Local News
Camp Massad and BB Camp adjust – again – to Covid restrictions
By BERNIE BELLAN After a summer in 2020 that saw our two Jewish sleepover camps have to cancel all overnight stays for campers, this summer, our community’s camps are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.
While some children may be unable to attend camp with their friends – which undoubtedly comes as a huge disappointment once again, this year both camps had prepared contingency plans quite some ago in anticipation of the possibility of not being allowed to have regular overnight camps.
In some instances, instead of children attending camp on their own, this summer families are being invited to come out to both camps and spend a few days together either on Town Island (BB Camp) or Sandy Hook (Massad).
Recently I spoke with the directors of both camps to find out what they have planned for the summer and whether there is any possibility that there may be a normal sleepover camp at all this coming summer.
Jacob Brodovsky and Lexie Yurman are Co-Executive Directors of BB Camp, having assumed their official duties on January 1 this year (and, as we noted in an article in our Feb. 3 issue – are the first married couple to be in charge either of BB Camp or Massad).
Jacob and Lexie said that, while they aren’t optimistic that the Ontario government will lift all restrictions that have been imposed as a result of Covid, there are still reasons to be hopeful that they will be able to run some form of Second Session, AC and LTP programs at the camp this summer. When I asked them whether there is any chance the popular day camp program – which sees children brought out to camp each day by boat from Kenora, could be offered, the answer was, “We’re still waiting to see how things will look in June and July.”
As well, I asked what would happen if the Ontario government keeps the border closed to visitors from other provinces – as is currently the case, and while Jacob and Lexie indicated that is a huge concern, the planning process began long ago, long before the border was closed – so naturally the hope is that by July the border will be reopened.
In the meantime though, Jacob and Lexie have developed a program known as “BB Bed & Breakfast”, which has already garnered a terrific response, they said. As of May 5, 140 individuals were on the waitlist for 3-night stays at BB Camp with registration slated to launch at the end of May, hopefully once there is some clarity re the border. On hand to work with families will be almost a full complement of BB Camp staff, Jacob said, which will be from 60-70 in number. “The idea is to get our staff trained, and our island open so if and when the time comes that we can pivot back to our conventional overnight camp programming, we’ll be ready to do so at a moment’s notice”.
Here is material taken from the BB Camp website that describes what BB Bed & Breakfast will offer:
Treat your family to an all inclusive getaway where you will learn new skills, immerse yourself in the outdoors, and grow closer as a family. We’ve taken the best parts of a traditional sleep-away summer camp program to offer a unique and unforgettable family cabin rental experience.
Parents are welcome to join their kids in camp activities, or catch up on remote work while our camp staff buddy up with their children for the day. There will also be adult-only programming offered throughout your stay.
Enhance your stay at camp with a family canoe trip following your family camp session! Choose from a 2 or 4-night canoe trip. Our staff will lead you through the whole process from packing out your own food and equipment, to navigating, cooking, and properly setting up a camp site.
Conquer the climbing tower, learn to stern a canoe, or play on our giant water inflatables, the choice is yours! Families will sign up for activities and be able to customize their stay to their liking. Our friendly staff will be there every step of the way to ensure you leave camp rejuvenated and reconnected to the wilderness!
Take advantage of our beautiful island location by adding a fishing excursion, or enrol your children in Swimming Lessons taught through our partnership with Aqua Essence. Again, the choice is yours to make BB Camp everything your family is looking for in a summer escape!
Available activities will include:
Nature Hikes
Paddle Around the Island
Outdoor Cooking Lessons
Judaic Programming
+
Shabbat
Fishing Excursions*
Aqua Essence SwimmingLessons*
*Additional fees
The all-inclusive package that BB Camp is offering includes:
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Plus 3 Daily Snacks
Daytime Childcare
Access to ‘Work from Camp’ Spaces + WIFI
Adult and Youth Programming
Staff-led Cookout & Bonfires
Traditional Burning of the Bs
Camp Activities:
Ropes Course – Climbing Wall -Water Toys – Canoeing -Kayaking – Swimming – Arts &Crafts – Sports – Tripping –Archery
For more information on BB Bed & Breakfast check out the BB Camp website – www.bbcamp.ca, call 204-477-7512 or email info@bbcamp.ca
Danial Sprintz is Executive Director of Camp Massad (now in his 11th year in that position), while Drew McGillawee is Director of Planning & Programming (in his third year in that position).
