Local News
University of Manitoba’s chief fundraiser Stephanie Levene among AFP Manitoba’s 2023 honorees
By MYRON LOVE On Wednesday November 15, the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFT Canada) celebrated the 25th National Philanthropy Day – which recognizes outstanding charitable work throughout the province – culminating in the presentation of a number of awards for individuals and organizations that have stood out for their philanthropic and fundraising achievements.
Among the honorees this year was Stephanie Levene, who was recognized for her outstanding achievement as a professional fundraiser. “I was thrilled to have been chosen for the award this year,” says the University of Manitoba’s Associate Vice-President, Donor Relations, who was presented with her award at a celebration at the Convention Centre on the 15th. “It is always nice to be recognized by your peers.”
In her role as the university’s fundraising leader, she was instrumental in bringing to fruition the largest fundraising campaign in the history of the province. The five-year Front and Centre Campaign – which was publicly launched in 2015 with a goal of $500 million – raised $626 million in total – monies that support research, innovation, new infrastructure, and an enhanced student experience.
“We are striving at the University of Manitoba to attract the best and the brightest in their fields,” she notes.
She reports that “we received amazing support from our alumni. Twenty percent of them made donations to our Front and Centre campaign.”
Generous donations also were offered by the corporate sector, current and retired faculty and staff and such prominent philanthropists as the Asper family and former Winnipegger Ernest Rady.
As noted in the AFP write-up about Levene introducing the Outstanding Professional Fundraiser honoree, at the university she leads a team of 52, encompassing all aspects of fundraising. She was lauded for “continually working to drive the organization to new heights in its fundraising success through some difficult and unprecedented times,” as well as constantly striving for “system improvements”.
She was also praised for her “leadership through various significant projects” and her “exemplary commitment to the philanthropic profession.”
In reference to the latter comment, Levene notes that she strongly believes in giving back. “I appreciate the help of the many people in the profession who contributed to my growth as a fundraising professional and I welcome the opportunity to mentor others who may be new to our profession,” she says.
Fundraising was not the first career choice for Stephanie Levene. The daughter of David and Sherrill Levene (and brother of Jewish Federation of Winnipeg past President Adam Levene) began her working career in the business world as a marketing executive. (She has three U of M degrees: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) and an MBA.)
In an interview with this writer for the JP&N eight years ago, she recalled that the marketing positions she had – while interesting – were not satisfying. “I wanted to be doing something more fulfilling” she said at that time.
So what she did was survey other Asper School alumni about the type of work they were doing. “It was a real education,” she recalled.
Her voyage of discovery led her in 2003 to the United Way where, based on her previous experience, she was initially directed to the Director of Marketing. “I was encouraged to sign up for a 14-week Sponsored Executive position,” she recounted. “It was an incredible experience. It opened up a whole new world to me. I met a wide variety of people and learned a lot about myself and our community.”
Just as the term finished, a full time position opened up at the United Way. Her first position at the United Way was Division Manager, Resource Development. After a couple of years, she was promoted to Senior Manager, then Director of Campaign and Strategic Initiatives. She served in that position for five years and moved to the University of Manitoba in 2011.
“It was an interesting opportunity,” she says of her move to the university. “My position here encompasses all aspects of fundraising.“
While the hugely successful Front and Centre Campaign concluded three years ago, Levene points out that fundraising for the university never stops – right through the Covid lockdowns. “It is really amazing that we continue to raise $50-$60-million a year thanks to the generosity of our incredible alumni and other donors,” she says.
While in the past Levene was able to donate some of her time to the Jewish Foundation Women’s Endowment Fund, she points out that her current position – combined with her volunteer work with AFP Manitoba and raising two young children (eight-year-old John and six-year-old Jacob – both students at Gray Academy) – leaves her little time for anything else right now.
Local News
New Israeli restaurant opens in River Heights
By BERNIE BELLAN (July 6, 2025) It’s been a long time since our community has been able to welcome the opening of a restaurant that specializes in Israeli food.
That void is now going to be filled with the opening of The Green Falafel, at 1833 Grant (corner of Centennial – next to the Subway).
The restaurant is the fulfillment of a dream long held by the husband and wife team of Ariel and Eden Maudi, who have been living in Winnipeg the past 11 years.
Ariel, who was born in Israel and grew up in Beer Sheva, says that he worked in telecommunications in Ramat Gan for several years. He adds though that he had always dreamed of owning his own falafel stand in Israel, but life was difficult there and he decided to come to Canada as a tourist to see whether there were any opportunities here for him, Eden and their two young children.
Eden, who was born in Russia and moved to Israel with her family in 1996, stayed behind with the two kids, who were both pre-schoolers, while Ariel tested the waters in Canada first.
