layers and zones that makes it particularly fascinating. This makes it a centre for scientists studying the last million years of the earth’s history. For example, graduate students from all over the world help the RSM’s curators analyze plant and insect life from just before the dinosaurs went extinct to the present day. By studying the differences, they can determine the impacts of climate on all forms of life.

The RSM is the official repository for natural history items in the province. They have samples, data, and taxidermized animals by the hundreds — many of which are now threatened, endangered, or even extirpated in the Prairies. Members of the public have found and contributed many of the items, and the RSM’s curators see the public as important partners in their quest to understand and

preserve history.

The RSM’s collections also house many important and culturally significant First Nations artifacts. The museum’s curators and administrators work closely with Indigenous communities to make sure these artifacts are preserved, respected, and understood.

Don’t miss the Royal Saskatchewan Museum on your trip to Saskatchewan! Understanding the part is a critical component of making sense of the present, and the support of visitors helps the museum fulfill their mandate and continue providing educational and awe-inspiring experiences for everyone who walks through their doors.

Student’s from all over Saskatchewan, Canada, and the world are able to access the vast archive of carefully preserved natural history at the RSM.

Eastend’s T.Rex Discovery Centre hosting exciting new activities this summer

The T.Rex Discovery Centre in Eastend plans to showcase several new activities and displays this summer that should excite wannabe paleontologists of all ages and make it a family-focused vacation destination.

The popular dinosaur-focused attraction is roughly three hours from Moose Jaw and located southwest of Swift Current off Highway 13. The venue is also an hour’s drive from Cypress Hills Provincial Park.

The museum — home to Scotty, the world’s largest T.Rex — opens Saturday, May 20; admission is $10 per visitor and $20 per family.

An exciting new feature this year is more informational panels about the Tylosaurus, a dinosaur in the Mosasaurus family.

The specimen, a predatory marine reptile related to modern lizards and snakes, was discovered in the hills around Lake Diefenbaker near Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park. It is around 10 metres in length and had the skeletal remains of a smaller Mosasaur in its stomach.

The museum has a cast replica of the skeleton — the Tylosaurus lived 72 million years ago in an inland sea that covered most of the province at the time — on display. The original fossils are being preserved in the Royal Saskatchewan Museum’s (RSM) collection.

Another new addition is a dinosaur expedition passport, an activity booklet for visitors — especially kids — that encourages them to search for fossils and participate in activities while collecting stamps.

If they collect enough stamps, the museum will give them a special prize to make them a junior paleontologist. Families can also use the passports to learn about other events happening this summer.

The discovery centre plans to add new activities to its paleo lab experience, but some features will only be ready later in the summer. Those activities will encourage everyone to be a paleontologist by searching for dinosaurs in the fields around the building.

Inside, participants can use a stop-motion animation table, while they can also use a new sand-filled stratigraphy table. A projector pointed down at the table will measure the height of any hills or mountains people create by showing coloured elevation levels.

Moreover, the projector will also show — through the computer program — fish, reptiles, rabbits and other animals that are part of the environment. Other new activities that arise during the summer will be posted to the RSM’s website.

Besides in-house activities, the T.Rex Discovery Centre also conducts outreach activities to communities in the area. This summer, the centre plans to visit libraries in Shaunavon, Eastend and Maple Creek and hold “Storytime with Scotty’s Friends” while leading craft activities.

Visit https://royalsaskmuseum.ca/trex for more information.

Historic

treasure trove: Western Development Museum hosts massive collection

Moose Jaw’s branch of the Western Development Museum (WDM) is the largest of the four WDM locations in Saskatchewan, and needs to be, because it focuses on the province’s transportation history and hosts a massive collection of vehicles of all kinds.

If you’re entering Moose Jaw from the north, it’s hard to miss the WDM. With over 100,000 square feet of space, the museum has an extensive collection of cars, trucks, and farm equipment that will transport you back in time. If you and your family choose to wander the halls, you’ll see everything from vintage cars to a flock of historic planes (beautifully restored by expert volunteers) including the Vickers Vedette flying boat, to several enormous retired Canadian Pacific Railway locomotives and rail cars.

The WDM is at 50 Diefenbaker Dr. The galleries and gift shops are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission (prices include PST and GST) is $10.57 for adults, $9.51 for seniors, $7.40 for students of any age with a valid card, $4.23 for children between 6 and 12, and free for children five and under.

The list of gallery exhibits includes:

• The Aircraft Gallery — stocked with planes that flew as part of the WWII British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

• The Watercraft Galley — collection of boats important to Saskatchewan waterway history

• Classy Cars — restored vintage automobiles like the 1930 Packard Sedan and the 1975

Model T, early snow travel contraptions, and Blowtorch the mechanical horse

• The Rail Gallery — Moose Jaw was one of North America’s most important rail hubs at points during its history, and this gallery traces the city’s railway path

The museum’s exhibits are curated to provide visitors with a sense of what life was like on the Cana-

Bricklin SV1

• The Snowbirds Gallery — only museum gallery in the world focused on Canada’s premier aerobatics team, 431 Squadron Snowbirds

• The Land Gallery — more cars, including a

dian prairies in the early 20th century. The cars and trucks on display were an essential part of life on the prairies, transporting people and goods across vast distances. The farm equipment on display shows the evolution of agriculture in Canada, from the early days of horse-drawn plows to the modern machinery used today.

While the Western Development Museum is especially attractive for automobile/transportation enthusiasts and history buffs, it’s also a great place to take the family. The museum offers a range of activities and programs for kids, including interactive exhibits and workshops. The museum’s friendly staff are always happy to answer questions and provide insights into the exhibits, and every WDM location has sensory backpacks filled with resources for children and youth who live with sensory processing disabilities such as autism. The museum also host regular educational programs and school trips, events like Brickspo and the Moose Jaw Model Train Show, and offers a gift shop onsite for mementos, travel guides, and unique made-in-Saskatchewan items.

Overall, the Western Development Museum is a fascinating and immersive experience that offers a glimpse into early settler life, culture, and adaptations on the Canadian prairies. Don’t just drive by: The museum is waiting for your curiosity and exploration.

Sukanen Village Museum features famous ship and early pioneer life

It’s not every day you see an ocean-going ship beached in the middle of the Prairies, but that’s what you’ll find when you visit the Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum.

The village — located 13 kilometres south of Moose Jaw — has been in operation on a 40-acre site since 1969, with the goal of promoting the area’s early pioneer history and showcasing the buildings and equipment pioneers used from the 1890s to 1930s. Volunteers moved the Sukanen Ship there in 1974 to recognize the work of Finnish pioneer Tom Sukanen, who built the vessel by hand with tools he made. His body was re-buried next to his vessel and the museum was renamed in honour of him. As the story goes, Sukanen was unable to move his ship up the Saskatchewan River, float it sideways through shallow areas, then sail up the Churchill River to Hudson Bay and onward to Finland. Neighbours in the Finnish communities of Lucky Lake Macrorie reported him to police and Mounties and he was taken the insane asylum in North Battleford, where he later died.

schoolhouse, general store, hardware store, blacksmith shop, municipal office, service station, newspaper/print shop, CN railway station, pharmacy and carriage house.

A farm barn and seven vintage houses form a collection that includes an 1890s ranch house, two pioneer shacks and one-and-a-half storey farmhouse. It also includes buildings from former Prime Minister John Deifenbaker’s homestead.

Sukanen Village is located south of Moose Jaw on Highway 2 and is normally open seven days a week from May 10 to Sept. 11. Hours are usually 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Saturday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Since the museum’s founding more than 50 years ago, it has grown to include 40 buildings and more than 200 cars, trucks and tractors. Some highlights include a 1913 grain elevator, former prime minister John Diefenbaker’s homestead, a fire hall, tractor collections, and replica International Harvester Company dealership and machinery collection. The village streets feature a church, one-room

Upcoming activities for 2023:

• Show and Shine, Saturday, June 3

• Outdoor flea market and swap, Sunday, June 25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Family Day, Sunday, July 16

• Threshing Bee, Saturday, Sept. 9 and Sunday, Sept. 10: This weekend usually involves pancake breakfasts, a vintage vehicle parade, demonstrations of hand threshing, fanning wheat, ploughing, old-time threshing, a vintage tractor pull, Saturday nice dance party, Sunday church service

Call 306-630-5727 or 306-693-7315 or visit sukanenshipmuseum.ca for more information.

A true Moose Jaw landmark: Experience luxury, heritage, and splendor at Grant Hall Hotel

The Grant Hall Hotel was the city’s first grand railway hotel, completed in 1927 with the help of the Canadian Pacific Railway, recently restored to glory, and just waiting for your visit to the Notorious City.

The hotel is located at 401 Main Street North in downtown Moose Jaw, at the heart of everything. Nearby must-visit attractions include the famous Tunnels of Moose Jaw, the world-renowned Temple Gardens geothermal mineral pool, the ultrapopular Rosie’s on River Street, axe-throwing and escape rooms at Little Chicago Entertainment, Crescent Park and the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, and much more.

Grant Hall boasts 58 luxurious rooms, each of which is one-of-a-kind thanks to the building’s fascinating architectural history. It’s a non-designated Heritage Property designed by Richard Geoffrey Bunyard, Moose Jaw’s most prolific architect, who left his mark all over the city and surrounding areas, including City Hall, Timothy Eaton’s, and many of Moose Jaw’s schools.

the hotel was completed in 1927 with the help of a community hotel association and financing from the CPR. In its early prime, the hotel hosted famous guests like Maurice “Rocket” Richard, the Von Trapp family, and even the King and Queen Mother of the United Kingdom.

It faced some difficult economic times in the late

Tours of the hotel are offered through Prairie Bee Meadery, an independent business on the lower level. Guests can sample delicious honey-based beverages while exploring the enchantingly gorgeous nooks and crannies of the building and appreciating its preserved and restored details. The ornately decorated interior mezzanine, for example, has blind Romanesque windows, four unique original Corinthian columns, and a soaring vaulted ceiling with ornate mouldings lending an air of elegance and refinement that expresses the hotel’s prestige.

Other businesses conveniently on site include Envi Jewellers, Dolce Salon and Spa, and Align Massage Therapy.

The Grant Hall Hotel is also important as a symbol of Moose Jaw’s economic and social development. Named after a Canadian Pacific Railway vice president responsible for western rail operations,

20th century and fell into decay, sparking rumours of condemnation and demolition. Nevertheless, the Grant Hall Hotel survived and was eventually restored from 2006 to 2014 for adaptive reuse. The developers preserved its key architectural elements and added modern mechanical systems such as geothermal heating. The number of rooms was reduced from over 100 to 58 by knocking down walls and incorporating social areas to make each room larger, brighter, and more interesting.

The current owners restored the building to its hotel status, making it once again one of Moose Jaw’s iconic landmarks. It is also an ideal venue for functions and events, with a 150-person banquet hall, a 22-seat theatre, a solarium, patio, library, and multiple additional halls and meeting rooms to accommodate groups of varying sizes. The elegant and historic atmosphere of the building adds class and sophistication to any occasion. It is a frequent venue for weddings, conferences, galas, fundraising events, parties, and other gatherings.

