If you’re looking for something to do on Labour Day, Oak Hammock Marsh is one place that will be keeping nature lovers busy.

The interpretive centre is offering a full slate of activities on Monday, including horse-drawn wagon rides from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and a geocache workshop at 2 p.m. The Free Press’ John White wrote an excellent article on geocaching last month.

A treasure hunt will take place at various times throughout the day as part of a compass orientating course, which will help you navigate your way around the property to find specific items.

Canoe adventures and marsh walks are also on the agenda.

Download a complete list of what’s happening at Oak Hammock Marsh on Labour Day.

Posted by Brian Schultz

As the Winnipeg Blue Bombers travel west this weekend for the Labour Day Classic in Regina, a few members of the team will make a stop in Brandon first.

The Bombers will be at the McDonald’s at 1907 Richmond Avenue on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Long-snapper Chris Cvetkovic, offensive lineman Glenn January and defensive back Keyuo Craver will be there to sign autographs and greet fans in the Wheat City.

The Bomber Store will also set up in Westman to sell last-minute Blue and Gold gear to any fans also making the trek to Regina. Fans in attendance can enter to win a pair of 2011 Blue Bomber season tickets and one of two $250 Bomber Store gift cards.

The Bombers face off against the Roughriders on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT on TSN.

Songstress Sierra Noble performs in Old Market Square during Folklorama’s lunchtime concert series on August 5, 2010. (MARC EVANS / CHRISD.CA)

The Manitoba Museum’s summer “Shakin’ All Over” exhibit is coming to an end next week, but will go out with a bang with local singer-songwriter Sierra Noble before it does.

The museum has been the host of a summer-long celebration of Manitoba’s music. Shakin’ All Over is a multimedia celebration of the many facets and genres of music in the province.

Noble will perform Saturday alongside such talent as the Juno award-winning Joey Gregorash, Grammy-nominated rap/hip hop artist Fresh I.E., The Parting Shot and “Neil Young’s Winnipeg” — a visual and musical journey through Neil’s past with John Einarson and Bill Laing.

The performances run from noon to 4 p.m.

The exhibit closes on September 6.

Saturday is your last chance to see African soccer in Manitoba, as the African Cup of Manitoba (ACM) will be played at Whittier Park.

The competition is an opportunity for youths originating from various places to share their passion for the sport, their culture and their country.

The annual soccer tournament brings together young African immigrants from Manitoba. Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Ghana, Nigeria, Eritrea and Kenya will all be represented on the field.

Whittier Park is located at 869 St. Joseph Road in St. Boniface. Game time is 3 p.m.

Posted by Tyler Sutherland

Five-time Grammy Award winner Robert Cray is coming back to Winnipeg in support of his record This Time.

The American blues guitarist last performed in Winnipeg back in 2007.

Tickets for the October 3 show at the Garrick Centre go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday through Ticketmaster for $37.50.

Tickets can also be purchased at the Winnipeg Folk Festival Music Store, 211 Bannatyne Avenue.

Two infant red pandas that were born at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in mid-June were on display to the media Thursday afternoon.

Watch:

Dash and Slash — two of four adult pandas at the zoo — are the proud parents of the female cubs named Robyn and Steele. But the pair has been hand-raised since Dash abandoned her young last year.

Red Pandas are an endangered species and there are only 8,000 of them left in the Himalayas of China and adjacent countries. Poaching has resulted in the loss of over 50% of the habitat.

Winnipeg’s newest pandas aren’t on display to the public due to exhibit renovations, and won’t be staying around long even when their exhibit is complete. “These two recent newborns will be placed in other zoos as soon as they are weaned,” said Dr. Bob Wrigley, zoo curator. “One will go to the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, the other to the Prospect Park Zoo in New York. Their placement is part of the International Red Panda Species Survival Plan.”

About 800 Red Pandas still exist in zoos — most within formal breeding programs. Slash and Dash arrived in Winnipeg in the spring of 2002 from the Yokohama and Asahiyama zoos in Japan.

ChrisD.ca video

Australian country music band Jetty Road performs at the Pyramid Cabaret Wednesday night during a two-night stop in Winnipeg. Tickets are still available for tonight's show at 9 p.m. (SAMANTA KATZ / CHRISD.CA)

Australian country music stars Jetty Road were in town Wednesday night for the first of two shows at the Pyramid Cabaret.

The band is no stranger to Manitoba, having previously performed at Dauphin’s Countryfest in 2008. The country music “Group of the Year” is made up of identical twin sisters, Lee and Paula Bowman, and Julian Sammut and Simon Ross.

The crowd at the Pyramid was pumped for a midweek performance, which also featured Manitoba’s own Keith and Renée as a closing act. The duo is most recently known for singing the theme song “Good Year” for Manitoba Homecoming 2010

You can still catch both Jetty Road and Keith and Renée tonight at the Pyramid Cabaret beginning at 9 p.m. Doors open at 8 p.m.