While the camp may not have held either of its normal two sessions last year, work at the campsite has continued apace nonetheless to improve facilities, in large part due to a grant from the Jewish Foundation earmarked for infrastructure improvements.
Of course, with the hope that vaccinations would allow some semblance of normal camp activity to resume, Danial Sprintz said that the camp board had been in constant consultation with Manitoba Health and various government officials to see whether there was any way sleepover camp could resume this summer.
The decision was made to cancel normal camp because there just wouldn’t be enough time to allow for proper planning even if Covid restrictions were to be lifted by the summer, Danial says.
I asked him though whether the cancellation of camp applied to Massad’s day camp as well (about which I had written last summer). And, although the day camp did prove successful – and complied with all provincial requirements for maintaining proper social distancing, Danial said it was very expensive to have to adhere to all the regulations that the province required – so the decision was taken not to go ahead with a day camp this summer.
However, just as BB Camp is offering an attractive alternative for families, Massad is also offering its cabins for families to rent – anywhere from a weekend (Friday – Sunday) to a weekday experience (which can vary in length).
According to the Massad website, “Family rentals will include all the activities that Camp Massad has to offer as well as food and a personal family cabin equipped with comfortable amenities.”
Those amenities include: Tennis Courts, Basketball Court, Soccer Field, Volleyball Court, Archery Range, Tetherball, Nature Trails, Canoe and Kayaking on Lake Winnipeg, Fire Pits and Art Studio, as well as swimming in the Heated Outdoor Pool, Daily Adult and Youth Programming, Optional Child Care, Judaic Programming, and Wifi. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and 3 snacks each day will be provided.
But, rather than attempt to offer a second session for regular campers in August – which is still BB Camp’s hope, Danial says that August will be devoted to providing training for camp staff. “We’ll have gone on for two years without staff getting the chance to get any training,” he says. “We want to make sure that they get that training for next year’s camp.”
Both camps have received a great deal of financial support, both from government and from non-governmental organizations.
Danial pointed to two specific programs from which Massad was able to receive funding: The “Green Team” program and the “Canada Summer Jobs” program. Both programs will enable Massad to pay their entire staff complement for at least part of the summer.
As well, both BB and Massad received funding from the Jewish Federation that will help to keep their camps operating this summer.
Danial also pointed out that both camps are able to offer financial help to families that might not be able to afford their family programs this summer. Some money, as it has in the past, is available through the “Sunshine Fund”, while other financial assistance has been made available from other sources as well. Interested parties should contact either camp about subsidies that might be available.
While July has already been heavily booked by families looking to spend some time together at Massad, the camp will actually be available to families beginning June 11.
When I asked whether it’s possible for a family to spend more than five days at Massad at one time, Drew McGillawee said that one family has actually booked two consecutive weeks at the camp.
And, despite all the hardship that Covid has caused both camps, Danial said that the difficult situation in which both Massad and BB Camp have been put has let to what he described as an “unprecedented level of cooperation and planning” between the directors of both camps (which helps to explain why both camps came up with almost identical family camp programs for the coming summer).
As Danial noted, it’s not only the camps that have been working together, “all Jewish community organizations” have been working together closely in ways that they had never done before.
For more information about Camp Massad’s summer rental program for families either call 204-477-7487 or email info@campmassad.ca .
Both camps have detailed information about their upcoming summer family programs on their websites.
Local News
Fringe Festival star Melanie Gall to appear at Gwen Secter Centre July 16
By BERNIE BELLAN A veteran performer at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, Melanie Gall, will be making a special guest appearance at the Gwen Secter Centre on Thursday, July 16.
Melanie will be the featured speaker (and entertainer) for the Remis Speakers’ Series that day. The Remis Speakers’ Series is held every Thursday starting at noon and ending at 1:30. This year’s series began May 7 and will continue through the end of October. This year it has been attracting increasingly large audiences – ranging from 40-60 people, as it offers attendees the opportunity to enjoy a delicious – and kosher lunch, while listening to a very diverse variety of speakers – all the way from Gail Asper talking about returning the Ten Commandments to Assiniboine Park to Rabbi Matthew Leibl performing Christmas songs that were written by Jewish songwriters. At the same time it provides those attending a chance to make new acquaintances – or perhaps bump into old friends they haven’t seen in a long time.
