Submitted by Rose Kovachik | The annual Cowan Trail Celebration was held on August 26, 2023, keeping its traditional date of the fourth Saturday of August. On Friday, the night before the main event, as usual, the Cowan Hall parking lot slowly filled with RV trailers and horses. Campsites also slowly speckled the area with […]

Submitted by: Brent Erlendson A crowd of 140+ enjoyed a great meal and entertainment at the Swan River Legion Clubroom Friday August 25, 2023 Dinner was served starting at 6:00 pm followed by Steve Hillis playing an excellent, energetic tribute act to many great country and classic rock performers. For the remainder of the evening […]

Pictured above: Jeff Reimer family from Ridgeville Submitted by: Violet Plett | We had a great weekend of listening to Gospel Music, and visiting with neighbors and friends, and meeting new friends. The attendance overall wasn’t very big, but we did count about 60 people there at one point. We had several bands and others […]

Pictured above: The SVRSS Senior Band is joined by special musical guests, The Swan Valley Community Band ValleyBiz Story | There was music in the air on June 7, 2023 as the SVRSS Concert Band and Grade 9 Band presented their summer band concert. Pictured above: Grade 9 Band The program began with the Grade […]

Submitted by: Tanya Staniland Mamma Mia! A huge SUCCESS! What can 40+ students, 20 community members, and 25 SVRSS staff members do…..put on one heck of a show! This production was full of drama, song, live music, and talent! Over 900 people were entertained from Thursday to Sunday for the SHORT 3-hour production. Saturday night […]

Submitted by: Renate Wille | The Little Woody Baptist Church Art Show took place on May 6, 2023 at 1:00 pm. It was a beautiful event with nice weather and a lot of people enjoying the Art and coffee time. Exhibitors were: Naomi Nemez, Barb Labbe, Suzanne May, Wilma Barkman, Julie Kooistra, Candace Balbo, Melanie […]

Submitted by: Jayne Leadbeater | Wednesday Evening, 3 May 2023, the Swan Valley Community Band performed its annual Spring Concert “NOTES OF SPRING” at the Ecole Swan River South School Gym. The audience enjoyed a repertoire of 10 concert selections depicting different genres. This included music representing a number of countries, like Norway, Canada, and […]

Submitted by: Ara Bartel The Swan River Dolyna Dancers held their year end Ukrainian Dance concert on April 22. The dance concert was a huge success with dancers of all age groups. The crowd enjoyed 22 dances including a special guest performance by the Dolyna adult dancers. Refreshments and danties were enjoyed by all. There […]

Submitted by: Phyllis Friesen The Swan Valley Community Carol Festival rang in the Christmas season with a variety of musical selections at Temple Baptist Church on December 11, 2022. The community gathered to enjoy the music of the season performed by many talented musical artists from around the Valley.

Submitted by: Jayne Leadbeater (Minish) After 3 long Covid19 years, the Swan Valley Community Band was back in full swing with their annual Christmas Concert held Friday, 9 December 2022 at the Ecole Swan River South School. A substantial number of people enjoyed “Music for Christmas” from our group. And, to round out the evening, […]

Pictured above: Highly Strung, Ladies Ukulele Group Submitted by: Donna Leming, Pictures by: Linda McCullough A big thank you to everyone who braved the cold weather on Saturday, Dec 3, 2022 to attend and participate at the Seventh-day Adventist Christmas Hymn Sing. Several enjoyed the light lunch and fellowship following the program. Proceeds from an […]

Submitted by: Kimberley Knowles | Valley Stage Players were excited to get back into the swing of things with the production of “Deputy Jan” by playwright Richard Gremel. All three productions were a success and the crowds enjoyed the play! The proceeds will go to the Swan River Valley Ag Society! Thanks to everyone who […]

Submitted by: Community Foundation of Swan Valley (CFSV) The CFSV Annual Gala took place on Saturday November 12, 2022 at the Veterans Community Hall. It was a beautiful night to gather together as a community and celebrate the important work the foundation has done over the years. This year’s Gala featured delicious hors d’oeuvres and […]

