Local News
Gwen Secter online concert series fill much needed role in community’s cultural life
By BERNIE BELLAN
It’s been almost eight months since the province imposed the first lockdown due to the COVID pandemic. While we’ve had our fair share of stories in this paper about how the pandemic has affected so many of us, we’ve also been trying to avoid dwelling on the terrible toll it’s taken.
You’re undoubtedly inundated with those types of stories from so many other media. Instead we’ve tried to find stories that illustrate the often innovative ways in which both individuals and organizations within our Jewish community have responded to the challenges presented by the awful disruption in life that we’ve all encountered to one degree or another.
One organization in particular has amazed me in the way that, despite its relatively small size, it has filled several voids in the community that were left when other organizations were either unable or unwilling to provide services that were desperately needed by some members of our community. I am referring to the Gwen Secter Centre. (Elsewhere in this issue we have a story by Myron Love about the upcoming tea that Gwen Secter will be holding –but not an actual tea.)
The reason I wanted to write this article was to explain how the Gwen Secter Centre – somewhat surprisingly, came to be involved in offering a firstrate online concert series that anyone can watch from their home – so long as you have a computer or tablet (and you register in advance, as will be explained if you continue reading).
I contacted our community’s go-to impresario, Karla Berbrayer, who has been organizing concerts and other programs for various organizations for so many years that it’s hard to know where this community would be without her. I told Karla that, while we’ve been running ads promoting the concert series, we really hadn’t explained to readers how the series had come about, which led to a phone interview – interrupted strangely when her phone line went dead. (Later Karla emailed me to say that an MTS crew that had been installing new cables in the area had accidentally cut the line to her home, leading not only to the loss of landline connection, but the internet and TV as well. If that had happened in our home my wife would have blamed me.)
When our phone interview resumed Karla related the story how the online concert series had come about. She said she had been working for Gwen Secter the past year (2019) “doing a series called ‘All About Jews’. That’s when Becky (Chisick, Gwen Secter executive director) and I solidified our working relationship – and she had hired me back to do the same series in 2020.”
The idea behind that series was to offer monthly Friday lunch time programs featuring either a speaker or a concert. The first program in “All About Jews” – in February, featured children’s author Harriet Zaidman speaking about the Winnipeg General Strike while the second program – on Friday, March 13 (the last day before the province wide shutdown went into effect) featured Kevin McIntyre singing songs from Broadway musicals with a Jewish connection. The day of that second program Karla said she “wondered whether anyone was going to be here? “ The first case of COVID had just been announced the day prior, Karla noted.
“The room was absolutely full,” she continued, “and I said to one woman in the audience that I was afraid no one would come today, and she said: ‘Karla, we just want to be entertained.’ So I was adamant that I would continue bringing that to them.
“And once it became mandatory that this specific demographic was not going to be able to mingle freely in an environment like they had been, I suggested to Becky that I could do a virtual concert series. I said to her that if we wanted to bring culture to her membership I saw this as the only option and I’m happy to do it.
“We all have to reinvent ourselves,” Karla observed, “and ‘pivot’ – that’s a great word – and if you don’t reinvent yourself, it’s game over,” she suggested.
“ At that point Becky said :‘Let me think about this’ and then she called me back shortly afterwards and said: ‘Karla, let’s just do it.’ “
“So that was amazing because she gave me carte blanche to put together a high quality concert series and gave me free run to manage it the way I felt it should be managed. Becky deserves a lot of credit. I produced the series but without Becky it wouldn’t have happened.”
Of course, by now many of us have become used to the notion of watching Zoom events, but frankly the quality of many of those sessions leaves something to be desired. And for Karla Berbrayer, the idea of simply offering concerts via Zoom was a non-starter.
“From the start I made a decision that I did not want to do a concert series where everyone is recording themselves from their living room or their kitchen – on their cell phone. I wanted a high end event. I wanted to record the performers in a theatre (which, in this case, turned out to the Berney Theatre), with lighting and sound and a tech crew – basically everything except the audience.”
As it turned out Karla managed to record 10 different concerts – all in the same day!
Each concert is between 20-30 minutes. The concerts run the gamut from “jazz to pop to Borscht Belt to Broadway,” Karla observed. “I try to give it a lot of variety so that if you don’t like a specific concert you’ll like another one.”