Tickets are usually $10, but the cover charge has been waived for tonight’s show.

View the photo gallery below.

The Assiniboine Bikeway is part of a $20.4 million Infrastructure Stimulus Program and is one of 35 new Active Transportation routes being created throughout Winnipeg this year. (CITY OF WINNIPEG)

Motorists began experiencing headaches this week due to the construction of the Assiniboine Bikeway.

Traffic flow on Assiniboine Avenue and Hargrave Street is affected while the City of Winnipeg tweaks the way you travel down some of downtown’s busiest streets.

Once the bikeway project is complete, Assiniboine Avenue from Kennedy Street to Edmonton Street will be one-way eastbound, and Assiniboine from Edmonton to Navy Way will be one-way westbound. Hargrave Street from Hargrave Place to Assiniboine Avenue will be two-way.

During construction, all parking will be temporarily suspended along Assiniboine Avenue. Once construction is complete, on-street parking in the neighbourhood will be relocated as follows:

• Addition of new on-street parking on the east side of Kennedy Street between Broadway and Assiniboine Avenue
• Addition of new on-street parking on the north side of Assiniboine Avenue from Kennedy Street to the Midtown Bridge
• Removal of on-street parking on the south side of Assiniboine Avenue between Kennedy and Garry streets
• Parking on the south side of Assiniboine Avenue between Garry and Main streets remains unchanged

The Assiniboine Bikeway will enhance transportation for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists and provide better connections between the Assiniboine Avenue neighbourhood and areas like Wolseley, Osborne, The Forks and downtown. The Bikeway will feature a 3.0-metre wide cycle track placed on the south side of the Assiniboine Avenue between Kennedy and Garry streets. The track will connect to an off-road bike path between Garry and Main streets alongside Bonnycastle Park.

Construction is expected to take approximately four to six weeks.

Posted by Brian Schultz

Safari Jeff and his wife, Shannon, are bringing their "Living Wild" tour to Kildonan Place Shopping Centre September 9-12. (HANDOUT PHOTO)

Giant tortoises, crocodiles, snakes, lizards and frogs will stop in Winnipeg for a four-day tour at Kildonan Place Shopping Centre next week.

Safari Jeff’s “Living Wild” tour will include a variety of reptile creatures with two shows daily from September 9-12 in the mall’s centre court.

Along with his wife Shannon, Jeff’s show is more than just creepy critters, it also teaches kids (and grown ups) about the environment. From giant replica dinosaur bones to original artwork, Safari Jeff and Shannon are always a huge hit wherever they travel.

The daily shows are free of charge and will take place at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Thursday, September 9 to Friday, September 10. Saturday’s and Sunday’s shows are at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

More information is available at SafariJeff.com.

Winnipeg Blue Bomber fans likely won’t be swarming the Royal Canadian Mint on Friday when a new one-dollar circulation coin commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the Saskatchewan Roughriders is made available.

Following the official launch of the Mint’s newest commemorative circulation coin in Regina later today, the Mint will be hosting a coin exchange for the general public at its Winnipeg boutique at 520 Lagimodiere Blvd.

The public can exchange any regular one-dollar coin for a Roughriders coin starting on Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The exchange will continue Saturday, Sunday and Monday, September 6 during the same hours.

The coin above is only a rendering and not what the actual coin may look like.

About 3,000,000 of the coins will be circulated throughout the country. That’s a lot of Rider pride!

Posted by Sarah Klein

On Screen Manitoba has started the process of finding a new executive director to head up the innovative, non-profit association.

Following the resignation on July 8 of Tara Walker, who left to pursue an MBA degree, the organization that represents the screen-based media industry in Manitoba needs to move forward with new leadership.

Walker will remain working on contract projects until January, while her replacement is expected to start sometime this fall.

The executive director will report to the board of directors and have overall accountability for the management of the organization and strategic and creative leadership of the association’s staff.

Applicants interested in the position can send their résumés until September 30, 2010 via e-mail to hiringcommittee@onscreenmanitoba.com.

Posted by Sarah Klein

A low-speed, electric utility vehicle will soon be roaming the campus of the University of Winnipeg after a new partnership between the university and the province was announced on Wednesday.

The U of W will test the vehicle for limited access to local streets and other vehicle and pedestrian traffic corridors. The unique vehicle has a top speed of 40 km/h, but does not meet Canadian motor vehicle safety standards, so testing must be done in a controlled setting.

Innovation, Energy and Mines Minister Dave Chomiak says the province is looking at regulations governing the use of such low-speed vehicles and the university setting provides the opportunity to demonstrate the vehicle’s use in a safe manner.

Besides the U of W partnership, the Manitoba government is also testing five plug-in hybrid Toyota Priuses.

In addition, there are 110 other hybrid vehicles in the fleet of vehicles the province owns and operates, compared to just 11 in 2005. These hybrid vehicles use a gas engine assisted by an electric motor.