Pictured above L-R Karen Kosolowski (Flute), Lorraine Malcolm (Tenor Sax), Julie Kooistra (Director, French Horn, Trumpet), Kim Kosokowsky (Trumpet) Submitted by: Jayne G. Leadbeater (Minish) On Wednesday, 21 September 2022, the Swan Valley Community Band had their Beginning Day after a forced Covid19 hiatus. Our numbers are small, but mighty! Our Group is hoping for […]

ValleyBiz Story | The streets in Swan River were lined in anticipation as the Swan Valley Chamber of Commerce Parade returned on July 29,2022. The parade and the Northwest Roundup had been cancelled the last 2 years due to the pandemic. The parade theme was Horsing Around sing 1902 – Then and Now and some […]

Submitted by: Violet Plett The Barrows Gospel Jamboree, June 10,11,12, 2022, has come and gone. Everyone that we talked to enjoyed the weekend. At the last minute, a couple of the invited singers were unable to attend. Ivan Chartrand had to work, and Carl Crane got sick, so we started the weekend a bit short […]

ValleyBiz Story | On Saturday June 18, 2022 the SVRSS Gender & Sexualities Alliance (GSA) hosted Pride in the Park, the first Pride event in the Swan Valley. One of the GSA members, Brooke, explained the importance of the GSA and Pride event. “The SVRSS GSA is a small student run organization that unites the […]

ValleyBiz Story The Swan Valley Regional Secondary School Drama Class presented “Remembering Stuff” by Elanor Harder on On Friday, June 10, 2022 in the SVRSS Cafeteria. The play focused on a group of high school drama students given the assignment to share the memories. The audience was entertained by light hearted and humorous recollections of […]

Submitted by: Candace Balbo The Swan Valley Historical Museum’s season opener was held with the Spring Supper on May 29th 2022. Vernice Eggie and her capable crew served up another delicious roast beef supper. Musical entertainment was provided before and after the meal by the ladies of “Highly Strung”. Altogether it was a good evening […]

Submitted by: Nicole Clouson | The Dolyna Dancers held their year end concert on May 14, 2022 at the Veterans Hall. The dancers were pleased to perform in front of a crowd once again and put on an entertaining afternoon. The program started with a procession of the dancers, followed by Oh Canada and then […]

Submitted by: Renate Wille | On Saturday May 7, 2022 local artists displayed their work during the art show at Little Woody Church. To make it quite clear, this Art Show is not a fund raiser for the church. We, that is a group of Artists who use the space to paint on Mondays in […]

Submitted by: Swan Valley Communities That Care We hope you had a chance to visit the Swan Valley Communities That Care (SVCTC) Halloween Family Event on October 16th. It was an amazing event, which offered a Halloween experience for all ages. There was an outstanding attendance at the Halloween Event at the SV Historical Museum. […]

ValleyBiz Story | The Swan Valley Historical Museum held their annual Harvest Festival on Sunday, August 29, 2021. People waited patiently to sample the fresh bread, hot out of the clay ovens. This is always one of the tastiest attractions at the event. Live demonstrations brought historical equipment to life and provided a glimpse into […]

Submitted by: Rachael Stober | The CBFCS Parent Advisory Council put on another Dessert Night/Duelling Pianos/Silent Art Auction Fundraiser on Saturday, February 15. This was the second time the PAC held this event. The first one raised funds for the multi-sport pad that was successfully built in 2018. This year the event raised just over […]

Submitted by St. Andrew’s United Church Our Loving Hearts Supper and Entertainment was held on February 1st. 120 folks enjoyed an evening of visiting, great entertainment and a delicious supper catered by Julie Nahnybida. The Entertainment kept toes a tapping with the Ukelele group singing a few songs and strumming their hearts out, followed by […]