Ariel says he came to Canada as a tourist in 2013. His first stop was in Toronto, where he acquired his 1st class driver’s license. At the end of 2013 he moved to Winnipeg where he began working as a truck driver. Soon he found himself employed as a successful sales person at Vickar Nissan where, he says, he once achieved the status as the top car sales person in Canada. After working at Vickar Nissan for a number of years, Ariel began working as an installer for Bell MTS.
Meanwhile, Eden began working at a Walmart, later at the Costco on Regent.
But, when the opportunity to move into a space that had been previously occupied by another restaurant, but which had closed, became available, Ariel and Eden decided to open their own Israeli restaurant in an area that hadn’t seen Israeli food served since the controversial closure of Bermax Café in 2019.
The Maudis say that they will be serving a variety of Israeli dishes – all vegetarian, and that they will be fully kosher.
The “green” in Green Falafel, by the way, Ariel Maudi explains, comes from the cilantro and parsley that are added to the chickpeas. In addition, their pitas will be coming from Israel and will be baked fresh daily.
The Green Falafel will be open from 10-8 daily. Delivery will be available through Uber Eats and DoorDash.
Call 204-557-7837 for information.
Local News
Previews of shows with Jewish performers at this year’s Fringe Festival July 16-27
For show dates and venues go to winnipegfringe.com
By BERNIE BELLAN As has been our custom for many years now we try to find shows that have either Jewish performers or themes that would have particular appeal for Jewish audiences. Many of the Jewish performers at this year’s festival have been here before, but several are new. In no particular order here are blurbs about the shows we’ve found that fit the criteria I’ve just described. (By they way, if we’ve omitted a show that should be included in our list there’s plenty of time to get added to this post. Just drop me a line at jewishp@mymts.net.)
You’ve Been Served: A One-Woman Show About Divorce, Cults, and Coming of Age at Midlife
Noemi Zeigler
You are hereby summoned… to laugh, cry, and maybe belt out a Streisand number in solidarity. You’ve Been Served is a raw and riotous solo comedy by writer-performer Noemi Zeigler. It all begins when Noemi is served divorce papers on top of a garbage bin lid while taking out the trash—an undignified start to a full-blown midlife unraveling.
At 50, still clinging to her dream of becoming a singer, she falls under the spell of a music producer slash self-help guru, joins a spiritual cult, and, instead of landing a record deal, she lands in jail. Behind bars, with help from her long-buried inner child, she begins to reclaim her voice and her power. Turns out, dreams really do come true—just not the way she expected.
The show features vividly drawn characters—including a manipulative cult leader, a toxic ex-husband, and a jail guard named Roach who shares Noemi’s obsession with the fashion of Charlie’s Angels (the ‘70s TV version, of course.)
With salsa dancing, twerking, and a belting rendition of Don’t Rain on My Parade, Zeigler dives into abandonment, reinvention, and self-rescue. As she confronts perimenopause, she discovers it’s not the end—it’s the new puberty. The show touches on grief, sexuality, and spiritual confusion, but Noemi’s childlike optimism asks: What if your breakdown is actually your breakthrough?
You’re good for nothing… I’ll milk the cow myself
Written & Performed by Natacha Ruck
France, 1981: The first socialist president is about to be elected and young Natacha is ready to implement her own political platform. But first, she has to take down the schoolyard bully,emasculate the rules of French grammar and make off with grandmother’s chocolate.
If you think you know the limits of Jewish mothers, evil grandmothers and transcontinental lovers, meet Natacha Ruck’s family. This true tale of three generations of women, facing three world wars, is equal parts hilarious, shocking and zany.
A One Human Being, Potentially Comedic Performance of Beauty and the Beast NEW WORK!
Written & Performed by Alli Perlov
Be our guest! Local high school drama teacher Alli Perlov is back for a tale as old as time. Can she sing? Not really. Can she act? That’s debatable. Will you laugh? Oh… probably.
Perlov plays dozens of characters, some human, some animal, and many objects, in a comedic exploration of Beauty and the Beast.
In an homage to this brilliant musical adventure, through witty commentary and unstoppable energy, Perlov aims to entertain an audience that isn’t forced to be there like her students.
Hockey Sticks and Beaver Pie
Written & Performed by Melanie Gall
Take a trip around Manitoba. From the 30,000 ft. St. Adolphe snow maze to the Narcisse snake dens! After all, where else holds both the title of Slurpee Capital of the World and the Guinness Record for the most people simultaneously howling like wolves?
Deanna Durbin, Terry Jacks and Burton Cummings are among the many homegrown stars, and Hockey Sticks features their music along with original songs and the stories that make this province unique.
Starring Melanie Gall from past shows Piaf & Brel, Ingenue and Toast to Prohibition
Nerohilarity Exposed
Produced by Adam Schwartz
We all sometimes feel exposed, whether that’s as a fraud or a pretender.
