On behalf of the School of Indigenous Education, Red River College is pleased to host the 13th Annual Pow Wow Honouring Aboriginal Graduates on Friday, May 3, 2013 in the North Gym. Please find below a breakdown of the day’s events.

FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2013

Stop by for a piece a bannock and sip of tea, or peruse the crafters booths and enjoy the dancing and music.

Should you have any questions, please contact Tracy Brant at 204-632-2106 or email tbrant@rrc.ca.

Congratulations to the above team of RRC Culinary Arts students, who took top honours in the 2013 Manitoba Mission: ImPULSEible competition.

Hosted by Pulse Canada at RRC’s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, the event aims to develop innovative food products containing whole pulses (the edible seeds of plants in the legume family) or pulse ingredients. Students present their products at provincial competitions where judges evaluate them based on sensory and health attributes, the innovative use of pulses, feasibility and marketability.

RRC’s team — consisting of students Hayley Walker, Scott Ball and Ian Gerbrandt — won their provincial competition with a “Power Pulse Ice Cream Sandwich,” comprised of lentil cookie and chickpea ice cream. They now move forward to the national competition in Calgary in June.

Click here for more info on the Mission: ImPULSEible competition.

Thanks to everyone who helped make the grand opening of Jane’s at the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute such a success — in particular, the many sponsors and supporters who attended our launch party on February 21st.

We’ve put together a short informational video for those who weren’t able to attend. Click on the above graphic to watch the video, and here to make your reservation at Jane’s restaurant.

Congratulations to Creative Communications student Emily Doer (shown above), who recently raised $33,000 to support treatment of eating disorders at Health Sciences Centre (HSC) Winnipeg.

Doer’s donation to the HSC Foundation represents the proceeds of the first annual “Tea for E|D“, a unique new tea party fundraiser held Feb. 10 in the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Fort Garry.

“It is both very exciting and very humbling to see the generosity and support of Manitobans making such a tremendous impact in the fight to support those battling eating disorders,”  said Doer. “Together we are showing those who are fighting these disorders that they are not alone.”

The daughter of former Manitoba premier Gary Doer (currently Canada’s ambassador to the U.S.), Emily has herself successfully overcome an eating disorder with the support of the treatment program at HSC Winnipeg. She conceived and developed the first annual Tea for E|D as part of her second-year CreComm coursework, as a means of supporting the HSC program so that others could benefit as well. The event was a sold-out success, drawing over 450 attendees.

“I want to congratulate and thank Emily Doer and her tremendous team of volunteers for setting up and running a truly first class event,” said Jonathon Lyon, President & CEO of the HSC Foundation. “Emily’s story is another tremendous example of why HSC is the hospital Manitobans can count on when they need it most. The HSC Foundation is honoured to receive this donation, which will make a real difference for the eating disorder treatment program here at HSC.”

Doer and her CreComm classmates will present their Independent Professional Projects March 13-15 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Click here for more info on the IPPs, and here for more info on Tea for E|D.

Down a set to lower-seeded opponents, both the Red River College men and Providence University College women had to call upon championship experience to fight back. Both did, and as a result were crowned champions at last weekend’s Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) Volleyball Final 4’s.

For the #1-seed Red River College men’s team, it was another five-set classic against the #2-seed University of Winnipeg College, who beat them in last year’s final. This time, though, the Rebels were up to the task in the fifth — getting five kills and a block from first-year left side Mitchell Hendry to win 15-12.

For the Rebels, it’s their fifth men’s volleyball title in six years.

The #1-seeded Providence women, meanwhile, went up against a strong #3-seed in Red River College, who had their home crowd behind them. Dropping the first set, the Lady Freemen rallied to take the next three, winning their third straight women’s volleyball title.

For their efforts throughout the weekend, Red River College setter Aaron Cyr and Providence University College power Chelsea Needham were named tournament Most Valuable Players. Read More →

Canada’s newest hospitality and culinary school opened its anchor restaurant today – Jane’s – the final piece in a 10-storey school where students learn, work and live in a facility modeled after the best European schools – all housed in a fully renovated historic building.

“From here we are going to attract people from around the world to Winnipeg,” said Red River College President Stephanie Forsyth as she opened the doors to Jane’s – the opulent 90-seat fine dining restaurant of the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute in the 1904 restored Union Bank Tower in downtown Winnipeg. “Learning and working in a space like this really inspires staff and students to do their best. The institute will attract and graduate the best hospitality people in Canada.”

