Town & Country

2 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2019 FLIN FLON BOARDMAN / NORTHLAND FUNERAL SERVICE Serving Northern Manitoba JAMES C. BOARDMAN Funeral Director 28 Nelson Road Chapel 778-7982 Thompson, Manitoba R8N 0B4 Res. 677-4636 www.boardmanfh.com Toll Free 1-800-461-6876 eat fresh! Visit us at these locations! FLIN FLON 137 Main Street (204) 687-5558 THE PAS 254 Fischer Avenue (204) 623-7827 THOMPSON 73A Thompson Dr. N. (204) 677-2222 ASHERN 13 Prov. Trunk Hwy 6 North (204) 768-9753 MELITA 624 Government Rd. (204) 522-8166 SOURIS 5-1st Avenue (204) 483-2953 SWAN RIVER 1437 Main Street (204) 734-3352 Recruiting for Co-op General Managers, Assistant Managers, Relief Managers, Cooks, Hotel/Cook Managers in the Arctic. Also various roles in home office (Winnipeg, MB) Visit our website for all open positions www.arctic.coop Please send your resume to: HumanResources@Arctic.Coop OR fax: 1-204-632-8575 THE FUTURE OF THE BOREAL FOREST DEPENDS ON ALL OF US. THE FUTURE OF THE BOREAL FOREST DEPENDS ON ALL OF US. Support the vision. Northern Manitoba has a vast amount of potential. The Boreal Forest is one of our greatest assets; sustainable development and conservation requires clear and collaborative planning. Northern Values offers a balanced approach to strengthening our resources and providing long-lasting benefits. Indigenous communities, municipalities, industries, businesses and conservation groups have worked together to create this shared vision. However, we still need your support to turn this vision of long-term prosperity, sustainable development, and conservation of the Boreal Forest into policy. To learn more, visit NorthernValues.ca THE FUTURE OF THE BOREAL FOREST DEPENDS ON ALL OF US. THE FUTURE OF THE BOREAL FOREST DEPENDS ON ALL OF US. Support the vision. Northern Manitoba has a vast amount of potential. The Boreal Forest is one of our greatest assets; sustainable development and conservation requires clear and collaborative planning. Northern Values offers a balanced approach to strengthening our resources THE FUTURE OF THE BOREAL FOREST DEPENDS ON ALL OF US. THE FUTURE OF THE BOREAL FOREST DEPENDS ON ALL OF US. Support the vision. Northern Manitoba has a vast amount of potential. The Boreal Forest is one of our greatest assets; sustainable development and conservation requires clear and collaborative planning. Northern Values offers a balanced approach to strengthening our resources and providing long-lasting benefits. Indigenous communities, municipalities, industries, businesses and conservation groups have worked together to create this shared vision. However, we still need your support to turn this vision of long-term prosperity, sustainable development, and conservation of the Boreal Forest into policy. To learn more, visit NorthernValues.ca Cool business THOMPSON LOOKING TO RECHARGE WINTER WEATHER TESTING INDUSTRY BY JIM BENDER T he Thompson Chamber of Commerce is determined to recharge the marketing of its lucrative winter weather testing industry by launching a new corporation to revive its relationships with current testers and focus on the future of electric vehicles. Thompson had become one of the world's most popular sites for companies to test their products in extreme weather conditions – such as motor vehicles (including buses and Hummers), jet engines, helicopters, heavy equipment and snowmobiles. In fact, some companies found the location so ideal that they built permanent facilities. The Global Aerospace Centre for Icing and Research (GLACIER) was erected in a joint venture with Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney, two of the world's largest aerospace engine manufacturers, for about $40 million in 2010. Honda also has a year-round structure for cold-climate testing there. The northern community established an organization called Thompson Unlimited in 2004 to take on the marketing and management responsibility for bringing testers to Thompson and help coordinate their needs. That included assuring those companies privacy, whenever demanded, for testing their products. But Thompson Unlimited closed down in 2014 due to lack of funds and its CEO leaving due to health concerns. The chamber is now determined to re-establish such an organization. "After Thompson Unlimited closed, nobody picked up the ball," says chamber director Volker Beckmann. "(It) did sign some long-term contracts, but there's a lot more business that could be attracted this way." The concern is that Thompson could be losing out to such other winter weather testing sites as Yellowknife, N.W.T., Timmins, Ont., and Bemidji, Minn. "If we're not promoting it, companies won't know about it," Beckmann says, adding that the chamber recently created a new website to replace the one that Thompson Unlimited once had. The chamber is now seeking 20 investors to pony up $5,000 each and support from the provincial government to re-start a winter weather testing corporation with two full-time staff and grow the industry over the next five years. Such testing has had an economic impact of $2 to $3 million on the community, Beckmann notes. That does not include the impact of those companies that have set up permanent facilities. Attracting more testers would also create more employment, an important consideration after the local nickel mine recently laid off several hundred employees, he says. Thompson is the second-coldest city in Canada with an average of 240 days of sub-zero temperature, up to six months of snow cover, an early winter with a daily low temperature of -20 C and late spring, meaning the ice stays on the lakes longer. The city of about 13,000 people has 600 hotel rooms with high-speed Internet service, more than 30 restaurants, a 90-bed acute-care hospital with an ambulance service, and hot spots for cellphone service. Until the new corporation is set up, the chamber is taking over those marketing duties, Beckmann says. "We're trying to hit the electric vehicle market now," Beckmann says. "The EV market is growing so quickly, but they still have to test in cold weather." Towards that end, Beckmann and chamber president Raj Thethy recently met with the Manitoba Electric Vehicle Association (MEVA). "They approached us to see what we could do to help," says MEVA president Roberts Elms. "They wanted to know what they would