The performers of the award-winning Neurohilarity show, Danielle Kayahara (Laugh Out Loud CBC), Carole Cunningham (Yuk Yuks, The Debaters), Adam Schwartz (Winnipeg Fringe) and Rollin Penner (Yuk Yuks, CBC, Rumors, Winnipeg Comedy Festival), apply a comedic spin to the experiences that make us feel insecure, stripping away the emotional weight with nittygritty jokes and stories that will have you laughing uproariously.
Brilliantly awkward.
A Lesbian in the Kitchen
Willow Rosenberg
Professional lesbian Willow Rosenberg takes you on a journey through the centuries, superstitions and tablespoons of her lifelong passion for baking in this spiritual successor to 2024’s Jenny Award-nominated A Lesbian in a Bear Store.
Whether you have a favourite spatula, bake once or twice a year, or live in constant fear of being told to “just fold it in”, this one-woman show about family, joy, tradition (but make it gay),
Judaism, comfort, home (but make it gayer*), love, chemistry and magic is for you!
*Who’re we kidding, it’s all gay!
Eleanor’s Story: An American Girl in Hitler’s Germany
Written & Performed by Ingrid Garner
(Ed. note: Although Ingrid Garner isn’t Jewish, we thought the theme of this show might have a special appeal for Jewish readers.)
Based on Eleanor Ramrath Garner’s best-selling memoir, this 16x internationally award-winning adaptation – performed by her granddaughter, Ingrid Garner – details Eleanor’s youth as an American caught in Second World War Berlin.
Punctuated with humour and accompanied by cinematic sound and video, Garner embodies her ancestors in this coming-of-age odyssey, delivering an account of war that is more relevant than ever.
Reviewing The Free Press 2
Benji Rothman
The Winnipeg Free Press has run amok, reviewing each and every Fringe show over the past two decades without consequence or recourse. Now, it’s their turn… again.
In this refurbished work that debuted at last year’s Winnipeg Fringe, Benji Rothman once again takes the Winnipeg Free Press to task. In this (mostly) new, (hopefully) hilarious 45-minute show, Rothman dives deep into their past and exposes their faulty journalism, imbalanced reporting and, of course, embarrassing typos.
Local News
Jewish performers at this year’s Winnipeg Folk Festival July 10-13
The Black Sea Station
Long ago, there were the klezmorim, itinerant musicians who roamed the back streets of Eastern Europe, playing at parties for meals and a few coins. The sound they honed then was a visceral exploration of life’s joy, and its loss; they could whip audiences into a frenzy of dancing, or bring them to tears with the mournful wail of a clarinet. Today, Winnipeg’s own The Black Sea Station is carrying on this tradition. Featuring Daniel Koulack (bass), Victor Schultz (violin) and Myron Schultz (clarinet) — cofounders of seminal local klezmer act Finjan — along with Moldovan accordion wizard Nikolai Prisacar and multi-instrumentalist Ben Mink, the quintet transports listeners to a time and place long past. Through a mix of original songs rooted in history, and traditional tunes spun up with modern zest, they whirl through the exuberant klezmer sounds of their Eastern European heritage, tending the old ways with deep love and respect.
The Black Sea Station will be performing Sunday, July 13, at 1:00 pm in Snowberry Field.
Romi Mayes
Romi Mayes has taken some hard knocks in her life, but she’s never faded away. For more than 25 years, Manitoba’s first lady of blues-rock has been a lynchpin of the Canadian roots scene. She earned that position the old-fashioned way, through her gritty, passionately emotive music. With her sizzling guitars and full-throated rasp, the Juno-nominated performer howls and purrs through razor-edged lyrics, rocking out wherever she can find a stage. She’s long been one of the hardest-working musicians on the circuit, keeping a busy slate of gigs and mentoring up-and-coming artists to get a foothold on the trails she blazed. Now, after a nine-year hiatus from the studio, Mayes has put her scintillating sound back on record with her long-awaited seventh album, Small Victories — a return that leaves no doubt, no matter the ups and downs, Mayes is here to stay.
Romi will be performing Friday, July 11, at 1:00 pm in Burr Oak.
Leonard Podolak (with Matt Gordon)
Ireland’s Matt Gordon is a fiddler and singer, whose fleet-footed clogging and thigh-slapping hambone has taken stages by storm since the 1980s. Leonard Podolak is a virtuosic master of the clawhammer banjo, who for decades has whipped up some of Manitoba’s wildest roots parties with his band, The Duhks. Put those talents together, and they can promise you this much: we’re all gonna have a real good time. Longtime friends and musical collaborators, Gordon and Podolak deliver an exhilarating trip through old-time Appalachian music. Their performances seamlessly blend intricate instrumental lines with heartfelt singing and dazzling dance. They’ve teamed up on a few records over the years, including 2020’s bigband extravaganza Power Wagon: Live At Shanley’s. But the best way to experience this duo’s toe-tapping, hand-clapping chemistry is to see it live.
Podolak and Gordon will be performing A concert with a side of clogging Sunday, July 13, at 3:00 pm in Folk School.