2012 Travel Manitoba Tourism Conference Keynote presentations are now available on the Tourism Industry Website. Click below to see Greg Klassen and Kim Matthews power point presentations.

http://www.travelmanitoba.com/TI/IndustryToolbox

Doreen Brownstone has just turned 90 and as Winnipeg's oldest working professional actor is still awaiting another casting call.

The new nonagenarian was feted Friday night by about 150 friends, representing almost the entire acting community in the city. She got the limo and red-carpet treatment and then spent most of the evening seated on a throne as revellers serenaded her with songs, stories and good wishes.

"It was the most wonderful night of my life," says Brownstone. "I was so bedazzled and amazed. On the red carpet into the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre lobby I felt like the Queen on a walkabout. I don't known when I will get over it."

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/arts/red-carpet-night-fit-for-theatre-queen-172235151.html

Tourism in Nova Scotia needs a major overhaul to reverse a downward trend that has plagued the billion-dollar sector for a decade, tourism experts say.

“It’s a new world and the traditional destinations, Nova Scotia very much included, will have to raise their game,” a review panel on the defunct Yarmouth-to-Maine ferry recently concluded.

While tourism operators in the province agree the industry needs a facelift, they diverge on how Nova Scotia can better compete for tourist dollars.

With the province set to release a five-year strategic tourism plan soon, a number of business leaders have weighed in on ways to attract more visitors and improve their experience in the province.

“We’re in the middle right now of forging a new direction,” said Darlene Grant Fiander, president of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/142356-nova-scotia-has-to-raise-its-tourism-game

SAN FRANCISCO - California investigators searched Monday for thieves who made off with an estimated $2 million in precious gems and gold from a mining museum in the Sierra Nevada foothills during a brazen daytime robbery.

But the thieves didn't get away with the biggest prize of all — the nearly 14-pound (6.35-kilogram) Fricot Nugget, a giant crystalline gold mass unearthed in the Gold Rush era.

During their attempt to grab the massive nugget, the robbers triggered an alarm that alerted authorities who swarmed the museum but were unable to nab the thieves.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/thieves-steal-2-million-in-gems-gold-from-california-mining-museum-172220521.html

(A complete article published originally in the WFP, Oct.  '79)

At the grand old age of 130, St. Andrews Anglican Church on the Red River has been rejuvenated. The church was reroofed, cracks in the inside walls were repaired and the tower and inside main area, of the church were scraped and painted. The cedar-shingled roof, which has been leaking for years and leaking badly since last spring, was recovered with black rolled roofing. It's the third or fourth time the roof has been repaired, but the first time anything other than cedar shakes have been used, Rev. Robert Browley said. "It doesn't have the rural warmth of cedar," Browley said. "But it's the best protection for the shingles and rafters" Parishioners still intend to cover the roof with traditional cedar shingles but Browley estimated that job will cost "at least $40,000. We just don't have the money for it now." Cost of restoration was about $18,000 — including maintenance work done in the graveyard alongside the church — and was financed by St. Andrews building fund and donations left by visitors, Browley said.  Lay reader Bill Norquay said that although St Andrews church has been proclaimed a historical site, the church couldn't get any money from the provincial government when it applied in the spring. "We asked and were told there was no money available," Norquay said. "So/we went ahead and did it ourselves." St. Andrews, 16 miles north of Winnipeg on the Red River, was built in 1849. Its parishioners have always been determined to hold on to the church. During the depression, when the east wall collapsed, more than $8,000 was raised for repairs. The work done to the stone church — the oldest in continuous use in Western Canada — was a preventative measure. The parishioners had been planning to make the major repairs, since 1974, but couldn't afford it. “Nothing inside was destroyed” Browley said. "It was Just on the verge of that." Shingles were missing and rotting and "it rained harder inside the church than it did outside," Browley said. But the major part of the Job was done on the inside walls where extensive cracking had occurred, he said. Epoxy — a substance which gives with temperature changes — was applied to the cracks. The church is also a more noticeable site on the horizon now. The tower was painted white with brown trim —a return to the original color scheme, Browley said. Now the glaring white tower can be seen for miles. It really stands out." In 1967, the tower had been painted a light tan on the advice of an interior designer who wanted to complement the brown stone. “When the church was built, they didn't care about color schemes, they just wanted paint," he said. The main area inside the church was painted white and cream and the parishioners are painting the outside windows in their spare time. They are depending on continued good weather to complete the painting. Since only a small chapel is insulated for winter use, inside frames will be done next spring, he said. And sheets of plexiglass are going up on the windows for protection from vandals' stones and bottles. Over the years, the church has seen quite a bit of vandalism. Gravestones have been broken and stolen, windows were broken and the church lost a number of antique furnishings. Browley — who has been preaching at St. Andrews for two years—said most furnishings have been replaced. "The parishioners have recovered from the thefts and are always looking for similar furnishings of equal age at country auctions. Their spirit is really fine and it’s a great place to be."