“I would bring in a group or a performer and they would ask me: ‘How many takes do I get?” and I’d say: ‘One. You just perform as if there’s a live audience. We’re not doing any editing.’ “
“Each one was able to have the feeling of playing live in a theatre, having a tech crew. It was also a good feeling giving all these people work as well. After all,” she added, “their lives had been shut down because of the death of live entertainment in the city”.
The series opened in October. Karla explained how it works: “Every Monday at 9 am we release a concert. They’ll be released weekly right up until mid-December. There are 10 concerts altogether and all people have to do is register at and they’re immediately given a link that will allow them to watch a concert. Also, every week they’re sent a reminder when the next concert is coming up.”
So far, concerts have featured local performers Nadia Douglas, Erin Propp and Larry Roy, Shayla Fink, and Aaron Hutton with Paul De Gurse.
I asked Karla whether the concerts can be viewed if you don’t happen to watch one on a particular Monday?
“Yes,” Karla answered. “The concerts are archived so if you want you can go online and watch an earlier concert – by going to the Gwen Secter website once you’ve registered. You can watch a concert any time of day and as many times as you’d like.”
The response to the concert series has been terrific. Over 364 individuals have registered at www.gwensecter.com as of the time of writing. As well, statistics of how many people are actually watching the concerts live indicate that, as of the date of writing concerts have been viewed 729 times.
As for cost, Becky Chisick was adamant that the series would be offered free of charge. Funding for the series is provided by the Manitoba Arts Council.
I suggested to Karla that while Gwen Secter deserves full credit for stepping up to fill a cultural void in our community, the fact that it’s the Gwen Secter Centre filling that void still comes as somewhat of a surprise. It wasn’t that long ago that the Gwen Secter Centre’s very survival was in question. Now it’s rising to the fore of Jewish community organizations that are stepping up during the pandemic. Who would have thunk it?
.
Local News
Simkin Stroll founder Bill Brownstone honoured prior to this year’s stroll
By BERNIE BELLAN On Thursday, June 12, the Simkin Centre held its 13th annual Simkin Stroll.
Over the years the Simkin Stroll has grown into a huge event incorporating entertainment, food, children’s activities, a silent auction and, of course, the actual stroll itself, which sees residents accompanied by friends, family members, or Simkin Centre staff members walking – or being pushed in wheelchairs around the beautiful LInden Ridge neighbourhood.
Hoop Dancer;
This year marked a special occasion as the individual, Bill Brownstone, who actually came up with the idea for the Simkin Stroll, was honoured in a ceremony held in the adult day program lounge prior to the stroll.
In the past, Brownstone has served on the Simkin Centre board, also as interim Chair for a ti
We were able to catch up with Brownstone before he was honoured to ask him how he came up with the idea for the stroll.
“I came up with the idea (in 2011) because I had friends at the Baycrest in Toronto,” he said. “They had what they called the ‘board walk’ where members of the board would walk to raise money. And when they raise money in Toronto – they raise money!
“So the first year (which would have been 2012) I came up with the idea for people walking. That first year we had about four people walking.
“The next year I came up with the idea for the ‘Simkin Stroll’ – and boom, we had walkers and it began to take off.
I said that I remembered Murray Gilfix was always manning a barbeque in those early years.
“There was no barbeque that first year” of the Simkin Stroll, Bill clarified. The barbeque came later. The past couple of years the barbeque has been replaced by volunteers and Simkin staff serving food indoors as the number of people attending would have led poor Murray to be overwhelmed for sure.
At the ceremony in which Bill Brownstone was honoured with what Rabbi Matthew Leibl said was the Simkin Centre’s inaugural “community leadership honour,” Rabbi Leibl paid tribute to Bill Brownstone’s ongoing dedication to the Simkin Centre. “What began as his vision to raise vital community funds has blossomed over the past 13 years to become a joyful, vibrant, and popular event,” Rabbi Leibl said.
“This event connects residents, family, staff, and the broader community in support of a place we all hold dear. Bill’s contributions have enriched the lives of so many and his legacy of compassion and community spirit is deeply felt. As such, it is only fitting that he is the first recipient of our first community leadership honour.”
Rabbi Leibl also acknowledged Bill’s wife Fay, and his children, Rob, Gary, Lisa, and Andrea.
“The Brownstone children in particular have each contributed generously and creatively this year in honour of their dad,” Rabbi Leibl noted.