“As the anchor restaurant, Jane’s provides the finishing touches to a school that the Canadian hospitality industry has been requesting for decades – a Canadian equivalent of the finest hotel and culinary schools in Europe. This is Canada’s answer. The Paterson GlobalFoods Institute combines culinary, baking and pastry arts, mixology and hospitality management with a student residence. At Jane’s, for example, the classroom is the restaurant. Students prepare and serve the meals in an open-concept kitchen, allowing guests to see the students and learn more about cooking while they dine,” Forsyth said.

Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger, who was among the first guests to walk through the facility, says Jane’s and Paterson GlobalFoods Institute will help meet the skilled labour shortage in Manitoba. The Manitoba government has contributed $5 million toward the school and restaurant.

“This new restaurant at Red River College is an innovative approach to helping meet the growing demand for skilled workers in Manitoba and we’re proud to support its creation,” said Selinger. “And for the 140 graduates every year who will have trained at Jane’s and the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute this means practical experience that will help them more quickly transition from school to a good job.” Read More →

Diane Ready, RRC Vice-President Finance and Administration (right) receives the Heritage Winnipeg Conservation award from Lisa Gardewine, 1st Vice-President, Heritage Winnipeg.

Red River College received a prestigious Heritage Winnipeg Conservation Award over the weekend, for its work transforming the century-old Union Bank Tower into the newly-opened Paterson GlobalFoods Institute.

The award, accepted Monday afternoon during a ceremony at the Millennium Centre, recognizes special efforts to protect, conserve and reuse structures of high historic or architectural value. Commercial, institutional or residential projects are eligible, in particular those that involve the sensitive and adaptive use or re-use of such structures, while providing for their long-term protection.

Of particular interest to the judging committee were RRC’s “amazing” efforts to preserve the bank tower’s original facade and windows, the repurposing of old materials such as marble corridors and hardwood floors, the marriage of old and new elements, the highly-accessible public spaces included in the design, and the fact that PGI represents one of the largest such projects undertaken in years.

“So why would Red River College, with its strong culture of innovation, put so much effort into restoring a century-old building?” asked Diane Ready, vice-president of finance and administration at RRC. “Because we strongly believe in preserving Winnipeg’s architectural heritage — for it reflects our history, culture, traditions and values.” Read More →

Downhill runs keep leading to upward trends for members of Red River College’s Concrete Toboggan Race Team, who picked up a pair of awards and a top-quarter ranking at the annual competition in Vancouver last month.

The nine-member team took home a Spirit Award and Best Steering Design honours at the 39^th annual Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race, where members finished fifth out of 21 teams representing some of the country’s top engineering schools.

The showing improves on the team’s ninth-place finish in 2012, and shows how far they’ve come since ranking last in their tournament debut the year prior.

The Toboggan Race, a showcase of innovation and engineering spirit, draws teams of post-secondary students from all over Canada, encouraging them to focus on materials and structure knowledge, innovative concrete and mechanical design, and teamwork. Entrants must design and construct a five-person toboggan with a roll bar (capable of withstanding an upset at 75-km/hour), and a running surface composed entirely of concrete, while maintaining a total weight of less than 300 pounds. Read More →

Students from RRC’s Graphic Design program will go on a 24-hour creative spree this weekend, while showcasing their talents at a unique “live” art event at The Forks.

The eleventh annual Forks Market Student Art Show and Auction takes place Saturday, Feb. 9 and Sunday, Feb. 10.

The art show component runs Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The live auction, hosted by Jon Ljungberg, runs Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

During the art show, second-year Graphic Design students will have 24 hours to create original works of art using a variety of drawing and painting techniques. Once completed, their works will be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with proceeds going towards Winnipeg Harvest and the RRC Graphic Design Students’ Graduation Fund.

Click here for more information.

Photo credit: Steve Burton

A Red River College student has created a new website giving voice to burn survivors from across Canada — while connecting them with the supports and online resources she herself missed out on as a child.

Maria Cristina Laureano, a second-year Creative Communications student, will host a launch party this Saturday for After the Cocoon, a website featuring stories and photos of burn survivors she interviewed at a conference in Calgary.

The project was completed as part of Laureano’s CreComm coursework, and was inspired by her experiences growing up with scars caused by serious burns suffered when a pot of boiling water spilled on when she was just nine months old. Her family moved to Canada from the Philippines when she was four, and Laureano later found out about burn-support networks such as the Canadian Burn Survivors Community and the Mamingwey Burn Survivor Society. Read More →