Submitted by: Violet Plett | The Kene and Milly concerts, held in the Swan Valley from January 21-23, 2020, were a very big blessing to those who attended. People in each location (Barrows, Sapotawayek, Birch River and Swan River) told Kene and Milly how much they appreciated them coming. Each evening the singers sang many […]

The Swan River Dolyna Dancers held their second annual Malanka Concert January 13, 2020 at the SVRSS Cafeteria. Each dance group performed a dance in front a full audience of family and friends. The Sadochuk, Beginner and Junior groups started the evening off with each group dancing a Poltava. This was followed by an intermission […]

Pictured above: Nigeria was represented by the Ojo and Omosebi families Submitted by: Donna Leming | A multicultural Christmas program was held at the Seventh-day Adventist church on Saturday December 7, 2019. Each group sang a Christmas Carol and shared how they celebrated the birth of Jesus and traditions in their country. Czech Republic was […]

Submitted by Jayne Leadbeater | At the SVRSS Cafeteria, last Wednesday, 4 December 2019 over 70 people enjoyed a musical evening presented by Swan Valley Community Band who were performing their 26th Christmas Concert, “FLURRIES OF THE SEASON!” Lots of familiar faces were in attendance, with a few from as a far away as Edmonton […]

Submitted by: Kendra Thiessen | Taking place on Sunday, December 1, 2019 Madge Lake Bible Camp’s Christmas Musical and Dessert Theater was a wonderful evening. This year’s performance included live music, delectable desserts and a guest performer from the Swan Valley, Tim Mueller on dobro, mandolin and guitar. A big thank-you to all who attended […]

ValleyBiz Story | The Swan Valley Fine Arts Festival held their 56th Annual Carol Festival at Temple Baptist Church on December 1, 2019. Various groups and individuals raised their voices and instruments in song in celebration of the season. The afternoon featured performances from Highly Strung Ukulele Group, Girls Christmas Choir, Terri Boyd & Jason […]

Submitted by: Tanya Staniland | Another successful Harvest Windup was held in Lenswood on November 16, 2019! Everyone enjoyed the music, dancing, and food!!!

Submitted by: Lloyd Gilchrist | Three very appreciative audiences were entertained this past weekend as the Valley Stage Players presented their comedy, “The Big Five-Oh,” a two-act comedy by playwright Brian Mitchell. The play was based around the Thomas family, whose patriarch, George, was trying to cope with all the life ramifications of reaching the […]

Submitted by: Tobey Thiessen | One hundred people gathered at Temple Baptist on the evening of Saturday October 5, 2019 to enjoy the wonderful vocal talent of Jayme Giesbrecht from Winkler, MB. She was joined by band members Jonathan Alexiuk on keyboard and Jim Johnson on the drums, whose individual skills were both stellar. Jayme’s […]

Submitted by: Shirley Yaschyshyn | Benito was bustling on Canada Day with a full day of activities for all ages to enjoy. To start the festivities, the Benito Volunteer Firefighter’s hosted a Pancake Breakfast. Pancakes, sausages, coffee and juice were served to approximately 420 people with all money raised going to the CZ Miller Trust […]

ValleyBiz Story | Music filled the air on June 16, 2019 as the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School presented their year end concert at the Festival Stage in the Swan River Legion Park. The concert featured the Grade 9 band and Senior band along with a number of selections from the Toronto-Niagara Falls Tour Band. […]

Submitted by: Glenda Turton Day 1: Late on May 14, 2019, thirty-five SVRSS band students, 6 chaperones and band directors Glenda Turton and Mark Matejka boarded a bus bound for the Winnipeg airport. By noon on the 15th of May, they were already landing at Pearson International Airport in Toronto; the beginning of an 8 […]

Submitted by: Edgar Yacyshyn | On June 01, 2019, Durban held a dance to celebrate their 89th anniversary of the community hall. The Zayshley Band from the Yorkton area supplied the great music which everyone enjoyed and kept the dance floor busy and a fun time was held by all. Thanks to all the volunteers […]