Melanie Gall’s own story is sure to be riveting. I’ve written about Melanie in the past, but the past two summers had been especially nerve wracking for Melanie, as she was subjected to a torrent of antisemitic abuse over her support for the State of Israel.
You can read my story about what Melanie went through during the Winnipeg Fringe Festival – both in 2024 and again last year, at Melanie Gall subjected to antisemitic abuse.
Melanie, who will be entering her 13th year of performing at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, will be peforming in only one show this year – a departure from her past practice of performing in multiple shows (as many as three different shows) during the Fringe Festival.
Elsewhere on this website we’ll be offering a preview of Melanie’s show (which is called “The Ballad of Isobel Gunn” and which is based on an incredible, but true story), along with previews of several other shows.
In the meantime, if you’re not already a member of the Remis Speakers’ Series group, but would ike to attend this coming Thursday, simply email us at jewishp@mymts.net and we’ll reserve a spot for you. The cost for the lunch is only $20.
The Gwen Secter Centre is located at 1588 Main Street (corner of Smithfield). There is parking available on a lot behind the centre or on the street.
Local News
Folk Festival Report
(Posted July 10) During this year’s Winnipeg Folk Festival we’re going to be running an ongoing blog report – with photos and blurbs from the festival, sent to us by Heather Silbert and Samara Ebanks.
Here’s Heather’s first entry (sent Friday at 3:33 pm): “It’s a hot hot day at the 51st Winnipeg Folk Festival! Lots of people; lots of good vibes; and an abundance of awesome music!!”
“We just moved to spruce hollow. Nice and shady. listening to Jacob Brodovsky.”
4:21 pm: “Jacob just announced that he lost his job and received a lot of vitriol from the Jewish Community because he’s a Jewish person who believes that Palestinian and Jewish lives are intertwined, and he is against the genocide. He is very deeply feeling, and expresses all these big feelings through his songs. I want to give him a hug, but it’s so hot outside!”
5:33 pm: The inscription in the plaque below begins with some lines from a Bruce Cockburn song called “Joy Will Find a Way (A Song About Dying)”: and continues with: “Memory Lane honours those who are no longer with us but whose presence lives on in the music, memories and moments we share here…”
7:06 pm “Gorgeous hand made polymer clay jewelry! Amanda Greisman makes gorgeous pieces that can be worn across many occasions! And she’s so so nice!” (See her booth called “Blue Sky Jewelry.”
(Keep checking for updates)
Local News
New GrowWinnipeg “Grow Together” highlights diverse origins of our growing Jewish community
By MYRON LOVE On Monday, June 11, about 120 younger Jewish Winnipeggers from diverse backgrounds came together at the Asper Campus for an evening of food and music, games and prizes and, most important, the opportunity to socialize with their peers from a growing community that reflects the long term success of our community’s 26-year-old GrowWinnipeg initiative.
“We are gathered here to celebrate your and your parents’ decisions to come to Winnipeg, build families and raise families here,” noted Dalia Szpiro, GrowWinnipeg’s director, in addressing the young adults in attendance.
To summarize, the GrowWinnipeg Initiative arose when our past community’s leadership recognized that our Jewish population was an aging and shrinking community with aging infrastructure.
The first stage was the planning and construction of the Asper Campus, which brought our major institutions and organizations under one roof in an attractive new building.
The next challenge was to attract more people to our community. GrowWinnipeg was created to take on the challenge. The initiative, which was officially launched in 2000, is unique in its efforts to reach out to young Jewish families throughout the Western world.
The first outreach efforts were directed at Argentina’s sizeable Jewish community at a time when the South American country’s economy was going through a very difficult period. Several of our community leaders visited the Jewish community in Buenos Aires and a website was established. Arrangements were made for local families to host Jewish Argentinians here on exploratory visits and the community helped the prospective immigrants navigate the then new Provincial Nominee Program, find jobs and establish themselves here.
Since then, many young families – from Argentina, as well as a great number of other countries – have chosen to make Winnipeg their new home. The young people at the recent GrowWinnipeg evening were reflective of the diversity of our growing community. During the course of the evening, I had the opportunity to speak with not only Israeli-born participants, also young people from Russia and Ukraine, Turkey and Uruguay – and a young lady who grew up in Ottawa.
Naomi Kirshenblatt Palansky originally came here from Ottawa to go to university. She met and married local entrepreneur Noah Palansky in 2023. (We wrote about Noah in the December 19, 2025 issue). That same year, the former competitive swimmer who competed in the Maccabiah Games in 2009 and 2013 served as manager of the Canadian Junior swimming team participating in the games. She is currently the director of operations and strategy for a company called CoinFlip.
