Brandon, Manitoba

Brandon City Crest

Location of ''

Brandon, known as the "Wheat City", is a city in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. The surrounding area is often referred to as "Westman".

The city started as a major junction on the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the Assiniboine River and was then incorporated in 1882.

Brandon, the second largest city in Manitoba (pop. 39,716), is a major service centre for the surrounding agricultural area. Brandon's industry reflects its agricultural history. Three of Brandon's largest employers are a major fertilizer plant, a major pork processing plant with exports to much of the world, and a call center for a major American wireless carrier. Also, the city has been the long time home to seed company, McKenzie Seeds. Other industry includes more call centres, as well as retail and government services for the surrounding area of Westman. It is also home to Brandon University and the Assiniboine Community College.

The current mayor of Brandon is David Burgess.

The current Member of Parliament for Brandon is Merv Tweed, representing the riding of Brandonâ€"Souris, in which Brandon is located.

The Canadian warship HMCS Brandon was named after the city.

Sports

The Keystone Centre, home to many sporting events and the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. In the background is a newly attached hotel by Canad Inns

Brandon is currently home to the following amateur sports teams:
*Brandon University Bobcats (Basketball/CWAA)
*Brandon University Bobcats (Volleyball/CWAA)
*Brandon Wheat Kings (Hockey/Western Hockey League)

Brandon is often referred to, although not yet officially, as The Curling Capital of Canada. Brandon has hosted many curling events including:
*The Brier - the Canadian Men's Curling Championship
*The Scott Tournament of Hearts - the Canadian Women's Championship
*1995 World Curling Championship - Men's and Women's Championship
*1997 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials - the first ever Canadian trials after curling became an official Olympic Sport

"Host City"

*2006 Canada Special Olympics.
*1979 Winter Canada Games
*1997 Summer Canada Games.

Events and Exhibitions

The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba

The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba is a non-profit organization established in 1882. Along with various smaller events and activities, its main function is to host three annual fairs:
*The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair
*The Manitoba Summer Fair
*The Manitoba Livestock ExpoThe Provincial Exhibition is housed at the city's extensive Keystone Centre complex. All three major fairs take place at the centre and its grounds.

Media

Newspapers

* Brandon has two regular local newspapers. The Brandon Sun is a daily paper, and the Wheat City Journal is a weekly paper. The Sun also produces two "community" editions that are distributed throughout Westman on Thursdays and Sundays.
* Also available are the Winnipeg Free Press and the Winnipeg Sun.
* Both major national newspapers are also available. The Prairie edition of Toronto's The Globe and Mail is printed in Brandon by the Brandon Sun.

Radio Stations

FM

*91.5 CIWM - NCI - Native Communications Inc. (Community/Aboriginal)
*92.7 CBWS - CBC Radio Two - Classical music
*94.7 CKLF - Star FM - Adult Contemporary
*96.1 CKX-FM - KX96 - Active Rock
*97.9 CBWV - CBC Radio One - News/Information
*99.5 CKSB-8 - La Première Chaîne - French News/Information
*101.1 CKXA - 101 The Farm - Country
*106.5 CJJJ - CJ106 - Assiniboine Community College College Radio

AM

*880 - CKLQ, country, official sportscast of the Brandon Wheat Kings

Television Stations

*Channel 2 - CKND-2 - Global, a repeater of Global Winnipeg. Local commercials inserted by CKX
*Channel 4 - CKYB - CTV, a repeater of CKY-TV Winnipeg. Local commercials inserted by CKX
*Channel 5 - CKX - CHUM/CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation affiliate)
*Channel 21 - CBWFT - Societé Radio-Canada, a repeater of CBWFT Winnipeg.

Web Portals

*eBrandon.ca - very active Brandon centered web portal.
*ManitobaNet.com - portal for Westman hosted by Westman Communications Group
*brandon.com - hosted by Innovative Media Group, a division of Leech Printing Ltd.

