Congratulations to the Graduating Class of 2023 Swan Valley Regional Secondary School June 23, 2023 Be Like a Tree: Stay grounded. Connect with your roots. Turn over a new leaf. Bend before you break. Celebrate your unique natural beauty. Keep Growing! Swan Valley Regional Secondary School Graduating Class of 2023 Barker, Damien Gage Barker, Nathan […]

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 […]

Submitted by: Sharla Haluschak The Swan River Ride for a Reason Poker Run took place on June 10, 2023 with all proceeds donated locally. It was a good turn out for our first Ride For A Reason Poker Run. Thank you to the Minitonas Lions for putting on the pancake breakfast. Thanks to all the […]

Submitted by: Stephanie Wigley The Grand Opening of the Swan Valley Animal Protection League’s (SVAPL) new shelter building was held on June 17, 2023. It started out with a ribbon cutting ceremony where we had both Dave Theunissen and Audrey Sercombe do the ribbon cutting. Both of these individuals have been monumental in getting SVAPL […]

Submitted by: Gloria Stesenko The Village of Benito was bustling with activity when large crowds of people attended the first Community Garage and Business Sidewalk Sale. With 28 locations, some of the streets where so congested that it was hard for vehicles to drive around so a lot of the visitors just parked and walked […]

Submitted by: Community Foundation of Swan Valley (CFSV) | The Swan Valley School Division was recently awarded a grant for equipment to enhance student skills of physical literacy through gymnastics at Taylor School. The aim of daily physical activity is to provide students with a balanced program that helps them to develop the knowledge, skills, […]

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 […]

There was a great turnout at the Spring Vendor Market on May 6, 2023 with a lot of happy shoppers. If you couldn’t make it to the market, and are needing a gift for someone, support a local vendor.

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 […]

Pictured above: Dax Mullin gets direction on clipping his steer from Richard Hillmer. Submitted by: Angela Mullin The Minitonas 4H members are busy getting ready for the 69th Swan Valley Show & Sale. Members met at the Hillmers farm on Sunday April 30, 2023 to work together on grooming & clipping their projects. The day […]

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: Kari Goethe The first ever Where’s Waldo event in Swan River on April 22, 2023 was a huge success as a fundraiser for the Swan River Community Center! There were people of all ages participating with 48 teams and 220 people entered to find the 15 Waldo’s that were hidden around town. Teams […]

Submitted by: Community Foundation of Swan Valley The Swan River Community Centre was recently awarded a grant for training equipment to enhance skill development within the Swan River Curling Club. This project will primarily serve their junior curlers, but the equipment will be available to all 150+ members. The SR Community Centre hopes this equipment […]

Submitted by: Lynda Bird | A great time was had celebrating Ken Sutherland’s 90th birthday on March 25, 2023. We would like to thank all the family that came from near and far and all the friends that made time to come for a visit. We appreciated the visit from Rick Wowchuk to give Dad […]

Submitted by: Services to Seniors The Coffee and a Chat sessions held March 14 and 16, 2023 were attended by 54 people. Topics this month were understanding your Health Care Directives, and Fraud-how to recognize fraud. Deborah Shultz, Nurse Practitioner explained to us that a health care directive is for any person of any age. […]

Submitted by: Carolin Foster | The 24th Annual Billy Beal Classic Fishing Derby at Whitefish Lake was a huge success! The $10,000 prize winner was Thomas McKay from Winnipegosis, MB. With 6 minutes left in the derby, his Northern Pike weighing in at 4 lbs. 2 oz. was the winning catch of the day! Ghosted […]

Submitted by: Kari Goethe There was an excellent turnout for the Learn to Curl Clinic that was held at the Swan River Curling Club on March 15, 2023. There were 35 curlers that came out to try out their skills and learn a little about the game of curling. A big thank you to all […]

Submitted by Tammela Bobick Our club hosted its 16th annual Vintage ride on Saturday February 25, 2023 and Mother Nature was against us. We had extreme cold, minus 30 that morning and some winds. However, the people and sleds showed up at the Westwood Inn here in Swan River, Manitoba and by the time we […]

Submitted by: Amanda Dixon Congratulations to the U11 A Team on a Gold Medal Win in the MB Rural A Provincials! The team had a successful weekend which lead them to the championship game. The final game was played against Dauphin, with a score of 9-3. A tournament win to remember! Over the weekend, families […]

Jenna Koutecky, Program Coordinator SVCTC Our Annual Toys 4 U gift drive went very well this year. Swan Valley Communities that Care (SVCTC) received overwhelming support from local individuals. businesses, groups, and volunteers. This year we had three gift drive events: Two Stampeders games, where individuals could bring in Toys in exchange to win a […]

Submitted by: Community Foundation of Swan Valley (CFSV) A recent grant awarded to the ESRSS Daycare Centre provided a Safe Guard Area for the playground. This Safe Guard Area provides a safe outdoor area for the children to learn through play. This project benefited the Swan Valley Community to provide a safe, warm, and inviting […]

Submitted by: Swan River & District Community Resource Council Inc. – Service to Seniors The third set of sessions of the Winter-Coffee and a Chat were well received with 25 people attending the two venues. Services to Seniors Connie Beaudry started the sessions with introducing the guest speakers and welcoming the participants. Candice Braun started […]

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, […]

Submitted by Community Foundation of Swan Valley (CFSV) This year’s giving challenge took place November 14-20, 2022. During this time, all donations gifted to the Community Foundation were boosted by the Winnipeg Foundation and Manitoba Government (to a maximum of $2,000 each) stretching each donation made to the foundation. Thanks to the strong community support […]

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: Bethany Matejka Thank you to everyone who came out for the Steeprock Bay Bible Camp AGM. It was a great evening of worship, camp stories, yummy food, and camp business.