This year’s Simkin Stroll ended up setting a new record for fundraising with over $100,000 raised – both through donations and the silent auction. Thanks were also issued to two major sponsors of the event: The Asper Foundation and Ellery Broder.
Funds raised will go to support recreation and quality-of-life programming.
Past Chairs of the Simkin Centre Board
(Sitting:) Bill Brownstone & Gordon Pullan
Standing (l-r): Jonathan Kroft, Ted Lyons, Saul Greenbeg, Selma Gilfix, Avrum Senensky, Gerry Kaplan, Al Benarroch
Local News
Shaarey Zedek Sisterhood 60th anniversary interfaith luncheon
By MYRON LOVE On Wednesday, May 28, the Shaarey Zedek Sisterhood hosted its 60th annual interfaith luncheon – with 170 supporters on hand to break bread together, celebrate the Sisterhood’s 95th year in operation – in addition to the luncheon’s diamond anniversary, and enjoy an inspiring presentation by Indigenous business leader and consultant Lisa Lewis, who spoke about the kinship between her people and ours.
The program began with greetings from Lieutenant-Governor Anita Neville and Gail Asper, representing the Shaarey Zedek’s Board of Directors. Asper – the consummate community volunteer – spoke of the importance and benefits of the satisfaction gained from being a volunteer, as well as the important role that the Sisterhood has played in the life of our Jewish community’s oldest and largest congregation – a subject that was subsequently expanded upon by Marisa Hochman – one of the Sisterhood’s three co-presidents (along with Sandy Polanski and Louise Raber).
(Hochman and Raber also co–chaired the luncheon, along with Amy Karlinsky.)
“Our tradition teaches that it is important for us to be part of a community,” Hochman noted in her remarks. “Our Torah teaches that, while G-d is one, it is not good for man to be alone.”
She emphasized the importance in Judaism of balance and harmony as reflected in our rituals and observances – lighting two Shabbat candles, for example, the Commandments being written on two tablets, and in bringing together the four species of plants for the celebration of Sukkot.
“The mitzvah (of the four species),” Hochmanpointed out, ‘is not complete until all four of the elements are brought together – symbolizing that it takes many kinds of people to make a world – and that each of us brings something special to the table. It is only when all of us are working together that we are complete.”
Hochman provided a sampling of some of the ways that the Sisterhood contributes to its members, the synagogue and the wider community: the book club, the tallit-weaving program, monetary donations to the synagogue, support for theological seminaries and other Jewish educational institutions, and Jewish Child and Family Service.
“To me,” she added, “Sisterhood is friendship, community, the power of women working together to create, build and share and the passing on of wisdom and traditions – L’dor V’dor – from generation to generation.
“It is multigenerational, with members ranging in age from 16 into their 90s. A common thread that binds our members is that no matter their age or life circumstances, they are vibrant and engaged with the world around them. They love to learn and help others. They each contain a spark that illuminates.
“Like the glow of the Shabbat candles, we know that, together, we can bring more light and goodness into the world. Together, we definitely shine brighter than we do on our own.”
Following a delicious Shaarey Zedek lunch – salad, party sandwiches and dessert, keynote speaker Lisa Lewis stepped up the microphone. The speaker is a successful business woman, having started “Beyond Excellence Creative Consulting,” which provides tailor-made training and management assistance to a wide range of organizations.
Local News
Shindico celebrates 50th anniversary
(June 11, 2025) Shindico, one of Canada’s leading real estate firms, celebrated its 50th anniversary in typically understated style today. Instead of a lavish banquet in a swank hotel, over 200 Winnipeggers of different stripes gathered in a huge warehouse in St. Boniface to enjoy a variety of different foods served from different food trucks that had been brought onto the parking lot for the occasion in a carnival like atmosphere.
There were no long speeches marking the event. Instead Shindico staff mingled with guests and even the top bosses stood in line to order Philly steaks, french fries, cotton candy, popcorn, drinks, and sundry other food items. And, instead of the kind of swag typically given out at fancy celebrations guests were given simple hats saying “Shindico 50th anniversary.”
That’s the Shindico style we’ve come to expect of Shindico’s founders, Sandy & Robert Shindleman, who are known for understatement in their style of clothing – jeans and work shirts being what they are best known for wearing!
And, if you haven’t already read our story about how Sandy Shindleman came to found Shindico with his brother, Robert, you can read it here: The Sandy Shindleman story.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login