The hotel’s Owl Lounge features popular live music on Thursday and Friday nights, and fine dining is available at the hotel’s restaurant.

With its combination of high-end, grand heritage facilities and exceptional service, the Grant Hall Hotel is a premier destination for those looking for somewhere to stay, host a memorable event, or enjoy a delicious meal in Moose Jaw.

Learn more at www.granthall.ca.

The Grant Hall Hotel lobby introduces guests to the grandness of the building’s architecture (photo by Gordon Edgar)

MJ Exhibition Company: Where Sask.’s agricultural roots shine brightest

Agriculture has been a foundation for Prairie economics and culture since the region’s settlement in the late 19th an early 20th Centuries. Visit almost any Saskatchewan community and there will be a vibrant agricultural organization of some kind. The Moose Jaw Exhibition Company has been that entity here in Moose Jaw since 1884, when the pre-cursor to the organization was established to run the

Bill Gomersall Arenas provide outdoor venues through the temperate seasons.

The other amenities that make the Moose Jaw Exhibition Company a “Grade-A” place for gatherings of all sizes are its convention and meeting rooms. The Exhibition Company Convention Centre sits at the south end of the property. It provides 20,000 square feet of floorspace, enough room for a capacity of 1000 patrons and on-site catering services.

Moose Jaw

Hometown Fair.

Through the decades, the Exhibition Company has become the primary host for a wide variety of agricultural, communitywide, social events, both private and public.

Almost 140 years after its creation, the company manages an extensive property of riding arenas, fairgrounds and convention space at 250 Thatcher Drive East. It’s annual calendar of events includes about 35 livestock and equine shows. Among them are events highlighting dressage, barrel racing, hunter/ jumper shows, cutting shows and other types of agricultural gatherings. All tallied, the Exhibition Company attracts up to 90,000 visitors per year, a large portion of that coming by hosting equestrian association events from throughout South Saskatchewan.

The organization’s complex of facilities meets the needs of almost any celebration or attraction. Equine and livestock events are held in three arenas. The Golden Mile Arena is set indoors, while the West Ring and

The smaller Golden Nugget Centre sits adjacent to the convention centre and holds up to 230 people. This facility includes a dance floor and a bar. Both rooms are available for a multitude of different celebrations, from private social gatherings such as reunions, weddings and parties to much larger public functions, like the South Saskatchewan Wildlife Association’s annual gun show in March. The Exhibition Company also regularly books a variety of craft, antique and collectibles shows.

Finally, the grounds are also home to the Moose Jaw Dog Club, which provides members with a gated dog run, dog training facilities and service, and competition through the Agility Association of Canada. Otherwise, the Exhibition Company is the centre of the city June 22 through 25. The annual Hometown Fair returned to the calendar after a two-year hiatus due to pandemic restrictions. Organizers, who are putting together a wide range of attractions for the 2023 event, are expecting the same success they garnered on their return in 2022. This year’s highlights are the 4-H Cattle Show and Sale, the Moose

Jaw Hunter/Jumper Show, West Coast Amusements, the Canine Stars Stunt Dog Show and more. Besides the Hometown Fair, the organization’s calendar currently has a dozen other events already booked through the rest of the year. The Saskatchewan Quarter Horse Association will arrive May 19 to 21, followed by the Moose Jaw Dog Club Regionals on June 9 and 10. The Quarter Horse Association returns July 7 to 9, followed by the Highway to Heroes Car Show on July 22. The Saskatchewan Reined Cow Horse Association moves in to close the month.

The Saskatchewan Cutting Horse Association will host an event at the grounds Aug. 4 to 6, then the Canadian Ranch Roping Finals will take place Sept. 16 and 17.

Another Hunter/Jumper show, the Whistlestop Christmas Craft Show and the TLC Art and Craft Show currently round out the year’s bookings through to midNovember.

Contact the Moose Jaw Exhibition Company for more information on events, facility rental availability and other services. The organization can be reached at 306.692.2723; by email at moosejawexh@sasktel.net; Facebook and moosejawex.ca.

THE MOOSE JAW Exhibition Company

offers one of the City’s largest convention facilities

Convention Facilities

The MJ Ex Co has several different options for your event, the buildings ranging in capacity up to 1000 people. Please contact the MJ Ex Co Office for more information.

MJ Hometown Fair

One of the City’s largest events, this year’s dates June 22, 23, 24 & 25th with the Parade down Main Street on June 21st. Non-stop entertainment for all ages!

Equine Facilities

Permanent and temporary stabling available. Newly upgraded Arena with almost all weekend shows free to the public.

Burrowing Owl Centre

The Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre was created to help promote conservation of the burrowing owl and its native prairie habitat through education, eco-tourism and stewardship. SBOIC is a non-profit organiza tion, run by the MJ Ex Co, and relies entirely on grants and donations to operate.

For Burrowing Owl information Call 306-692-8710 for hours

For event listings, updates and information, please visit our website and “like” us on Facebook!

Hit theLinks Course Locations

Hit the links: plenty of impressive golf courses to play in southern Saskatchewan Variety of layouts and designs offer challenges for golfers looking to try something different from their home course.

Golfers in southern Saskatchewan have long had no shortage of options to keep things fresh and interesting when it comes to enjoying the game throughout the summer months. While some folks are happy to stick to their local course, the more adventurous can travel for an hour in just about any direction and find a new round of links to check out.

And don’t expect to find simple courses carved out of a farmer’s field -- from rolling, lakeside vistas to valley layouts offering as much challenge as one could want, southern Saskatchewan can fill the need for any player just wanting a quick nine holes or seeking to put their game to the test. The most common part of it all? The friendly faces you’ll find at each and every stop, all with the goal of making your visit as positive and fun as possible. Here’s a look a just some of the courses you can try out this summer!

Notes: In-depth website includes a hole-byhole breakdown of the course… located on the shores of Lake Diefenbaker, offering impressive views throughout the round.

Contact (info, booking tee times): (306) 8542300. Website: harborgolfclub.com

Located: One and a half hours northwest via Highway 202 north to Highway 42, northwest on Highways 42, 367 and 19 to Elbow.

Course Type: 18 holes, grass greens, 6297 yards from blue tees, 5133 yards from yellow tees, par 71

Green fees: Adult 18 holes $50 weekly, $55 weekends and holidays. Seniors 55-plus $45 any day, Adult nine holes $30 weekly, $35 weekends and holidays. Full memberships available.

Amenities: Full pro shop and clubhouse with resort restaurant on-site, RV park, golf lessons, cart rental, multiple leagues and tournaments.

Located: One

a

Highway 202 north to Highway 42, northwest to Riverhurst, 11 minutes west.

Course type: Nine holes, grass greens, 2998 yards from blue tees, 2298 yards from red tees, par 36.

Green fees: Nine holes $28, 18 holes $41, full memberships available.

Amenities: Full proshop and clubhouse with 4,000 square foot banquet hall for rent. Driving range, cart rental, club rentals, pull carts available.

Notes: Links-style course offers impressive views of Lake Diefenbaker… banquet hall offers ability to host wide range of events including weddings, tournaments and other fun events.

Contact (info, tee times): (306) 353-2065. Website: www.sageviewgolfcourse.ca

Located: Swift Current, one hour 40 minutes west on Trans Canada Highway.

Course Type: 18 holes, grass greens, 6842 yards from black tees, 5139 yards from green tees, par 72

Green fees: Adult nine holes $36, 18 holes $59, Junior (12-18) nine holes $19, 18 holes $27, full memberships available.

Amenities: Full proshop and clubhouse,

1. Harbor Golf Club and Resort

2. Sage View Golf Course

and

half hours northwest via

3. Elmwood Golf Course

driving range, cart rentals, club rentals, winter season hitting facility, special stay-andplay hotel deal.

Notes: Located on the outskirts of Swift Current, close to hotels and regular amenities… features tiered membership based on age… various green fees specials available.

Contact (info, tee times): (306) 778-4653.

Website: elmwoodgc.com

Located: Swift Current, one hour 40 minutes west on Trans Canada Highway.

Course Type: 18 holes, grass greens, 6635 yards from blue tees, 5421 yards from red tees, par 72

Green fees: Adult nine holes $27 weekly, $30 weekends and holidays, 18 holes $45 weekly, $49 weekends Seniors 65-plus nine holes $25, 18 holes $36, full memberships available.

Amenities: Full proshop and clubhouse, driving range, cart rentals, club rentals, lessons.

Notes: Located on southwest edge of Swift Current along Swift Current Creek, close to hotels and regular amenities… clubhouse boasts ‘the best patio in town’.

Contact (info, tee times): (306) 778-2776.

Website: www.swiftcurrent.ca/divisions/ community-services/recreation/chinookgolf-course

Amenities: Full clubhouse, golf carts. Play and Stay where a receipt from a visit to Craik Regional Park earns free cart rental.

Notes: Located on rolling terrain in the Arm River Valley… website features an aerial video tour of course.

Contact (info, tee times): (306) 734-2364.

Website: craikgolf.com

Located: One hour northwest via Highway 202 north to Chamberlain, Highway 11 northwest to Craik.

Course Type: Nine holes, grass greens, 2959 yards from blue tees, 2519 yards from red tees, men’s par 35, women’s par 36.

Green fees: Nine holes $21, 18 holes $31.50, 18-and-under nine holes $10.50. Green fee packs and memberships available.

Located: One hour south via Highway 2, five minutes south of Assiniboia.

Course Type: Nine holes, grass greens, 2768 yards from men’s tees, 2548 yards from ladies tees. Par 36.

Green fees: Nine holes $23, 18 holes $36, full memberships available.

Amenities: Full proshop, equipment and power cart rentals, licensed clubhouse with food service.

Notes: Located in Assinboia Regional Park, with campgrounds and other amenities just outside of town… wide range of tournaments, league nights throughout the season. Contact (info, tee times): (306) 642-5442. Website: www.facebook.com/assiniboiagolf.

Located: Avonlea, one hour southeast via Highway 39 to Highway 339 turnoff, south and east on Highway 339 to Avonlea, five minutes east.

Course Type: 18 holes, grass greens, 6419 yards from blue tees, 5877 from white tees, 5192 from red tees, par 72

Green fees: 18 holes weekdays $40, weekends and holidays $52.38, punch passes and memberships available.

Amenities: Modern 11,000 foot clubhouse, full proshop, driving range, cart and club rentals, leagues and regular tournaments.

Notes: Prairie valley layout features mediumdifficulty greens and plenty of water through-

4. Chinook Golf Course

5. Craik and District Golf Club

6. Assiniboia Regional Park Golf Course

7. Long Creek Golf and Country Club

out, requires sharp shotmaking… website includes hole-by-hole breakdown of course.

Contact (info, tee times): (306) 868-4432.

Website: www.long-creek.ca

8. Thomson Lake Regional Park Golf Course

Located: One and a half hours southwest via Highway 2 to Highway 43, west to Gravelbourg, south on Highway 58 to Thomson Lake Regional Park.

Course type: Nine holes, grass greens, 5953 yards, par 71

Green fees: Nine holes $27, 18 holes $41, youth 18 holes $30, youth nine holes $15. Green fee season passes, punch cards available.

