The arrival of spring heralds the promise of returning to nature’s great outdoors. For many Manitobans, camping is the modus operandi.

In this series, The Citizen profiles locals who strive to make our little corner of Manitoba a better place. Each month, we feature a person, family, or organization that helps brighten the world in some way. If you have someone in mind for a future month, please nominate them: jlavin@nivervillecitizen.com.

Niverville Bigway has been a cornerstone of the town’s business community for more than 20 years—and after a period of renovation and expansion, they are getting bigger and better than ever.

Since her Manitoba Country Music Awards nomination for Cover Artist of the Year last fall, Niverville recording artist Catie St. Germain has been inspired to kick her original songwriting into high gear.

The Niverville Nighthawks dropped their second straight game to Portage, falling behind two games to zero in their first round best-of-seven series after losing 5–2 on Saturday night at the CRRC.

The Nighthawks gave it everything they had in game one of their first round best-of-seven series against the Portage Terriers. It took double overtime to decide a winner, but in the first Nighthawks’ playoff game in franchise history, they lost 5–4.

Congratulations are in order for singer-songwriter Jordan St. Cyr, who won the Juno Award for Best Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year for his self-titled album.

The performing arts program at Niverville Middle School thrilled audiences with their version of The Wizard of Oz on March 22–23 at the Niverville Community Fellowship Church. The cast and crew have spent the last three months preparing for the performance with the help of directors Susan Simcoe, Caitlyn Arnould, and Kailyn Dunn.

Recently I had the opportunity to watch Women Talking, a film that was recently nominated for two Academy Awards and took home the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film’s title is especially poignant considering it tells the story of women who lack a voice in their world.

The Niverville Nighthawks accomplished the primary goal of their inaugural season, which was to qualify for the playoffs. Now they have a new goal: to give the MJHL’s league-leading Portage Terriers all they can handle in their first-round series, which gets underway on Friday night.