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: Diane Buhler | The Tinsel and Tidings Christmas Market was held at the Swan Valley Museum on November 26, 2022. We had more than 30 vendors and a steady stream of happy shoppers in and out of the doors during the sale. We collected non-perishable items for the Swan Valley Food Bank at […]

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 […]

Submitted by: Community Foundation of Swan Valley (CFSV) With the help of a grant from the Community Foundation of Swan Valley Inc., the Benito & Area Drop In Centre was able to complete a much needed roof replacement. The Centre plays an important role in the community by providing adults a place to spend their […]

ValleyBiz Story | A march down Veterans Way marked the start of the 2022 Remembrance Day Service in Swan River. Wreaths were laid at the Cenotaph, followed by a Service of Remembrance at the Veterans Community Hall. Pastor Bob Lewis, Chaplain for the Royal Canadian Legion – Swan River Branch, delivered a Remembrance Day message […]

Submitted by: The Association for Community Living – Swan River The Association for Community Living – Swan River has just hosted the 41st annual Calico Corners sale on November 4th, 2022. Crafters from around the area came together to display & sell their wares. It was wonderful to see the crowds of people come out […]

Submitted by: Kari Goethe Approximately 50 curlers participated in the Curling Clinic held at the Swan River Curling Club on Oct 28-30th, 2022. Instructors, Chris and Lorne Hamblin from the Cargill Curling Training Center in Morris, MB were here to instruct interested curlers on how to improve their skills and learn more about the game. […]

Submitted by: Jenna Koutecky, Community Coordinator Swan Valley Communities That Care This year’s Spooktoberfest was a great success, with nearly 1100 people in attendance over two days. This is a new Spooktoberfest record, as the event had previously taken place over three days rather than 2. On the first night of the event, we were […]

Submitted by: Swan Valley Outdoors Association After a two year hiatus the Swan Valley Outdoors Association banquet and auction took place once again on Saturday, October 22nd. Similar to our prior events, the banquet was a sellout with the continued generosity of our community, at all levels, on display through the sponsorships, donations, ticket sales, […]

Submitted by: Community Foundation of Swan Valley (CFSV) Hornbeck Family Fund Gordon Hornbeck and Dale Wiebach created the Hornbeck Family Fund to honour Gordon’s parent’s belief in community support. Our dream at the foundation is to help community minded individuals invest in building a strong and resilient place to live, work and play. We fund […]

Submitted by: Services to Seniors The first two sessions of the Winter-Coffee and a Chat were well received with 31 people attending the two venues. Services to Seniors Connie Beaudry started the sessions with introducing the guest speakers and welcoming the participants. Brittany Schroeder started the session with Question and Answers from the participants. Unfortunately […]

Submitted by: Community Foundation of Swan Valley (CFSV) The Birch River Recreation Committee was awarded a grant allowing this group to upgrade the skimmer and heater at the BR pool which were starting to fail. CFSV was happy to support this upgrade to allow Valley residents a space to enjoy the outdoor swimming season. The […]

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 […]

Submitted by Tanya Powell | On October 30, 2022 for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Elbert Chartrand Friendship Centre held a walk to bring awareness, to remember, to honour, and commemorate residential school survivors. Sylvia Grier and Fred Stevens shared their own experiences with going to Day Schools and Residential Schools. Thank […]

Submitted by: Rose Kovachik, Picutres by: Tina Copeland The Cowan Trail Celebration once again occurred on the fourth Saturday of August, being August 27, 2022 this year, after a two year hiatus. On Friday night, as usual, the Cowan Hall parking lot slowly filled with trailers, horses, and campsites. By Saturday morning, everyone was eager […]

Submitted by: Stacey Archuk The Swan River Terry Fox Run took place Sunday, September 18, 2022 at 1:30 pm. Various groups and individuals participated making it overall a great day.

Submitted by: Community Foundation of Swan Valley (CFSV) Coming to a new country can be a scary process and not having a command of the English language can make it more difficult. CFSV was pleased to be able to assist the Immigrant Services Branch in Swan River with the purchase of English as a Second […]

Submitted by: Angela Mullin Minitonas 4H Beef Club & Peavey Mart Swan River teamed up for a fundraiser BBQ on Saturday August 20, 2022. Members from the Minitonas 4H beef club sold Smokies on a Bun and a drink to raise awareness of the 4H program in Swan River. The funds raised will be used […]

ValleyBiz Story | The Northwest Roundup Rodeo returned for 4 action packed days July 28 – 31, 2022 and the grandstand was packed for all the popular rodeo events. As always, there were plenty of broncs, bulls and barrels and ValleyBiz had a front row seat to bring you up close and personal with all […]

Pictured above: Lilies in the garden of Lance and Coralie Jacobson Submitted by: Audrey Showdra with additional pictures from ValleyBiz | Although light cloud prevailed and a couple light rain showers fell, it certainly did not prevent many, many people from enjoying the Garden Walk sponsored by the Swan River Ladies Golf Club on July […]

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 […]

ValleyBiz Story | On July 20, 2022 the Swan Valley Harley House committee hosted a special afternoon in honour of Rev. Murray Wenstob. A short program led by Scott Tibble included a brief history of the Valley and the Harley House, musical selections by Guy Dobbyn and poems by David and Michelle Minish. Following the […]