Amenities: Clubhouse and proshop, cart rentals and storage, club rentals, driving range.

Notes: Part of Thomson Lake Regional Park, with nearby access to campgrounds, swimming pool, parks, other amenities.

Contact (info, tee times): (306) 472-5686.

Website: www.thomsonlake.com

Located: One and a half hours to Willow Bunch south via Highway 2 and Highway 36, five minutes southwest to Jean Louis Legare Regional Park.

Course type: Nine holes, grass greens, 2927 yards from back tees, 2726 yards from middle tees, 2412 yards from forward tees, par 36.

Green fees: Nine hole $26, 18 hole $40, green fee passes and memberships available.

Amenities: Proshop and clubhouse, cart rentals, regular tournaments and fun nights.

Notes: Part of Jean Louis Legare Regional Park, featuring camping, hiking and wide range of outdoor activities… valley course features tree-lined fairways, large grass greens, in walking distance of campground. Contact (info, tee times): (306) 473-2852.

Website: willowbunch.ca/discover/golfcourse/

9. Willow Bunch Golf Course

Moose Jaw golf courses bring variety and different

looks for local players

Hillcrest Golf Club, Lynbrook Golf Club and Deer Ridge Golf Course each offer unique options for those looking for a test

When the 2022 golf season opened in Moose Jaw last spring, it marked the first time in two years that local courses were able to fully open, free and clear of any pandemic restrictions. That led to thousands of rounds being played at the Hillcrest Golf Club, Lynbrook Golf Club and Deer Ridge Golf Course throughout the summer months, as players took advantage of beautiful weather and impressive conditions to get back on the links and have some fun in the sun. Making things even more fun for players is what each course has to offer, bringing a different challenge depending on what folks are looking for.

The Hillcrest Golf Club features a par-71 course located in the northeast of the city, covering 5,909 yards from the white tees, 4,386 yards from the red and 6,273 yards from the championship tees. The course design features a rolling valley layout, offering elevation changes on the majority of holes and plenty of challenging decision-making if players find any kind of trouble.

yards and par 73 for women and par 69 for men from the red tees.

Like the Hillcrest, the Lynbrook features a fullservice pro-shop in addition to their expansive clubhouse, anchored by Ortley’s Lounge and their popular food and drink fare.

The new clubhouse has now been fully open for a season and has received rave reviews, with the bar, kitchen service and bathroom facilities making things that much more enjoyable for players looking for a quick bite or to relax after a round.

Upgrades planned for the season include the beginning of a cart-path paving program that will take place over the next few years as well as bridge repairs on Hole 10 and more drainage work on necessary holes.

More information, including fees and memberships, can be found at hillcrestgolf.ca or by calling (306) 693-1921.

The Lynbrook Golf Club is in the city’s northwest and offers an easier challenge for the average golfer. The course covers 5,806 yards at par 71 for men and par 73 for women from the white tees, 5,228

Their driving range is also a popular spot for folks looking to refine their game, and like the other courses, you can pick up a bucket of balls and swing to your heart’s content.

Check out lynbrookgolf.org or call (306) 692-2838 for more on the course and all they have to offer. If you’re pressed for time and looking for a quick round of golf or are even hoping to work on your short game, Deer Ridge has you covered.

With a layout that rolls next to the Moose Jaw River alongside Manitoba Street in the city’s east side, the course features a majority par-three layout that still brings some challenge with hazards and terrain.

All told, the par-56 layout features 16 par-three holes and a pair of par fours, making a quick round after work simple and easy. Folks can purchase punch cards for nine and 18-hole rounds, in addition to memberships as of last season.

Deer Ridge also features a pro shop in addition to their dining hall, making the family-run venue a popular stop for tournaments in the city.

Check out deerridgemj.ca for a look at more or give them a shout at (306) 693-4653.

Moose Jaw Lawn Bowling Club

continues to grow sport

Season set to open in mid-May with regular playing nights, free learn-to-bowl days coming up

The Moose Jaw Lawn Bowling Club will be looking to see the sport continue to grow in Canada’s Most Notorious City when they open their new season in mid-May.

Located in the northeast corner of Crescent Park, the club features a large playing green and clubhouse for members, with games being played almost every day of the week.

That makes for some busy times some days, but the MJLBC wouldn’t have it any other way.

The game itself is similar to curling, with the weighted bowls scoring points by being closest to the jack. Being able to judge green speed, distance, angles and how hard to throw are all key components, with top-flight competitions often coming down to inches to decide scores each end.

One of the most attractive aspects of the sport is how it can be played by anyone of any age, and all one needs to pick up the sport is a comfortable pair of shoes — the club itself will supply the bowls, until you get good enough to pick up your own set.

The MJLBC runs playing times from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the summer months and also have drop in times scheduled at Yara Centre during the winter. Folks are also welcome from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Tuesdays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

The club held a special free ‘Try Lawn Bowling’ session on National Bowls Day last June to rave reviews, and will be following up with more opportunities for potential future members to try out

the game. That includes Victoria Day on Monday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., National Bowls Day on Saturday, June 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Canada Day Saturday , July 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Welcome Wednesdays will also be held each day in the month of June from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. All newcomers need to do is register in the clubhouse beforehand, and a member will show you all the ins and outs of the game.

For more information on the Moose Jaw Lawn Bowling Club and how to become a member, visit their web page at www.moosejawlawnbowling. com and search for the club on Facebook.

Moose Jaw Lawn Bowling Club veteran Daniel Morin offers instruction to a pair of newcomers during National Bowls Day last summer.

Golden Ticket Sports Centre has massive impact on local sports scene in short time

When the Golden Ticket Sports Centre officially opened back in July of 2022, few would have expected the impact the new multi-sport facility would have on the Moose Jaw sports community. In a few short months, the brainchild of co-founders Tanner Brightman and Chris King became a regular stop for basketball and volleyball teams, taking advantage of the brand-new gym and all the programs it had to offer.

And that’s not even including the other sports under the former Hillcrest Sports Centre’s roof, with the Golden Ticket quickly become a pure hub of activity almost from the moment it opened. In October of last year, a ceiling leak caused irreparable damage to the gym floor, resulting in the facility’s closure for the better part of seven months as the court was replaced and Golden Ticket took the opportunity to perform other needed building upgrades.

When things return to action during this spring of 2023, athletes will find a brand new court, new lighting throughout the building and a handful of other improvements to make things even better than they were before the damage.

On top of the gym programs, Golden Ticket also hosts Sowden Flanagan Baseball Training, which offers a host of programs designed to improve skills of baseball and softball players alike, with the facility plenty busy year-round.

Then there’s Gottselig Athletic Performance, which opened last fall with a focus on training athletes across all sports and quickly evolved into a popular program for those looking to take their game to

the next level.

The Moose Jaw Tennis Club also operates an indoor court throughout the winter months, offering players a chance to stay active and keep their game sharp until they can get back outside.

Golden Ticket also formed a competitive volleyball club this past fall, hosted a new adult dodgeball league, put together a fall youth basketball league and plan to offer a new competitive basketball program to replace Moose Jaw Minor Basketball next season.

For more on the Golden Ticket Sports Centre and all they have to offer, be sure to visit their website at www.goldenticketsportscentre.com and follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/goldenticketsportscentre.

The Golden Ticket Sports Centre operator Austin Chase and co-founder Tanner Brightman on the brandnew court last summer.

Moose Jaw Tennis Club a popular place during summer months

Pick any nice summer night during any day of the week, and odds are you’ll find all sorts of action taking place at the Moose Jaw Tennis Club on the east end of Crescent Park. With close to 100 members currently signed up with the local organization, folks of all ages can be found at the five-court outdoor facility, taking lessons, playing matches and just in general having a good time getting exercise and plenty of fresh air. The upcoming season will mark the first full summer with the brand-new resurfaced courts in play, with the work having been completed last June. The Australian Open-blue surface received rave reviews in the first few months of operation, offering a huge improvement over the old and worn surface.

Members have the option of playing at any time, with special round robin events taking place every weekday morning to give players a chance to meet other potential playing partners. That’s on top of

Be sure to keep an eye on their website and Facebook page for more news on those events, Memberships for the 2023 season — which is expected to being the first week of May — are now available on their website at www.moosejawtennisclub.com, and you can find about all their other programs up for offer there as well. For regular updates, visit their new Facebook page at www.fa-

The newly resurfaced tennis courts were a big hit in their first season of operation.

Kayaking and canoeing a great way to relax, exercise, see wildlife

tween kayaking and canoeing. With kayaks, operators sit lower in the water and within the watercraft’s narrow-beamed enclosed shell and use a doublebladed paddle in front of their bodies to provide locomotion. With canoes, operators sit on an elevated bench in a widerbeamed open half-shell watercraft and use a single-bladed paddle at their side to provide locomotion.

Residents and tourists looking for a new way to view nature in Wakamow Valley should consider grabbing a lifejacket and canoeing or kayaking on the Moose Jaw River.

Located in Kiwanis River Park just off First Avenue Southeast, Moose Jaw River and Adventure Tours lets people rent a canoe or kayak for a few hours, half a day or a full day so they can paddle up and down the river to exercise, socialize with friends, relax and see the large variety of animals in the valley.

It costs $22 per hour, $44 per half-day or $66 for a full day to rent a watercraft, while a twohour introduction to kayaking costs $44.

Moose Jaw River and Adventure Tours is open by appointment only in April, May and June, while it is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in July and August. It is then open again by appointment in September and October. For more information, call Tim Metka at 306-313-2212. There are several differences be-

People interested in navigating the Moose Jaw River in either a canoe or kayak can challenge themselves to various degrees while riding on the water. The water body is roughly 144 kilometres long and starts in the hills near Weyburn and meanders to Moose Jaw before heading out to Fort Qu’Appelle. Paddlers will have to portage several times along that stretch if they want to take on the entire river — including four or five times just in Moose Jaw. Some portage-related areas in The Friendly Cit include the weir at Seventh Avenue Southwest, areas around the former Valley View Centre and northeast of the city, and a spillway close to the former Old Union Hospital site near the Manitoba Expressway.

However, users can enjoy many parts of Wakamow Valley without having to haul their watercraft in and out of the river. If they rise early or stay up late, users can see many animals that live in the region, including raccoons, foxes, turtles, deer, muskrats, beavers and 30 to 40 species of birds.

For more info, visit Moose Jaw River and Adventure Tours’ Facebook page or www.bohscycle. ca/adventure-tours.html.

Yara Centre continues to offer a host of indoor activities throughout the year

Moose Jaw Soccer Association and the Saskatchewan Selects all-star football program.

The turf can be rented out on a first-come, first-serve basis, and also has special drop-in programs throughout the week, with variable rates and times available depending on the type of usage.

When the YaraCentre field house and athletic facility opened alongside the Moose Jaw Events Centre in August of 2011, it didn’t take long for the massive building to become a hub of activity during both the winter and summer months. That stands as true today as it did back then, and the number of programs and activities offered by the facility has grown to the point that the fieldhouse is one of the busiest places in the city, especially during the winter

months.