Transportation

The Riverbank Discovery Centre

*Brandon has an extensive roadway system like most modern cities.
*Taxi service is available from numerous local taxi companies.
*The city of Brandon runs Brandon Transit, which provides daily bus service throughout the city. The system is comprised of 11 routes that operate only six days a week. (Monday to Saturday)
*Brandon is serviced by the Brandon Airport, a municipal airport.
*Brandon has an extensive system of walking / bike trails throughout the city. The trails are paved and divided like roads for two-way traffic.

Music and the Arts

*Brandon hosts the Brandon Festival of the Arts every February and March. This festival is associate with the Manitoba Festival of the Arts, and participants regularly represent Brandon at the provincial level of the festival.
*Brandon hosts the Brandon Jazz Festival. This non-competitive, education based festival brings in over 3500 participants from schools across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario, and the Northern USA. The 3-day festival hosts 20+ adjudicators and performers.
*Brandon hosts an annual Folk Festival. Organized by the Brandon Folk Music and Arts Society, the Brandon Folk Festival takes place every summer 'under the trees' on the Keystone Center. The festival activly pursues local and regional talent. Notable past performers include Big Dave McLean, Murry Evans, Wally Landreth, Crash Test Dummies, Ben Sures, Hugo Torres, Papa Mambo, Scruj MacDhk, Swing Soniq, The Hummers, The Wyrd Sisters, Bill Bourne, Fred Eaglesmith, Harry Manx, Ellen Mcllwaine, Fred Penner, Wailin' Jennys, D Rangers and Bob Evans.
*Brandon regularly hosts numerous musical theatre productions every year. There are two local theatre companies (7 Ages Productions & Mecca Productions) that produce shows, and all three high schools (Vincent Massey Collegiate, Crocus Plains High School, Neelin High School) each put on a production. Notable past productions include 42nd Street, Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Beauty and the Beast, Caberet, Camelot, Chicago, Cinderella, Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls, Into The Woods, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technocolor Dreamcoat, Les Miserables - School Edition, Mame, Oliver!, Once Upon a Mattress, Peter Pan, The King and I, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, and West Side Story. Upcoming productions include Anne of Green Gables, Brigadoon, Godspell, Grease, and The Music Man .
*Brandon University School of Music hosts an annual 'Pro Series'. Guest artists from across North America are brought in to Brandon to perform at the Lorne Watson Recital Hall. Past performers include Bob Brookmeyer, George Crumb, The Penderetski String Quartet, and Charles Rossen.

Notable Brandonites

*Samuel Bronfman - founder of the Seagram liquor dynasty
*Tommy Douglas - Voted "Greatest Canadian" on CBC
*James Ehnes - violin virtuoso
*Ron Hextall - former NHL goalie
*Israel Idonije - NFL Chicago Bears
*Mae Moore - singer/songwriter
*Douglas Peters - Canadian economist and politician
*Clifford Sifton - MP for the federal riding of Brandon
*Amanda Stott - country singer

City Issues

ACC Relocation to vacant Brandon Mental Health Centre (BMHC)

The Brandon Mental Health Centre is a picturesque group of buildings in the city's north end. The facility was abandoned in the 1990s as mental health services were moved from away from an institutional setting, and into the communities of the patients. The provincial government announced in 2005 that part or all of Assiniboine Community College (ACC) would move to the site.

Public Services Building

The city's Fire and Police Services both require newer facilities as their main buildings have grown too small for their current uses. There is an ongoing debate on the location of a new complex and whether or not the two services should share a location.

Fleming School

Fleming Elementary School closed after the 2004/05 school year after almost a century in service. There is a debate on what to do with the now vacant site.

Downtown Revitalisation

With most of the city's retail activity having moved to the major Eighteenth Street shopping centres, downtown renewal and the viability of the Business Improvement Area (BIA), a downtown Brandon development organization with taxation powers, have become a larger concern.

See also

*St. Matthew's Anglican Cathedral, Brandon

External links

*City of Brandon MB website - Link to City Hall
*Brandon University website
*Assiniboine Community College website
*eBrandon.ca - Your link to what's going on in Brandon
*Brandon.com - Brandon's Home Page