Local News
Rady JCC reopens to members
By BERNIE BELLAN
Anyone who is a member of the Rady JCC would have been receiving regular updates from Executive Director Rob Berkowits as to how the facility was planning to reopen in part under the province’s Phase 2 guidelines.
On June 15, for the very first time since March 16, when the Rady JCC had closed its doors to members, the Rady JCC was able to welcome back members, albeit with restrictions, including:
• a maximum capacity of 70 people total at one time
• 50% maximum capacity on the fitness centre floor
• workouts limited to 90 minutes in consideration of others.
Among the new procedures to be in place are:
New entry procedures and policies:
• Members’ temperatures will be taken with a non-contact temperature gun and members will be denied entry if above normal.
• The Rady JCC will only accept contactless forms of payment until further notice.
Limited access to certain areas/machines:
• Both the men’s and the women’s locker rooms are closed until further notice.
• The family change room is open specifically for individuals using the pool only and will be limited to a maximum of six people at a time.
• The Rady pool will only be available for lap swimming and must be pre-booked.
• Rady towel service will not be available at this time.
• Rady steam rooms will be closed until further notice.
• All Rady JCC water fountains will be shut off. Members are required to bring their own bottled water.
• In order to practice proper physical distancing, certain exercise equipment and machines will be blocked off from use.
• Hard to clean equipment such as foam rollers and yoga blocks will be unavailable.
• Drop-ins are no longer allowed for classes. The booking system must be used to reserve classes in advance.
• Members are required to wear masks while entering and exiting the facility and may choose at their own discretion to wear masks while on the fitness floor
• Gloves are not a requirement at this time
At the end of the first week of reopening I asked Zach Minuk, Rady JCC Director of Development, Partnerships, and Communications if he could give an overall assessment how members have accepted the new restrictions and what attendance has been like?
Zach wrote: “The reaction has been extremely positive. Members have been very happy with all our physical distancing measures as well as the overall cleanliness of the facility.
“In terms of numbers – we are seeing ebbs and flows this first week. Our fitness floor max count is 70 people due to mandated provincial physical distancing rules. We are seeing anywhere from 20% – close to 50% capacity throughout each day so far. To help members, we launched a live fitness centre capacity counter that we update every two hours during our normal hours of operation that can be found on our website homepage as well as shared through our social media. This allows members to know what our counts are before they come for their workouts. It’s also been extremely well-received.
“Beginning next week (June 22) , we are going to be adding some amenities. When we opened our aquatics facility, we initially only allowed pre-bookings for lap swimming in three lanes only. Our lanes have been booked solid all week now. Next Monday, we are opening up two more lanes for a total of five lanes now available for pre-booking. Also, on Monday, June 29, we are going to be adding sports and recreation activities including pickleball, badminton, and basketball.
“Everything we have done and continue to do is done so with the health and well-being of our members, staff, and volunteers top-of-mind. We want to ensure that every decision we make as we push forward into the summer months is the proper decision.
“One final thing – as you know, for any member who isn’t quite ready or comfortable enough to come back to the Rady yet, we’ve allowed them to extend their membership freeze at zero cost until September. When they are ready to come back, we will be ready to welcome them.”
I talked to Harvey Cogan, who has long been a devoted Rady JCC member, and who likes to use the pool for lap swimming, as well as the track for walking. I asked Harvey how he’s adjusted to the new restrictions at the Rady JCC?
Harvey said “It’s good to be back in the pool – and seeing so many familiar faces again.
“Today I had an appointment to use the pool at 11 am, so I arrived at 10:15 and walked around the track 11 times” (which, Harvey noted, is one mile).
“When I went to use the pool I used the family change room. It has six little lockers. It’s fine.”
Harvey told me that in the first week since the Rady JCC had reopened, he’d been there three times (and used the pool each time – for a 45 minute session each time).
I asked whether the facility was busy?
“There aren’t a lot of people coming at this time,” Harvey answered.
To be fair, it’s also summer, and there are usually a lot fewer people using the facility when the weather’s nice. Still, Harvey did mention that he’d talked with quite a few others who are regular attendees at the Rady JCC, and “seven or eight” of them had said they’re going to wait until September before they come back.
As noted, the Rady JCC has frozen all memberships until September.
In other Rady JCC news, it was announced on Thursday, June 18, that the summer camp program which, it had been feared earlier when the lockdown was first imposed by the provincial government would be canceled entirely, but which was subsequently allowed to go ahead – with allowances made for social distancing requirements, is now sold out for the entire summer.
Following are excerpts from a release issued by the Rady JCC:
Three weeks after opening registration, all available 2020 Rady JCC Summer Day Camps have sold out.
“We are incredibly excited about this news,” said Tamar Barr, Rady JCC’s Assistant Executive Director. “During these difficult times, to see such a positive response from our community and beyond is inspirational.”
Individual 2020 Rady JCC Day Camps, starting July 6 and running weekly for eight weeks, will have smaller maximum capacities than previous years due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing restrictions mandated by the provincial government.
“While our camp sizes will be smaller this year, our dedicated staff have worked extremely hard in our preparations to ensure the overall campership experience will not be affected at all,” said Barr. “Campers can still expect to have fun and engaging sessions while parents can rest assured knowing their children will be in a safe environment.”
Rady anticipates close to 1000 children ranging in age from pre-school to Grade 8 to take part this year. If unable to register already, Rady is now accepting names for its 2020 Day Camp waiting list should any potential spots become available during the summer months. Parents should call 204.477.7510 if interested.
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.”