First and foremost is the massive, fully modern turf field, covering 120,000 square feet and capable of being divided into quarter-fields for use by multiple groups at the same time – it isn’t uncommon to walk into the building on a cold winter’s night and find lacrosse taking place in one corner, ultimate Frisbee in another and baseball and soccer taking up the remaining space. The building also holds tenancy agreements with both the

The field is only one amenity the building has to offer – a full-size four-lane walking and running track surrounds the turf, and a state-of-the-art gym and two multi-purpose rooms are located above the ground floor office space.

That brings a host of other programs and fitness classes into play, including spin, yoga and cycle-x classes along with no shortage of activities to get seniors out and about and active. Youngsters will also be able to take advantage of summer day camps in July and August.

The Moose Jaw Recreation Pass offers access to the Yara Centre fitness facility and their myriad fitness classes.

The facility has even come to the rescue of high school sports recently — when a major snowstorm hit Moose Jaw in advance of the high school boys’ provincial soccer championship this past fall, Yara Centre stepped up on less than a day’s notice to host the tournament, which was won by Moose Jaw’s own Central Cyclones.

For a look at the different programs and classes, as well as rental costs and any other information, be sure to check out the recreation facilities section at www.moosejaw.ca or give the facility a shout at (306) 694-4560 for more information.

The Yara Centre fieldhouse is busy all year round, but especially in the winter months as organizations take advantage of the indoor field.

The provincial high school boys soccer championship was held in the Yara Centre this fall.

Moose Jaw Curling Centre a busy place throughout the winter months

Weekly leagues, bonspiels, major events abound at curling facility in Moose Jaw Events Centre

Every year, the Moose Jaw Curling Centre features plenty of competition at all levels of the sport, from beginners learning the game to elite players competing for provincial championships. Pick any night of the week, and you’ll find a league in action or a bonspiel underway, with players young and old out enjoying the game. Leagues catering to recreational players saw all sheets full most evenings, with the Original 16 Cash League offering some of the top players a chance to get into the more competitive side of things. Those looking to play the game despite a disability can do so as well, with the Stick Curling league one of the most popular in the city. And then there’s wheelchair curling.

Saskatchewan Club Championship foursome and Penny Barker’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial championship banners joining the dozens upon dozens of other provincial and national titles. There will be a new one going up in the near future, too, after Gil Dash and Team Saskatchewan won the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship this spring at the Moose Jaw Curling Centre. Seeing national events take place locally isn’t unusual, either. Curling Canada’s interest in giving Moose Jaw high-profile tournaments stems from the wild success they have any time they show up — including the 2015 and 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts that took place in the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

Moose Jaw has become the undisputed hub of that version of the sport not only in Saskatchewan but in western Canada, hosting the 2023 Canadian Championship this past spring and now preparing to also host the 2024 tournament next March. Moose Jaw will also be hosting the 2023 Canadian Forces Canada West Curling championship in December after successfully hosting the tournament last winter.

On that point, the Moose Jaw Curling Centre isn’t just about having fun on the recreational side of things -- the banners on the far wall of the rink are testament to that.

Two were added this past fall, with Elaine Robson’s

Weekends are also an incredibly busy time, with regular bonspiels always a hit. That includes stops from the Sask Curling Tour in men’s, women’s and mixed doubles, as well as the annual Men’s Bonspiel, CHAB Youthspiel and a host of funspiels throughout the winter.

For more information on the Moose Jaw Curling Centre, including how to sign up for leagues for the coming season and other events, be sure to visit www.moosejawcurling.com and follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CurlMooseJaw/.

The Moose Jaw Curling Centre is busy throughout the week during the winter.

The Moose Jaw Curling Centre hosted the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship this spring.

Pickleball continues to grow in Moose

Jaw with brand-new outdoor courts

First full summer with new facility expected to be a busy one for rapidly growing sport

It wasn’t all that long ago that the sport of pickleball was a bit of a novelty in Moose Jaw, a new game that only a few people played in a couple of gyms in the city.

Those days have most certainly come and gone. Moose Jaw officially joined the wave of the fastestgrowing sport in North America this past summer with the opening of a brand-new six-court outdoor facility next to the Kinsmen Sportsplex, and it’s expected things are only going to take off from here. Close to 100 players are currently playing the sport all year round, with Timothy Eaton Garden and the Cosmo Centre two of the busiest facilities during the winter months. That’s on top of the school gyms that also see plenty of use as players aim to

court and with lower velocity paddles and balls, the game involves far less movement and impact than badminton or tennis, offering a great solution for those looking for a less physically intense sport that’s easy on the joints while still offering plenty of exercise.

You can play for fun with friends, ramp things up with provincial and national tournament play, and if things get serious enough, even join one of the high-profile professional leagues growing all over Canada and the U.S.

Pickleball Moose Jaw serves as the major organizing body locally, with other facilities putting together their own league- and drop-in nights throughout the year.

With the new outdoor courts, Pickleball Moose Jaw aims to offer a host of programming this coming summer, including morning, afternoon and evening sessions throughout the week for players of all ages and skills. Plans are also in place to create the first-ever competitive leagues, offering the next step in the development of the sport.

Outdoor court passes for Pickleball Moose Jaw are $125 for the season, and offer access to all the PMJ exclusive playing times in addition league- and member-exclusive events on top of private court booking and loaner equipment if you want to introduce someone to the sport.

Folks are also welcome to drop by the courts and try the game for themselves outside of PMJ exclusive hours.

get some exercise while playing the low-impact badminton and tennis hybrid.

That’s what helps make the sport so attractive -played on a surface about half the size of a tennis

For more on Pickleball Moose Jaw and what they have to offer and to sign on for the upcoming season, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook. com/pickleballmoosejaw or send them an e-mail at pickleballmoosejaw@gmail.com.

FULL - SERVICE PRINTING FOR LESS PRINT

The brand new outdoor pickleball courts next to the Kinsmen Sportsplex are entering their first full summer of operation.

Miller Express look to build on incredible Western Canadian Baseball League season

After reaching WCBL championship series with one of best seasons in recent history, Miller Express aim to go one step further

The 2022 Western Canadian Baseball League season was an incredible one for the Moose Jaw Miller Express, to the point it came within a single win of becoming a banner one. And that has fans looking forward to what the upcoming campaign might hold.

The Miller Express went all the way to the championship final in the 11-team league last summer and took the eventual champion Okotoks Dawgs to a third-anddeciding game before falling just short of their first title in WCBL history.

The Express — who play in the five-team East Division with the Regina Red Sox, Swift Current 57’s, Medicine Hat Mavericks and Weyburn Beavers — posted a 33-23 record in 2022, leading the division from the second week of the season until the final day when they were caught by the Red Sox.

The post-season saw Moose Jaw roll to a two-game sweep against Swift Current before taking a three-game win over Medicine Hat in the division final to set up their meeting with Okotoks — who play in the West Division with the Brooks Bombers, Fort McMurray Giants, Edmonton Prospects, Lethbridge Bulls and Sylvan Lake Gulls.

The Miller Express got there thanks to an absolutely lethal offence that at one point featured an entire starting line-up batting

over .300.

Team MVP Nate Mensik led the way with a .314 average, 11 home runs and 42 runs batted in, with the outfielder joining seven Moose Jaw players in the WCBL All-Star Game, including infielder Zach Campbell, catcher Bryan Reyes, reliever Jesse Scholtz, starter Tim Carlson, starter Kellan Voggesser and closer Reece Helland. Campbell ended up putting together a record-setting effort as the team’s lead-off hitter, setting a new WCBL mark with 69 runs scored. He capped the campaign with a stellar .339 average that included a stretch where he had at least a hit in 27 of 28 games. Reyes joined Mensik in having an amazing rookie campaign, hitting a team-best .356 with four home runs and 45 RBIs. Of course, you don’t send four pitchers to the All-Star Game

with the best in the league without having a scary mound presence, and the Express had just that — Carlson led the way with a 4-2 record that included a 2.73 earned run average and 48 strikeouts against only nine walks, while Voggesser was 4-5 with a 3.90 ERA, 58 strikeouts and 21 walks. Scholtz was a lights-out workhorse, with a league-leading 37 appearances, including a run of 18 games where he allowed only two runs over 21 innings. His five saves finished tied for the league lead. Hometown product Helland joined the team mid-season and immediately emerged as an elite closer, finishing with a 2.25 ERA and four saves while striking out 38 in 19 appearances. The Miller Express open the 58-game 2023 WCBL season on Saturday, May 27 when they host the Weyburn Beavers at Ross Wells Park.

Moose Jaw Miller Express closer Reece Helland celebrates after shutting down the Medicine Hat Mavericks in the third and deciding game of the East Division Final.

Warriors return to 40-win mark with impressive Western Hockey League

regular season

Early playoff success another highlight as club continues to push into WHL elite

Prairie Storm will also be hosting monthly drop-in battles this summer, taking place the last Saturday of every month beginning Apr. 29. Folks can come out and play team deathmatch, domination, capture the flag and zombie versions of paintball, with $30 for 500 balls and a $10 field admission. Sessions run from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Then there’s the annual D-Day event that acts as a fundraiser for Joe’s Place, with the day featuring hundreds of players reenacting various battles between Allies and Axis forces from the Second World War

What started as a small family-run paintball facility on the outskirts of Moose Jaw just over a decade and a half ago has become one of the most popular spots for weekend fun in southern Saskatchewan.

Prairie Storm Paintball and Battle Creek Adventure Park have spent nearly 20 years steadily growing and improving, offering more and more activities and things to do -- and the summer of 2023 promises to be their biggest yet.

The centrepiece of the facility is the 20-acre paintball field featuring a series of interconnected maps, with each offering a different kind of challenge and look for players. Anyone looking to take up the game can rent markers, paintballs and protective equipment, with various pricing packages available.

Regular booking are available from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the final booking at 6 p.m.

Battle Creek also offers the longest mini-golf course in Canada, with the 18-hole course open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and available for tournament and event hosting.

Folks can also hang out in the recreation area and play some beach volleyball or just enjoy the sun.

Battle Creek continues to look at offering new activities, with Thunderdome Off-Road Racing their newest venture. The newly built multi-use racetrack features dune buggy racing, with the member-only club offering a host of different racing styles and types for folks looking to get their speed on. You can sign up for the club and book online on their website.

For more information on Prairie Storm Paintball and Battle Creek Adventure Park, check out their website at www.battle-creek-adventure-park.myshopify.com, get regular updates on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/paintballregina/ or give them a shout at (306) 684-4700.

Moose Jaw Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk and forward Atley Calvert celebrate with Brayden Yager after a goal against Red Deer.

Visit Moose Jaw: Leading the charge to make Moose Jaw an event-full destination

Visit Moose Jaw is an event and hospitality organization that works to find, attract, and help fund big events including the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Mosaic Concert Series, Snowbirds Golden Anniversary, and many more.

Visit Moose Jaw plays a pivotal role in promoting Canada’s Most Notorious City as an attractive destination for tourists and event planners alike. By making the planners of major events aware of the city’s potential and offering funding support, the organization has a important and continual positive impact on the local economy.