Although born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Yael Borovich grew up in Winnipeg. She is the daughter of Dalia Szpiro and Eduardo Borovich (and younger sister of Vanessa) all of whom moved here in 2002. She is a graduate of the Asper School of Business and works as a senior client relationship manager for Scotia Bank’s commercial branch.
Siblings Igal and Edem Avimelek arrived here from Turkey six years ago with their parents, Etel and Moris. Edem is in her second year at the University of Manitoba while Igal is studying engineering at UBC.
They report that their father, Moris, has established the Upperwear Textile Agency – marketing textile products online – while their mother Etel, is senior IT Director, software development and data analytics and enterprise architecture at Standard Aero.
“Our parents were looking to move to a new country and came across the GrowWinnipeg webpage,” Edem says. “GrowWinnipeg has been really supportive of us in helping us move here and become established.”
More recent arrivals Alex Tsmokaliuk and Jane Hin are from Ukraine and Russia respectively and have been together since 2022. “We were looking for a peaceful place to start a family,”: Alex says. “We heard about GrowWinnpeg and here we are.”
Alex is a fitness trainer while Jane is working for WRE Development as a property manager.
Dora Bronstein, who is originally from Beersheva, is also a recent arrival to our community. “I came to Winnipeg because I wanted to get away from war – and I heard about GrowWinnipeg,” she says.
She is currently working for L.C. Taylor Licensed Insolvency Trustee as an estate manager.
Erele Tzidon and Daniel Mejnov
Last October, GrowWinnipeg introduced its new Youth Ambassadors program.
“Since October, we have been working to create an organized system and opportunities to help young newcomers find their people within our community,” wrote Youth Ambassador Erele Tzidon on Facebook.
“Our mission is to help young immigrants find a sense of home in Winnipeg and support a smooth and welcoming transition.
We are excited to help bring our young Jewish community together.
As reported in the Jewish Post about 18 months ago, Tzidon is originally from Moshav Ginaton in central Israel. She came to Winnipeg in 2018 with her parents Ofer – formerly regional manager for a car rental agency in Israel and now an RBC branch manager – and Sharon – an emotional therapist in Israel who is currently working as an educational assistant at Gray Academy – and three younger brothers.
The 20-year Gray Academy graduate has recently completed her third year in Science at the University of Manitoba. For the past three years, she has also been a member of Dr. Inna Rabinovich-Nikitin’s research team at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences (ICS), researching the link between pregnancy complications and the risk for heart disease.
In November, 2024, Tzidon was presented with the Dr. James S. McGoey Student Award – based on the quality of her cardiovascular research at the ICS, which operates out of the St. Boniface Hospital campus’s Albrechchtsen Research Centre.
Tzidon’s fellow Youth Ambassador is Daniel Mejnov. He was born in Beersheva but moved to Winnipeg with his parents, Dennis and Victoria (and younger brother Alon) 14 years ago. He is currently enrolled in an IT program at the University of Winnipeg.
Mejnov welcomed all those in attendance at the celebration and thanked the volunteers who helped him and Tzidon organize the event.
“It has been great being able to bring so many people together,” he said. “This is a good way to unite our community.
Two other individuals of particular note that I spoke with at the event were Orit Agabayev and Alina Plis, partners in three year old A and O Event Décor, who provided the balloon arches and walls, table settings and centre pieces for the evening.
Agabayev is originally from Netanya and Plis is from Yeruham (in southern Israel). The latter has been here for 18 years and operates a daycare. The former came 16 years. Her principal career is working in the field of animal nutrition.
In an Instagram PosI from four years ago, Plis noted that “I have always been passionate about planning parties and events. I started out with planning big surprise birthday parties for my kids. Eventually I began planning and decorating events for family and friends. Now I am taking the next step with my friend, Orit, who shares the same level enthusiasm as me. What drives me to go above and beyond is simply the excitement my creations bring to those who see my work.
On Facebook, Agabayev added that “Alina and I are so excited to start A&O event decor. We both love decorating and planning different events. We hope that you can put your trust in us to create or decorate an event for you. We do Birthday parties, anniversaries, bachelor/bachelorette parties, proposals, weddings and more..
“Message us with your ideas to get a free quote and you’re one step closer to having an unforgettable event.”