need. They need Level 3 fast-charging stations. They've got a firm order for one in Thompson, but they need a couple more." Petro-Canada is currently planning to install such charging stations across Canada, but Manitoba needs 28 more, Elms says. "And they needed to know what to do to attract these vehicles for testing." he says. "What we proposed to Volker was to hold a rally of EVs to highlight what a wonderful province we have." Beckmann has already announced plans to hold a Palms to Polar Bears rally that would start in Texas and finish in Churchill. Since there's no road from Thompson to Churchill, participants would either fly or take the train to see the polar bears. The rally would be part of Canada's 150th anniversary celebration and Thompson's 50th as a city. "To do that, we'd need three fast-charging stations to go from the south (Winnipeg) to Thompson," Elms says. "If the government is willing to do that, we're willing to support it." The three fast-charging stations could be installed for between $400,000 and $500,000, Elms estimates. Beckmann is hoping to have the plans for the rally in place by April and host it sometime next summer. Extreme cold conditions have attracted a number of companies to test their products in Thompson including everything from buses and Hummers to jet engines and snowmobiles. PHOTO BY VOLKER BECKMANN With more than 240 days of sub-zero temperatures, Thompson is an ideal location for auto manufacturers to test their vehicles. A sweet addition to cultural calendar BLUEBERRY JAM MUSIC GATHERING BY JENNIFER MCFEE A Flin Flon summer festival is helping transform the community into a jam- packed gathering place for talented musicians and music-lovers alike. B lueberry Jam Music Gathering has hit a high note by surpassing expectations from the start. The inspiration for the thriving festival comes from a similar long-running event that was held at a farm in Saskatchewan. The farm owners invited musicians to come and jam on their property for the free annual get- together, which attracted a loyal following. Eventually the aging farming couple decided to host their final music gathering, and attendee Ted Elliot approached a few Flin Flon residents with the idea of starting a comparable event in their community. Interest blossomed and the project came to fruition with the first festival in 2018. Crystal Kolt took on the role of marketing director for the first year of the festival's reinvention in Flin Flon. "We're such a dynamic music community that we really wanted to see if we could keep it going. Flin Flon has always been looking at different ways of stretching this extraordinary musical and artistic community," she says. "This was a natural progression to create a free jam, a little bit like Culture Days where people can come and share the music. It just seemed to have this overwhelming propulsion forward." Crystal's husband Mark began contacting potential per- formers for the event at the Flin Flon Campground. "In the first year, we had 56 different acts. The second year, we had almost 80 acts, and we added a pre-festival event on the Thursday night," he says. "We went from two stages in the first year to three perform- ing stages the second year. The biggest difference between Year 1 and Year 2 was that we certainly saw a large increase in attendance — almost double. Over the weekend, we would've had somewhere between 7,000 and 7,500 people." The community stepped up to support the endeavour as well, which in turn has created economic spinoffs for local businesses. "The City of Flin Flon was very generous and gave us $20,000 as beginning funds, and we got funds from a variety of other sources as well. So, for our first year, we were able to construct the festival stage, which didn't exist before 2018," he says. "We did it through combination of money that had been donated and volunteer labour. That was a huge game changer and it allowed us to make that area viable as a festival site." Individual musicians and full bands all perform for free at Blueberry Jam, which is also free to attend. Last summer, many performers came from Flin Flon and other Manitoban communities, while others travelled from as far as Ottawa and Toronto. Hailing from England, singer/songwriter Holly Rees travelled the furthest since she included Blueberry Jam as part of her Canadian tour. Adding to the creative atmosphere, artisans sold their hand- work and food vendors were on hand to quench cravings. "We did very well. We got massive participation from our home community, but a lot of people came in from outside as well," he says. "Word got around about the first year's event being a lot of fun and there were a lot of people who had connections to Flin Flon through family or friends. They were persuaded to make the Blueberry Jam festival the reason they came back to renew old acquaintances, so it had a bit of a reunion feel to it." For Crystal Kolt, it's been encouraging to see the ripple ef- fect created by the festival. "We make it a really fun ambiance that's free for people to attend and enjoy the music. Blueberry Jam is a springboard to connect with other musicians across the country. We have really fine technicians and equipment to make it a great expe- rience for them," she says. "We've been pleasantly shocked and delighted by the turnout. The campground is located right in town, so it's easy for people to go buy supplies that they have forgotten. We're really excited about supporting our local businesses, too, and showing off beautiful Flin Flon. It's a little jewel in our province." The next Blueberry Jam is slated for Aug. 6 to 9, 2020. More information is available on the Facebook page Flin Flon's Blueberry Jam Music Gathering. PHOTO BY CRYSTAL KOLT The Blue Berry Jam Music Gathering in Flin Flon attracts an eclectic mix of musicians from around the province and is quickly becoming one of the signature events on the local arts calendar. PHOTO BY NOELLE DRIMMIE (2019 Harry Schnider) Musician Harry Schnider entertains the crowd at last year's Blue Berry Jam Music Gathering. "We make it a really fun ambiance that's free for people to attend and enjoy the music. Blueberry Jam is a springboard to connect with other musicians across the country." D D - Crystal Kolt, marketing director

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