Some of the events being sponsored by Visit Moose Jaw in 2023 include the 2023 World Para Ice Hockey Championship in May and June, the Saskatchewan Festival of Words in July, the Saskatchewan Barrel Racing Association Finals in August, and the Homestand ’23 concert in September.

They also sponsor dozens of smaller tournaments and championships for basketball, canine agility, hockey, curling, powerlifting, rodeo — the variety is surprising, and the volume adds up.

Visit Moose Jaw is comprised of six entertainment and hospitality businesses:

• Comfort Inn & Suites Moose Jaw

• Grant Hall Hotel

• Moose Jaw Exhibition Company

• Moose Jaw Events Centre

• Quality Inn & Suites

• Temple Gardens Hotel & Spa

Event funding from Visit Moose Jaw is based on increasing the number of hotel bookings. When that metric is increased, the entire city benefits because event attendees also shop, eat, and explore while they’re here.

Visit Moose Jaw is essentially a grant program. Anyone planning an event or considering planning an event should apply for funding to see if they qualify.

One of the event categories Visit Moose Jaw would like to see more of is professional conferences. While industry conferences in Saskatchewan try to use different venues each year, that often just means alternating back and forth between Regina and Saskatoon.

The organization believes that Moose Jaw can compete with Saskatchewan’s two larger cities for its share of the conference pie — it’s simply a matter of getting the word out.

If you or someone you know is considering bringing an event to Moose Jaw, Visit Moose Jaw’s funding application is easily accessed through their website at visitmoosejaw.ca/take-action. By contacting Visit Moose Jaw, clients can also learn more about the city and its facilities and attractions, and can access networking resources to find the right people at the right time to bring their event to fruition.

Disc golf continues to grow in popularity in Moose

Jaw

Wakamow Valley disc golf course remains popular in both winter and summer months

It hasn’t taken very long for the sport of disc golf to take off in Moose Jaw.

Ever since the first course in the city was built in Wakamow Valley, the sport has continued to grow, with players taking to the winding layout in Paashkwow Park East in both summer and winter months alike

to throw for distance and accuracy, with chain baskets serving as holes. While the game can be played with a single disc, players often have full sets that feature various weights and sizes not dissimilar from regular golf — from the sleek driver discs to the heavier putters, both distance and control can be affected by what kind of disc you use.

To that end, Wakamow Valley carries several sets of discs in the park office, with folks able to borrow a set if they want to give the sport a try. If you get the bite, there are no shortage of disc sets available in the sporting section of local retailers.

Such is the case when a sport grows as rapidly as disc golf, with the game now played in 40 countries and over half of Canadians having a course within easy travelling distance.

Local leagues and organizations have also popped up, with the Moose Jaw Disc Golf Association offering a Facebook page for players to connect and meet, while the Moose Jaw Huckers hold regular league gatherings throughout the winter and summer months.

Players can also find the Wakamow Valley layout on the UDisc app, which offers a variety of nifty tools that include GPS tracking and maps to easily find your way around the course.

The course was first built in 2019 and at the time featured nine holes, but with how things took off so quickly when it came to the sport’s popularity, within a couple of years the layout was expanded to 18 holes.

Things have only grown since then, with hundreds of players now testing out their skills and getting plenty of exercise at the same time throughout the year.

Disc golf features players using frisbee-like discs

The sport has grown so much that a brand new 18hole layout will soon be constructed in the north side of the city near Sunningdale School.

For more information on the course, give the Wakamow Valley office a shout at (306) 692-2717, check out the layout at www.udisc.com/courses and join up with the 241-member-strong Moose Jaw Disc Golf Association on Facebook.

Players can be found on the Wakamow Valley Disc Golf course even in the winter months.

Kinsmen Sportsplex a hub of activity all year round

Indoor swimming pool and ice rink facility plenty busy in both summer and winter months

Pick any day of the week throughout the year and you’ll find the Kinsmen Sportsplex is an exceptionally busy place, and for good reason. With Moose Jaw’s only indoor pool and one of four ice surfaces in the city, you’ll always find something going on at the multi-use facility.

The centrepiece of the building — located a 855 MacDonald St. W — is the Sportsplex pool, featuring a 25-metre main pool, attached wading area and waterslide, with the venue acting as the home of the Moose Jaw Kinsmen Flying Fins competitive swim club.

times, including free public swims every Sunday evening and Wednesday morning and free teen swims on Friday nights.

Swimming lessons and lifeguard training courses are also offered throughout the year.

The winter months see the Sportsplex ice surface receiving constant use, with minor hockey games, speed skating and figure skating clubs making sure any and all open ice slots are booked up. Public skating times are also popular, with many a night seeing the ice surface full of folks enjoying the facility and getting some exercise.

There’s also a new crokicurl facility attached to the south side of the building, and the City of Moose Jaw installed brand new pickleball courts at the Sportsplex this past summer.

No sooner does the ice go out than does a sport court surface go in, with the Sportsplex playing host to the Moose Jaw Mustangs box lacrosse program. The enduring legacy of the sport in Moose Jaw can be found in a special display located just outside the rink.

To that end, recent upgrades saw the installation of a massive video board and timing system, offering an extra dose of professionalism to the Flying Fins’ meets.

The pool also plays host to plenty of public swim

The facility also includes a full concession and meeting rooms for community groups. For more information on the Sportsplex and how to book times and sign up for activities, be sure to visit www.moosejaw.ca, click on the parks recreation culture tab and then the recreation facilities tab.

The exterior of the Kinsmen Sportsplex.

The Kinsmen Sportsplex 25-metre pool and waterslide.

The ice surface is receives plenty of use throughout the winter months.

Moose Jaw activity parks remain as popular as ever in summer monthsdog park, skate park and bike park

cycles honing their skills and just hanging out with friends. A shelter area helps keep the sun off, and the Sportsplex has bathroom and concession facilities if folks need either.

It also hasn’t taken long for the Moose Jaw Dog Park to become wildly popular, as well.

Originally built in 2014 in the Hamilton Flats area next to High Street West and down the street from Yara Centre, the facility features two off-leash parks, one for smaller dogs and one for larger dogs. The park is open year-round, with one-site running water from late May to late September, depending on the weather. The park has become so popular that it has its own Facebook page for folks looking to meet up with fellow dog owners, and you can check that out by searching for Moose Jaw Dog Park on the social media site.

In recent years, the City of Moose Jaw has put more and more effort into developing and creating special activity parks for both youngsters and the community as a whole, and it hasn’t taken very long for those facilities to take off.

Leading the way is the Moose

Jaw Skate Park, located across from the Kinsmen Sportsplex at 855 MacDonald St. W. The concrete facility is constantly busy during the summer months, especially during the evenings when you can find dozens of youngsters on skateboard, scooters, inline skates and bi-

The Moose Jaw Bike Park -- also located near Yara Centre on High Street -- opened in 2016 and has remained a popular stop for those looking to test their skills on the dirt hills and ridable obstacles. The Moose Jaw Police Association played a large role constructing the facility, with the goal of offering a safe facility that would promote youngsters getting outside and having fun. All three facilities are free to use and maintained by the City of Moose Jaw, helping ensure they’ll be in good shape whenever the public wants to put them to use.

For more information on all the parks and activity areas in Canada’s Most Notorious City, be sure to visit www.moosejaw. ca and check out the Parks and Recreation section.

It’s a rare indeed not to see youngsters at the Moose Jaw Skate Park during the summer months.

The Moose Jaw Dog Park, located on Thatcher Drive next to the softball fields.

The Moose Jaw Bike Park offers challenging terrain for riders of all ages.

Prairie Storm Paintball and Battle Creek offer unique and fun adventures

What started as a small family-run paintball facility on the outskirts of Moose Jaw just over a decade and a half ago has become one of the most popular spots for weekend fun in southern Saskatchewan.

Prairie Storm Paintball and Battle Creek Adventure Park have spent nearly 20 years steadily growing and improving, offering more and more activities and things to do -- and the summer of 2023 promises to be their biggest yet.

The centrepiece of the facility is the 20-acre paintball field featuring a series of interconnected maps, with each offering a different kind of challenge and look for players. Anyone looking to take up the game can rent markers, paintballs and protective equipment, with various pricing packages available.

Prairie Storm will also be hosting monthly drop-in battles this summer, taking place the last Saturday of every month beginning Apr. 29. Folks can come out and play team deathmatch, domination, capture the flag and zombie versions of paintball, with $30 for 500 balls and a $10 field admission. Sessions run from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Then there’s the annual D-Day event that acts as a fundraiser for Joe’s Place, with the day featuring hundreds of players reenacting various battles between Allies and Axis forces from the Second World War

Regular booking are available from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the final booking at 6 p.m.

Battle Creek also offers the longest mini-golf course in Canada, with the 18-hole course open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and available for tournament and event hosting.

Folks can also hang out in the recreation area and play some beach volleyball or just enjoy the sun. Battle Creek continues to look at offering new activities, with Thunderdome Off-Road Racing their newest venture. The newly built multi-use racetrack features dune buggy racing, with the member-only club offering a host of different racing styles and types for folks looking to get their speed on. You can sign up for the club and book online on their website.

For more information on Prairie Storm Paintball and Battle Creek Adventure Park, check out their website at www.battle-creek-adventure-park.myshopify.com, get regular updates on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/paintballregina/ or give them a shout at (306) 684-4700.

Whether you want to get your combat on or play the longest mini-golf course in Canada, lots of fun to be had

It’s a rare indeed not to see youngsters at the Moose Jaw Skate Park during the summer months.

An aerial view of Prairie Storm Paintball and Battle Creek Adventure Park.

Cosmo Centre keeping seniors in the game

at just two dollars per visit, there may be no better bargain for an afternoon or evening of active entertainment in the city.

Whether a visitor to the city or a permanent resident, Moose Jaw has a variety of social and recreational options for those of us edging into our senior years. The consensus among health professionals suggests that socializing among senior citizens has massive benefits for the individual’s physical and mental health. Isolation can lead to increased risk of depression, cognitive decline and other chronic health complications.

Since the mid-1960s, the Cosmo Senior Citizen’s Centre at 235 3rd Avenue Northeast has been a consistent source of these positive benefits for the local, aging adult population. For a nominal annual fee of $40 per year, Cosmo Centre members gain access to a wide variety of services and activities specifically tailored to them and their generational peers. The centre even allows a three-day test to see if potential members want to make their membership permanent.

Visitors to the city have access to the Cosmo Centre as well. And

The multi-dimensional facility has two halls providing abundant space for the centre’s programming. Pickleball has become very popular through the past two years and is now scheduled daily. Meanwhile, weekly events include floor shuffleboard, card games like bridge, canasta and cribbage, dance lessons and other activities to keep the mind and body active. The centre also hosts purely so-

munity meetings. The facility involves two halls, a kitchen and a bar. The larger hall seats up to 320 people, while the smaller room sets about 100. Larger events use both halls with the kitchen available for light food preparations such as warming or plating.