Submitted by: Renate Wille | We had a lovely Show on the afternoon of May 4, 2019. Great art, good food and great company. The exhibitors were: Naomi Nemez, Shirley Nemez, Peyton Nemez, Martyn Snell, Wilma Barkman, Mary Jane Eichler, Barb L’Abbe, Julie Kooistra, Beth Braun, Lydia Neufeld, Obi Okonkwo and Renate Wille The visitors […]

Pictured above: Julie Kooistra, Director/Founder Former SVSD Band Instruction/Music Specialist Submitted by: Jayne Leadbeater | Just last Wednesday, May 1, 2019, the Swan Valley Community Band performed their 25th Spring Concert “Spring into Blossoms”, under the direction of Julie Kooistra. The group welcomed guest performances from the Benito Grade 7/8 Band led by Brad Slepicka, […]

Submitted by: Lloyd Gilchrist | More than seven squares of enthusiastic square dancers descended on the Durban Hall on Saturday, April 27 to help the Swan Valley Hoedowners celebrate the conclusion of the square dance season. Caller Linda Gilchrist kept the dancers hopping to the lively music and interesting square dance moves. The afternoon festivities […]

Submitted by: Nicole Clouson | The Dolyna Dancers held their Annual Dessert Concert on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at the SVRSS. The dancers performed to a packed house, and the crowd sure appreciated the talent that was shown through the night! The evening started with Les Rolsky and Bill Macooh playing music as guests made […]

Submitted by: David Ogram | On the afternoon of Sunday, April 7, 2019 approximately 60 people enjoyed over an hour of inspiring Christian songs and music at the Annual Spring Music Program held at the Swan River Seventh-day Adventist Church. Music and singing was presented by a number of people from the community, including members […]

Submitted by: Leigh Osatchuk | The Benito Vesselli Dancers performed for a full house on April 7th, 2019 as they highlighted their 37 years of dancing. Different regions of the dance in the Ukraine, including Poltava, Bukovyna, Volyn and Transcarpathia were recognized for their authentic dance steps, choreography and costumes. After the singing of the […]

Submitted by: Brenna Smith | Bowsman United Church held two performances on March 30 and 31, 2019 of the Cantata “The Tale of the Three Trees” and song of Praise and Prayer from around the world. During the Cantata, the audience was welcomed to open themselves up to the message of the dreams of the […]

Submitted by: Michele Poole | Photos by: Jennifer Paige Photography On March 20, 2019, the Swan School of Dance treated a large crowd to their year end recital entitled “Road Trip”. The dancers showed off their skills in Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop and Jazz, and the audience was taken on a journey from New York, […]

Submitted by: St. Andrew’s United Church Our 8th Annual Loving Hearts Supper and Entertainment was held on Saturday February 2, 2019. In spite of the snow storm that was raging outside, inside was filled with love and laughter. Julie Nahnybida catered a lovely meal followed by a delicious dessert. Our Entertainers kept things lively and […]

Submitted by: Wade Kovachik | Pictures by: Jessica Kovachik | It was a cold one, but that didn’t stop the activity from happening at the Cowan Community Centre on Saturday, January 26, 2019. There at the Community Centre, a Winter Blues Dance was held featuring a new band to the area, Country Reign, that came […]

Submitted by: Glenda Turton, Pictures by Shauna Klekta | It may have been the coldest weekend of the winter, but the SVRSS was hot with music by the Dirty Catfish Brass Band on Sunday. The Dirty Catfish Brass Band is an eight-member band based in Winnipeg, MB. They all have University level music degrees from […]

Submitted by: Amy Hofford | The Swan River Dolyna Dancers put on a great performance at their Malanka Concert held at the SVRSS on January 14, 2019. Family and friends were treated to a performance from each dance group, starting with the youngest, and always adorable Sadochuk’s group (above). The Malanka Concert was a chance […]