btwinnipeg

What a weekend Manitoba!

Manitobans were drenched with more than 100 mm of rain in some areas over the weekend, and Saturday proved to be total chaos – with road closures, flooded basements, and puddles you needed a lifejacket to navigate through!

Like the hardy Winnipeggar that I am, I braved the elements Saturday night to paint the town red!  A friend is in town from Austin Tx, and I needed to show her a good time!  Though I suspect only the ducks ACTUALLY had a good time outdoors on Saturday…

Amber and I decked ourselves out in our best attire (the works – hair, make-up, heels, dresses!) and despite our best efforts, ended up looking like drowned rats by the end of the night.  But FABULOUS drowned rats, I must say!

The reason for our efforts?  The Q Dance ballet production at the Gas Station Theatre.  The evening featured three separate pieces, two of which were world premieres, as well as the Canadian premiere of “In Tandem”, all works choreographed by Peter Quanz.  “In Tandem” was commissioned by the Guggenheim Museum in New York City in 2009.

Was the performance worth our soggy feet and frizzy hair?  It was indeed!  I found “In Tandem” to be breath-takingly unique.  Unlike any other ballet performance I’ve seen before.  Not to mention, the choice of venue made the production a very up close and personal experience, and featured 6 dancers from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Watch for more productions by Q Dance, the project-based dance  company – likely coming on an annual basis to Winnipeg.

And if you’re a motorist, watch for lovely ladies in heels fighting the rain, and SLOW DOWN please!

Heart,

Jenna

Today Yukon Dan stopped by the show.  Dan’s a real life prospector who’s been mining for gold for many years and who says that he could make a living doing it if he didn’t have a girlfriend.  …It would seem she doesn’t approve of him going off to live in a bush.

Here’s a photo that Pay took of me with Yukon himself.  They dressed me up like a miner, but I think I look a lot more like the neighbour from “Honey I Shrunk The Kids”.

Here’s Pay’s hand holding a nugget of gold, probably worth about $1000.  I KID YOU NOT!

I hope everyone had a great long weekend. I hear the weather here in Winnipeg was quite nice and it was a mixed bag in Toronto where I went to visit some friends. Rainy one day, sunny the next.  Despite being a big city, Toronto can feel really small.  Here’s a perfect example: I was walking home from dinner and passed a restaurant called The Chef’s House. It’s where the culinary students at George Brown College work preparing fantastic meals. Just as I looked in the window of the restaurant I spot Chef Rob Rainford and Chef Michael who works with him.  They were on BT a few months ago grilling up some great dishes and are looking forward to coming back.  It’s always great to run into BT guests when out and about!

While in Toronto, I stayed with my friend who has 2 cats. I am not really a cat person as I grew up always having dogs as pets. With cats, you can’t leave your glass on the counter or their paw will be in it. And you can’t leave a plate of food unsupervised either. Also, if you get up in the middle of the night to use the washroom, you won’t see this if you have a dog.

I have BBQ envy.  For 7 years I have had a BBQ and I last summer I moved into a building that didn’t allow them so I got rid of mine. But I don’t think I can last another summer without a grill and the possibility of burning chicken beyond recognition.  Last week, we had BBQ King Ted Reader on the show. He built a (to be confirmed) record breaking 590-pound burger in Toronto.  And grilled up some much smaller burgers while here at our BT studios.

Ted uses a lot of cheese. I like cheese.

These look good. Not the raw chicken. But they were good once they were cooked.

On Sunday May 2nd, the Winnipeg Police Services Half Marathon took place and a few coworkers from Citytv signed up to pound the pavement and raise money for charity. Many other Citytv staffers showed up to support the runners and I felt the best role for me would be that of cheerleader.

* On that note, visit Evan’s blog for outtakes from my cheerleader tryout.

Laura made some signs to cheer on our brave runners who got hit with a refreshing bit of rain as they crossed the finish line.  Congrats to all the people who took part in the half marathon!