The room rental pricing is extremely competitive compared to other options in the city. In fact, the Cosmo Centre is currently booking private rentals into 2025, meaning potential renters must book early if they want one of the premier public

cial occasions for its members, such as suppers and luncheons. Tournaments for various activities are also hosted there throughout the year.

The Cosmo Senior Citizens Centre also provides rental space for private functions, from weddings, dances and birthday celebrations to artistic performances, symposiums and com-

event halls in Moose Jaw. The centre is a popular choice due to its extensive amenities, including a large parking lot.

For more information about the Cosmo Senior Citizens Centre, its activities and its services, call them at 306.692.6072 or email them at cosmo@sasktel.net. The Cosmo Centre also has a page on Facebook.

Amused and active with the M.J. and District Seniors’ Assoc.

Many of the programs requiring more space take place in the fully-equipped auditorium – called the “XYZ Hall” – in the building’s lower level. The room includes a walking track and various pieces of gym equipment. The activities run daily through morning and afternoon sessions. Other social events held at the Timothy Eaton Gardens include bingos, potluck suppers, pancake breakfasts and monthly dances with live music.

Among the multitude of options for social and recreational activities in Moose Jaw, senior citizen visitors and residents can be sure they will find venue to suit their specific choice of fun and games.

The Moose Jaw and District Senior Citizens Association and its Timothy Eaton Gardens facility is meeting the mission it has established since its beginnings in 1989. The association’s primary goal is to improve the lives of senior residents of the region aged 50 and older through varied recreation programming that promotes mental and physical well-being.

Health professionals have established that a healthy social life is extremely beneficial to adults reaching their post-middle age years. Participating in group settings - whether volunteering, joining a club, or just spending time with family and friends – has been found to have substantial results in the health of senior citizens. These benefits include reduced risk of depression and anxiety; increased cognitive stimulation and mental agility; improved cardiovascular health; lower rates of chronic conditions; and a great sense of purpose and fulfillment.

Located at 510 Main Street North in Moose Jaw, the Timothy Eaton Gardens is a multi-leveled facility that hosts an auditorium, a craft room, a card hall and a kitchen. Tucked between of all this is an operational café with a full menu available at reduced prices for seniors.

The expansive square footage provides ample space for a wide variety of programming provided daily at the Gardens. Among the activities running consistently through the week are card games, shuffleboard, arts and crafts projects, billiards, pickleball, dancing, musical jam sessions, lawn bowling, wood working and more. The association is currently looking at expanding its roster of activities to meet the needs of a new generation of seniors with different interests. The facility has just added table tennis and other items such as darts are being discussed among administrators.

A $40 membership to the Moose Jaw and District Senior Citizens Association grants patrons access to all activities taking place on the facility’s main floor, where the Craft and Card spaces are located.

An additional two-dollar fee is charged per activity, but that is only the Basic membership package. For $60, Enhanced members are granted access to the entire building, including the auditorium and its exercise amenities.

Revenues driven from hall rentals for private functions and the café provide most of the facility’s funding. The XYZ Hall seats up to 200 people for private functions, while the Craft Room and the Card Hall each hold about 50 people. One or all of them are available for a competitive fee.

The Gardens also provides in-house catering for events when requested, putting a little less strain on organizers seeking to make their celebration a success.

For more information about the Moose Jaw and District Senior Citizens Association and Timothy Eaton Gardens, contact the organization by phone at 306.694.4223 or visit their Facebook page, which contains daily updates on activities, services and programing.

Close encounters at the Burrowing Owl Centre

North America’s burrowing owl is a curious bird. Standing just nine and a half inches tall with long, featherless legs, the brown, speckle-chested creature is more earthbound than its larger, airborne cousins.

survive.

Meanwhile, the SBOIC’s travelling “Owls on Tour” exposition is an outreach program that brings the story of the burrowing owl to the public at schools and events throughout the province. The one-hour presentation includes slides, songs, skits and stories about the burrowing owl and a visit from a live bird.

Southern Saskatchewan and Alberta are the furthest north the burrowing owl can be found, but numbers have been dwindling for decades due to a loss of habitat, low reproductive rates and high mortality rates. Although its habitat stretches down the centre of North America deep into Mexico, the bird has been considered endangered for decades, moving some ecologically-minded Moose Jaw residents to do something about it.

In 1997, the Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre (SBOIC) was created to highlight the plight of the burrowing owls using the Moose Jaw Exhibition Company’s racetrack infield as the main stage. Several owl pairings had annually chosen the area to nest, using holes created by Richardson ground squirrels to construct their homes. The SBOIC currently watches over 11 burrowing owls, one short-eared owl and a Richardson ground squirrel. Viewing of the animals is available by spotting scope certain times of the year. The Interpretive Centre is located near the nesting area at 250 Thatcher Drive East in Moose Jaw. It operates Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Victoria Day long weekend until Labour Day. More information on programming and the current status of the birds is available at 306.692.8710 or saskburrowingowl.ca.

The Interpretive Centre houses an educational display area, a gift shop. While visiting, patrons get a thorough guided or unguided presentation on the burrowing owl, it’s plight as an endangered species and what will need to take place for the species to

Unfortunately, an avian influenza discovered in 2022 outbreak has put some constraints on the SBOIC’s in-house and outreach programming since then.

A small celebration is held in May to open the season, but the organization plans to have its larger, Family Day Fundraiser in late July. Previous Family Day events have included hot dogs, beverages, face painting, a bouncy castle, burrowing owl education and a visit with the birds.

Details about the event were yet to be determined at press time.

Owls are SBOIC’s priority, but all animals are integral to each other’s existence. That’s why many residents turn to the organization when encountering an injured wild animal. When called about these situations, SBOIC has been referring people to wildlife rescue shelters in Regina and Saskatoon. The SBOIC is a non-profit organization that depends on individual donors, various environmental and educational grants and gift shop profits for funding. It does not receive financial aid from the provincial or federal governments.

Musician Jeffrey Straker to perform at 14th annual Mortlach Berry Festival

Saskatchewan musician Jeffrey Straker is the guest performer at this year’s Mortlach Saskatoon Berry Festival, where he will entertain visitors with his folkroots music as he’s done since starting his career in 2006. The 14th annual festival occurs on Saturday, June 17, in the small village about 30 minutes west of Moose Jaw on Highway 1.

The event — featuring the tagline “5,000 people with purple teeth can’t be wrong” — kicks off with a pancake breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m., followed by fun and tasty activities throughout the day.

After everyone has eaten mouthwatering flapjacks, the popular parade begins around 11 a.m. Anyone can join, but participants should contact the festival committee first to register.

From 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., vendors will hawk their wares and likely have what festival-goers want, from food to crafts to books, health supplements, linens, jewelry, and other items. Other activities include car smashes, a dunk tank, wagon rides and beer gardens. The committee will feature more entertainment throughout the day and announce those other acts before the big day. The music normally kicks off around

noon and runs until 4 p.m. There will also be several activities for kids, from bouncy castles to a petting zoo to face painting. These events take place in Vimy Park starting in the morning.

Attendees are also encouraged to visit some of Mortlach’s businesses, such as the Antique Abbey, DJ’s, Franklyn’s Eatery, Military Memories, Mortlach Museum, Painted Brush Creations, The Farmstand General Store and The Pit Stop.

As for those ever-popular saskatoon berry pies, attendees can purchase — and savour — a whole pie or a slice beginning around 9 a.m. until quantities run out. However, organizers suggest people pre-order a pie to guarantee receiving one because they normally sell out quickly.

Meanwhile, Straker is a singersongwriter-pianist who grew up taking piano lessons in small-town Punnichy, raised by

a church organist mother and an auctioneer father. He now performs at over 100 shows per year across Canada and Europe and has been compared to Harry Chapin, Kris Kristofferson and Billy Joel.

Serving up a roots-folk brand of music, Strakers’ songs transport listeners onto a lake in Canada’s North or the main street of a prairie town.

Named Roots-Folk Artist of the Year in consecutive Saskatchewan Music Awards, Straker has also been honoured with a Western Canadian Music Award, while the Saskatchewan Country Music Awards has twice named him keyboard player of the year.

Visit the Village of Mortlach’s website or the festival’s Facebook page for a complete schedule of activities and to pre-order pies.

Take hauling to the next level with Moose Jaw’s Top Gun Trailers

accessories from reliable brands, such as Baumalight light industrial equipment and generators, Maratatch attachments, GB equipment and brush cutters, Wallenstein log splitters and chippers, Wifo Farm Equipment and NM Excavator payloader attachments and buckets.

Financing options are offered through Affiliated Finance Services, and leasing is available for commercial/farming products.

Top Gun Trailer Sales is an equipment dealer carrying a wide variety of trailers, equipment, and accessories for anyone in Moose Jaw and surrounding areas who needs solutions to their hauling or light industrial problem — from custom-designed trailers to generators, brush cutters, log splitters, and more, they have everything needed to get the job done.

Owned and operated by Dan and Judi Tremblay, Top Gun Trailers has been serving the community for over 10 years. The Tremblays are well known for their friendly service and expert knowledge of hauling equipment and take great pride in their business.

The two main products sold at Top Gun Trailers are their flat-deck Precision trailers and enclosed Agassiz trailers. Between those two companies, the dealership can meet any hauling need, whether transporting snowmobiles, cars, skid-steers, heavy equipment, or creating a mobile shop for kitchen, carpentry — anything, really, as Top Gun can also do custom designs which are then built by a Canadian company in Manitoba. Top Gun also carries a variety of equipment and

Dan Tremblay has had a diverse hauling career that has given him the experience to understand his customers’ needs. He performed survey work in Nunavut, Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, with plenty of extreme weather conditions to cope with during that time. That background gave him a self-described ‘fussiness’ that drives him to invest whatever hours are needed ‘get it right.’

Tremblay says his business is more of a hobby than a job, and he and Judi are passionate about continuing to build Top Gun Trailer Sales on a foundation of quality, honesty, and integrity. They have worked hard for their reputation as one of the best hauling solutions providers in Moose Jaw, and their dedication to their customers has made them a go-to source for anyone in need of hauling equipment or accessories — they have clients throughout Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba, as well as mainland B.C. and Vancouver Island.

If you’re in need of hauling solutions, Top Gun Trailers is the place to go. With their expert product knowledge, they can help you find the perfect equipment to get the job done right. Call Top Gun Trailer Sales at 306-691-0199 to see how they can help you.

M.J. Cultural Centre presents modern art from historic

venues

Mae Wilson Theatre historic venue with great acoustics

Moose Jaw has become a place where contemporary culture mingles with the city’s beautiful, historic aesthetic. The downtown core hosts a plethora of opportunities to step back in time, with its early 20th Century brick construction and commercial facades lining sidewalks bustling with pedestrians.

The Moose Jaw Cultural Centre - which includes the Mae Wilson Theatre and Visual Arts Gallery - sits amid this feature sector at 217 Main Street, pairing two primary examples of the city’s historic theme.

tered the “talking pictures” business and became The Capitol which was owned by various operators for the next 72 years.

In 2003, the venue was carefully renovated into the Mae Wilson Theatre as part of the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre. The beautiful interior, with its ornate wall and ceiling treatments, and soft-curved corners, is an excellent example of early 20th Century architectural design.

The Cultural Centre’s Visual Arts Gallery, meanwhile, sits next door where it showcases the work of visual and fine craft artisans from Moose Jaw and the surrounding area. The mediums on display, which are melded into a new exhibit every six weeks, include oil, acrylic and watercolour painting, ceramics, sculpture, glass, photography and more.

The second floor of the Visual Arts Gallery holds the Cultural Centre’s administrative offices and studio space available to local artists and artistic organizations. The facility hosts a variety of arts programming, with workshops open to the public on a seasonal basis.

Like its partnering theatre, the home of the Visual Arts Gallery has a long history in the city. Built in 1909, it was the temporary location for the Merchants Bank until housing retail businesses until 1945. The Army and Navy chain of stores took over

The Mae Wilson Theatre has a lifeline that reaches back more than 100 years. Today, it hosts some of the best local, provincial and Canadian musical and performing arts talent on its ornate stage. Shows are held throughout the year, with a summer schedule that stretches into August. Its June 2023 schedule opens with the stage play, “Anastasia” on June 1, followed by a CINEVIEW doubleheader of short films by local director Jeremy Ratzlaff on June 7.

But legends of the Canadian country music landscape will be in town June 14. “Lunch at Allen’s” presents Murray McLauchlan, Ian Thomas, Cindy Church and Marc Jordan for an evening of music that is sure to trigger pleasant memories among the listeners.

A full calendar of events is available at its website as bookings are established.

The Mae Wilson Theatre was constructed from 1913 to 1916 as the Monarch Theatre. At the time, it was the largest venue of its kind in the province. A little more than a decade later, the facility en-

the use of the building until 2000. A year later, the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre was established within its historic walls.

For more information about the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre, visit its website at moosejawculture. ca, or visit them on Facebook and Instagram. The Mae Wilson Theatre Box Office is open Tuesday to Saturday, Noon to 5 p.m. and can be reached at 306.693.4700. Tickets to Moose Jaw Cultural Centre events are also available at SaskTix.ca.

Moose Jaw Library meets the summer needs of any reader

Writers, bookworms and word-nerds know that few things enhance the enjoyment of Saskatchewan’s hot season more than a comfortable lounger or hammock, a cold beverage and a collection of good books to choose from. Whether escaping a summer drizzle or bathing in the sunshine, the Moose Jaw Public Library has a tome or ten to meet any reader’s taste in literature.

mid-July. Celebrating all forms of the written word, the annual event hosts more than 20 writers at over 50 events running July 13 to 16, 2023. The library is a key location for this renowned, city-wide event. Want to dip a toe into some history? The Moose Jaw Library provides access to a multitude of historical resources for patrons to investigate their individual and communal past. The library contains a massive archive of newspapers, Henderson Directories, photographs and other periodical documents featuring Moose Jaw, Southcentral Saskatchewan, and the province as a whole.

And let’s not forget the Moose Jaw facility’s long list of summer activity programming for children, youth and adults. The library hosts activities and club sessions throughout the week during the afternoons and evenings. Special events are held for the weekend’s schedule.

Kids can catch on to the excitement with board games, educational activities, crafting and story time. Meanwhile, older youth can participate in video and board games – “Dungeons and Dragons” and “Magic: The Gathering” being most notable – technological education activities, movie nights, a writer’s circle and art programming. The library’s summer reading program also keeps young noses in their books on a regular basis from June through August.

Located at 461 Langdon Crescent, the Moose Jaw Library’s home was designed by local architect James Puntin and constructed in 1963. The structure is a prime example of mid-20th Century, Prairie construction with an imposing brick façade, concrete trim and ornamentation. Inside lays a spacious, naturally lit repository that houses more than 100,000 books, periodicals, archival documents, DVDs, CDs, board games and video games. Patrons unable to find the book they want can peruse the Saskatchewan Public Library’s stock and have it shipped in for borrowing.

The conventional library hosts far more than paper and ink, however. Besides the varied computer services available – including a new 3-D printing ability – library users have access to Hoopla. com, Kanopy and Lynda.com. These streaming video services provide everything from ebooks, audiobooks, popular movies and television shows to a variety of educational courses on topics such as photography, business, technology, design and other fields of study.

The highlight of the Moose Jaw Library scene is, of course, the Saskatchewan Festival of Words in

Finally, adult book and library lovers are welcome to enjoy a variety of similar activities alongside a knitting and needling session, book clubs, live productions and a movie club.

When it comes to any reader’s summer bookstack, the Moose Jaw Library more than fits any bookworm’s needs. When the public taps into the facility’s programming, patrons have the perfect opportunity to wrap themselves in the written word regardless of the Saskatchewan weather outside. For more information on the Moose Jaw Public Library, its services and its programming, visit moosejawlibrary.ca or call (306) 692-2787.

Award-winning Community Players theatre troupe have entertained for decades

who have supported the club and helped rebuild it include Debbie Burgher, Joan Stumborg, Crystal Milburn, Nadia Frost, Fiorina Hauck and Jarrod Jeanson.

The group has put on over 100 performances during its 57-year history, while more than 1,000 people have been involved in those productions. Whatever name it had, though, the troupe has put on solid productions and won many provincial awards.

The Moose Jaw Community Players theatre troupe has gone by several names during its nearly six decades, but one thing has never changed: it puts on entertaining productions and wins awards regularly.

Community theatre has been important to Moose Jaw’s cultural life for decades, and the club has contributed to that scene since 1966 after forming and calling itself Theatre ’67.

Theatre ’67 began a rich tradition for quality theatre with productions of Hadrian VII, Death of a Salesman, The Glass Menagerie, Barefoot in the Park, and others.

After taking a brief hiatus, the club re-emerged as the Community Players and performed memorable productions of Agnes of God, Nurse Jane Goes to Hawaii, Peter Pan, The Fantasticks, The Dining Room, and Crimes of the Heart.

In 1989, the group changed its name to Chocolate Moose, while its first production was H.M.S. Pinafore. The club attained international notoriety in 1992 with its collective about Moose Jaw called “Jawin’,” which it performed at the VIII Aruba International Theatre Festival in the Caribbean. The group changed its name back to the Community Players sometime in the 2000s. It performed several shows a year at the Legion during that decade but received poor reviews and did not make much money.

The club decided in 2010 to start holding Christmas dinner theatre productions and take those shows to TheatreFest the following spring.

The club also moved its dinner theatres to the Cosmo Senior Citizens Centre, where it performed most shows until the pandemic struck. Recently, it built a new relationship with the Cultural Centre — where the Mae Wilson Theatre is — and acquired office space. It now plans to perform several shows a year there.

The pandemic also forced the organization to rebuild and bring on new cast and crew. Some people

According to Theatre Saskatchewan, the first provincial TheatreFest award the club won was in 1978 for best actor in a supporting role in the play “Of Mice and Men.” It won another 20 awards between then and 2006. During more recent competitions, the club won four awards in 2018, seven in 2019, and four in 2022.

The group did not perform at this year’s TheatreOne Festival in May because it just finished its two-night production of “Notoriously Moose Jaw” in late April. Those performances re-told the community’s history through 14 stories using real facts presented in a fictional manner.

Some stories the group performed focused on the 1918 Spanish Flu, Al Capone’s alleged presence here, a mid-air airplane crash in 1954, Queen Elizabeth II’s tour in 1959, the River Park Flood in 1974 and the 2019 Moose Truce with Norway. With the 1918 pandemic, residents decided — in agreement with parents — that they would remove from homes children whose parents were sick and place them with non-ill families. Furthermore, people donated linens to the hospital and erected field hospitals in schools.

Meanwhile, the flood wiped out River Park Bridge and a small house where a feisty grandmother lived. In the air disaster, a passenger jet smashed into a Harvard trainer, and they fell 10,000 feet before crashing 600 metres from Ross School. For more information about the Community Players, visit its Facebook page.

Canadian Forces Snowbirds one of the pride and joys of 15 Wing and Moose Jaw

Pick any bright and sunny day during the Snowbird’s off-season, and there’s a chance you’ll hear the sound of fighter jets roaring over Canada’s Most Notorious City.

Cast a glance skyward, and you just might catch a glimpse of the legendary Canadian Forces Snowbirds and their CT-114 Tutor jets in action, preparing for their busy season throughout the summer months.

To say the least, the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron is the pride and joy of 15 Wing and the city of Moose Jaw, with the link between the Snowbirds and the community being so strong that the local Western Hockey League franchise rebranded last summer to include imagery from the flight team in their logo.

helps keep the aircraft in tip-top shape.

The Snowbirds season traditionally begins Acceptance Show at the end of May, From there, it’s off to locations all over Canada and North America, and the summer of 2023 is no exception.

The Snowbirds perform their first public shows during the June 3 weekend in Thunder Bay and spend the first month of the season on the east coast before performing their traditional Canada Day Show over the Halifax Harbour. The team has two stops in Saskatchewan in July, performing over Craven on both July 15 and 16 and setting up a static display in Saskatoon on July 27. The Snowbirds will have two international dates, performing at the Pacific Air Show in Huntington Beach, Cal. during the Sept. 30 weekend and at the California International Air Show in Salinas, Cal. during the Oct. 7 weekend.

Formed in June 1971 to ‘demonstrate the skill, professionalism and teamwork of Canadian Forces personnel’, the team features nine planes flying in acrobatic formations and performing high-speed passes to thrill the massive crowds that show up whenever they fly.

The Snowbirds rotate pilots in on a regular basis, with the current crew comprised of Lt.-Col. Denis Bandet (commanding officer), Maj. Brett Parker (Snowbird 1 Team Lead), Cap. Caitlin Clapp (Snowbird 2 Inner Right Wing), Cap. Steve Timm (Snowbird 3 Inner Left Wing), Cap. Patrice Powis-Clement (Snowbird 4 First Line Astern), Cap. Thomas Thornton (Snowbird 5 Second Line Astern), Cap. Steven Sparks (Snowbird 6 Outer Right Wing), Cap. Dominic Appolloni (Snowbird 7 Outer Left Wing), Cap. Marc-Andre Plante (Snowbird 8 Opposing Solo), Maj. Steve Hurlbut (Snowbird 9 Lead Solo).

All told, a total of 80 personnel are part of the Snowbirds, including a robust ground crew that

From start to finish, the Snowbirds season will feature 23 shows from the beginning of June to the beginning of October and wrapping up with the season-closing show at 15 Wing.

For more information on the Snowbirds, including regular updates on shows and team news, be sure to visit www.facebook.com/CFSnowbirdsFC.

The Snowbirds line up on the tarmac prior to a practice session this spring in Comox, B.C. Canadian Forces Snowbirds

A Snowbirds Tutor jet on the runway as the team approaches for a flyover. Canadian Forces Snowbirds

The Snowbirds fly in formation during a recent training session. Canadian Forces Snowbirds

WE ONLY USE BRAND NAME COMPONENTS

AXLES Dexter Axle

BRAKES Dexter, Dico, Atwood, BlueDot

SUSPENSION Redline, Hutch, Ridewell, Emco

TIRES Goodyear

WHEELS / HUB COVERS

Dexter, Hi-spec, Phoenix

JACKS / COUPLER

Atwood, Shelby, Binkley, Bulldog, Fulton

HITCHES Wallace, Holland, Hijacker

FENDERS Kampco

ELECTRICAL

J-Mal, Pollack, Hopkins

LIGHTING

Peterson, Grote, Bergman, Westbar, Jetco

FLOOR/WALL MATTING

Red Barn, Tumbar, T irePlast

STRAPS / RATCHETS

Kinedyne, Campbell Mac

SAFET Y CHAINS Peerless Chain

VENTS / WINDOWS Rydon

BRAKE CONTROLLERS Tekonsha

CABINETS / STORAGE SYSTEMS

Tow -Rax, Rack'Em, RC Tool Box

HARDWARE / DOORS/ LATCHES

Polar, Pocahontas

OTHER BRAND NAME MANUFACTURERS

3M, Rapid Hitch, B & W, Python, MAster Lock, Turbo

From Our motto is Customer Satisfaction! 89 2023 ExploreMooseJaw.com

We carr y a large selection of replacement par ts and accessories for most makes and models of trailers. Brakes, lights, electrical, springs, U-bolts, bearings, seals, safety c hains, jac ks, couplers, doors, windows, brake controllers, storage cabinets, helmet cabinets, trimmer rac ks, shovel and broom rac ks, coupler loc ks, hitc hes, tires, rims and so muc h more.

Our professional and knowledgeable staff will ensure that the job is done right. We use only brand name components in order to bring the very best in replacement parts to you. From the big jobs, to the small jobs, our staff is dedicated to your satisfaction. We not only provide you with an estimated completion time. Your time and money are as important to us as they are to you.

CJay Trailers: Filling the niche for a better-built cargo trailer

some customers own dozens of trailers from them — they say it isn’t worth buying anywhere else. Cjay Trailers manufactures for industrial, commercial, and recreational purposes. Industrial contractors and home builders need a mobile tool shed with safe, secure tool storage, typically including insulation, heat, air-conditioning, and organizers for each individual tool and part. Recreational users need a secure, clean, easy-to-access mobile storage space for snowmobiles, quads, and dirt bikes, and an organized space for the rest of their gear.

CJay Trailers is a Moose Jaw-based trailer manufacturing company known for high-quality cargo trailers capable of withstanding the extremes of Canadian weather conditions, from minus-40 to plus-40 Celsius, for longer than any competitor. The company’s success is a testament to the decades of experience founder Brad Harvey brought

Harvey keeps turnover at CJay Trailers low, because he believes employees become more valuable over time. He is one of the first employers in the province to offer a four-day work week with no loss in pay, as well as frequent breaks throughout the day from hot workshop conditions. On long weekends, his employees get a three-day work week. Harvey keeps track of data and is eager to show fellow employers that his schedule has increased productivity, work quality, and employee loyalty, while reducing accidents and creating a highly positive workplace atmosphere.

Cjay Trailers is constantly innovating and is eager to turn suggestions from front-line workers and customers into a fully realized end product. The

MORE THAN JUST A TRAILER

CJay Trailers owner Brad Harvey stands with one of his company’s custom-built cargo trailers (photo by Gordon Edgar)

The Antique Abbey in Mortlach offers items that

can be centuries old

People looking for vintage items should visit The Antique Abbey in Mortlach, where they will find many objects that have been purchased and handed down over the decades and centuries.

Business owner Gloria Bakke opened the shop in July 2020 in the former United Church, located at 203 Rose Street adjacent to the road leading into the village.

The business sells large furniture pieces — like a solid walnut hall bench and solid walnut cabinet — and small items, such as copper water jugs, copper tankards, candelabra and glassware. When the church was put up for auction, one sale stipulation was that the new owners had to do something with the building that would benefit the community while keeping the structure intact. Bakke jumped to purchase the former church because she had just retired and was looking for something creative to do in her downtime. She was already interested in antiques, as she and her husband possessed several items, so they thought it would be great to open this type of business to everyone in the area.

The couple purchased the building, painted the outside, renovated the upstairs and began landscaping. Bakke’s husband purchased all the fir beams from the town’s former grain elevator after it was torn down and used them inside the church. Meanwhile, they added planks to the walls and kept the original flooring because it had character. Almost everyone who comes into the building loves the new renovations, feedback that Bakke says is nice to receive because of how well they have preserved the structure. She pointed out that the fir beams and posts are holding the walls together and protecting the building’s structural integrity. Acquiring antiques occurred slowly over the years for Bakke. She was always interested in collecting furniture — not Ikea-branded — that was nice, good-quality and unique and was made with love instead of being mass-produced.

She has been finding more well-made items because she and her husband regularly travel, including to older regions of the United States. While they still collect items in Canada, they find interesting items south of the border.

Meanwhile, the business has evolved during the past three years. Bakke originally began buying furniture and repainting and refinishing items before she switched to acquiring older, better-quality pieces that are difficult to find around Moose Jaw. Some of Bakke’s favourite pieces that she has collected include a hand-carved English hutch from the 1700s and a hand-made hunter’s cabinet from the 1800s. In store, some favourite items include another hunter’s cabinet and hall benches with mirrors.

The Antique Abbey is open by appointment in the winter, while in the spring and summer, it’s open Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Bakke can be reached at 306-381-4685 or through the shop’s Facebook page.

Riverhurst Annual Walleye Classic

Riverhurst Walleye Classic on Lake Diefenbaker has been bringing fathers, families, and communities together for the past 33 years. On Father’s Day weekend, anglers break out their fishing gear, polish up their boats, and set their sails on catching and releasing the big ones worth up to $6,000.

Lake Diefenbaker is well known for its year-round fishing making it the perfect location for anglers of all ages. From June 16th to the 18th, Riverhurst becomes the host to angling teams from all over western Canada and the USA. The derby starts on Friday, June 16th in the evening beginning with supper and derby rules, and finishing Sunday, June 18th with supper and prizes.

Turning the lake into a tournament field with 100 boats takes experienced teamwork as the lake is 225 km long with over 800 km of shoreline. The tournament limits have been established to Enfield Bay to the south and Birsay Pump Station to the north. The Rusty’s Coulee Marina area will serve as tournament headquarters and contestants will be required to start and end each day at this point. Boats will be leaving in two flights each day. The first flight on Saturday puts you on the second

flight on Sunday. Flight times are - Saturday: 1st Flight - 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, 2nd Flight - 7:30 am - 4:30 pm; Sunday: 1st Flight - 7:00 am - 3:00 pm, 2nd Flight - 7:30 am - 3:30 pm.

This catch-and-release tournament has prizes of up to $25,000 in cash and merchandise. Prizes are based on a 100-boat field with 25 cash payouts plus many merchandise prizes.

Prizes for the top 20 teams. 1st place wins $6,000 cash. 2nd place earns $3,500 while 3rd place takes home $2,000 and so on. Extra categories include the largest fish for Saturday, Sunday, and the entire tournament. Teams not in the top 20 will have the opportunity to win various hidden place prizes and cool under pressure, Adult/Child (16 and under), Male/Female, Father and Son or Daughter (in-law), and highest finishing new team.

Entry is $250 per team plus $20 for the Fisherman’s Bucket if participating. For an entry form and to view the rules, visit their website at http://riverhurstwalleye.ca/

Spend Father’s Day weekend with friends, family, and the community on the lake or come and watch from the shoreline.

Catch the spirit of Watrous-Manitou Beach’s magic waters

If there is an area of Saskatchewan that can be labelled “exotic,” it is Watrous-Manitou Beach, located about 150 kilometres up Highway 2 north of Moose Jaw.

On a hot summer day, the heat of the sun beats down on Manitou Lake and its shallow valley. For generations, area residents and visitors have soaked it in from the beach while enjoying an ice cream treat. Others cool themselves with a float in the mineralized waters that First Nations people believe have healing properties.

The district sits in the heart of Canada’s grain belt and includes the Town of Watrous and the Village of Manitou Beach, the latter located four kilometres north of the town. As a unit, the Prairie friendliness and generosity of their residents amplifies the calming natural aesthetic of the area. The recreational escape has attracted tourists for more than 100 years by making accommodations for every member of the family, from Little Johnny to Grandma Margaret.

The Watrous-Manitou Beach recreation area boasts a wide variety of recreational and cultural amenities and events. In the summer, the focus comes to Manitou’s three beaches where swimmers can venture into the cool, salty waters to discover its amazing buoyancy.

For those less enthusiastic about a dip in the lake, the Manitou Springs Resort Hotel and Spa provides the same healing swim in a heated setting. Patrons can further retract from weekday stress with a visit to the spa for a massage or esthetic service. Golfers of all kinds can hit the fairways on three different facilities. Athletes who prefer a ball can play nine holes on the par 36, 3048-yard Manitou Beach Golf Club, or tap in the kids and play miniature-golf across the road. Meanwhile, disc golfers can play one of the first private, 18-hole courses in the province at Murray Disc Golf Course just south of the Manitou and District Regional Park campgrounds.

Watrous hosts many more amenities for sports enthusiasts, with a swimming pool, groomed baseball diamonds, skating and curling rinks, a bowling alley and much more.

The arts play a strong role in Watrous-Manitou’s popularity as well. The historic Danceland dance hall continues to operate lakeside with weekly dances held throughout the summer season featuring country, polka, old-time and rock music from the 1950s and 1960s. The facility is internationally renowned for its horsehair dance floor and ability

to attract some of the most popular polka and oldtime music acts in Canada.

Walking along Lake Avenue from Danceland to the Main Beach, pedestrians can browse art, antique and gift shops or check out various cafes, bars and restaurants. The village also has one of the last few drive-in theatres operating in the province, where the family can enjoy the sunset with an outdoor movie experience.

Among the major events hosted at Manitou Beach are a selection of arts festivals. Musicians and performance artists move in July 21 and 22 for the Manitou Beach Busking Festival before the writers

and readers gather Aug. 4 and 5 for WOW Manitou (Wonder of Words Literary Festival). The annual Manitou Beach Chainsaw Carving Festival hits the stage a week later, while the annual Manitou Music Festival occurs in September. In Watrous, the event of the summer involves the rubber meeting the road. The annual Watrous Fun Run Show and Shine will take place on July 29. Hosted by the local chamber of commerce since 1992, the show features vintage, custom and unique vehicles from throughout Western Canada. Motorheads will find plenty to marvel at with the 250 cars, trucks, tractors and motorcycles that line Main Street for the occasion.

The twin communities have plenty of options when it comes to overnight stays. Watrous hosts conven-

tional hotel and motel rooms at an economical rate. Besides the resort and spa at the lake, various accommodations are available, including small rental units. There are several bars, restaurants and cafes to choose from, providing everything from fine dining to beach-side burgers and fries.

For those who prefer to camp, the Manitou and District Regional Park sits above the village just a walk up the hill. The campground facilities include 230 serviced sites on a property within easy reach of the golf course, the drive-in, the beach and various walking trails.

For more information, visit the Watrous-Manitou Beach Recreation Area website at watrousmanitou. com and townofwatrous.com.