It’s billed as an evening of connection, and that’s exactly what the Newcomer Welcome Evenings at Winkler Arts and Culture (WAC) have shaped up to be.
Once a month, the Park St. art gallery invites long-time Winkler residents and newcomers alike to stop by for a couple hours of community-building.
The program is a partnership between WAC and Regional Connections Immigrant Services, explains WAC executive director Jered Hildebrand.
“It was definitely a joint idea” that came about “through conversations and our passion for supporting newcomers as they are settling into our city, and just a sense of wanting to build community,” he says, explaining both he and the previous gallery director had worked at Regional Connections prior to their tenure at the art gallery. “Building community is definitely a part of what we want to do here, and so that just ignited the idea.
“We also saw the success that Morden has had with their Newcomer Welcome evenings, and the benefits that citizens get from it,” Hildebrand noted. Morden’s events have been taking place for several years now, to great success. “We wanted to bring that here to Winkler.”
Yelena Rochshina, settlement lead at Regional Connections’ Winkler offices, says the get-togethers—which take place the third Wednesday of the month—draws, on average, a dozen or so people. They’d like to see those numbers increase in 2025, and so are working hard on getting the word out about the program.
“It’s about building community together to create a kind and welcoming and inclusive environment,” Rochshina says, adding that they’ve received good feedback from everyone who’s taken part “because the atmosphere is so friendly and welcoming. Moreover, they receive a lot of useful resources about the community … they get to meet new people, share information, get to know about local businesses, organizations, and services in the area.”
The typical evening features representatives from a variety of different service groups and agencies, and sometimes a guest speaker presenting on topics designed to help people navigate and settle into the Winkler area—covering everything from school and health card registration to recreational programming.
“We want them to feel more connected, supported, and informed,” Rochshina says.
“In August, let’s say, we’ll have someone from Garden Valley School Division come down and talk to us about what it is like to register for school, which is really helpful for people coming from other countries to learn about the process of doing that,” Hildebrand says. “It’s also a great time for them to ask questions … those discussions lead in all kinds of directions.”
But those presentations, while important, are just one small part of the night.
“The main thing is that people have time to just chat, connect with each other,” Hildebrand says. “If you’re a newcomer and you’ve got a question and you don’t know even where to begin to ask it, that would be a great thing to bring up here.”
They’re hoping to bring in more community organizations in the months ahead, and also welcome businesses who would like to reach out to get in touch about setting up table.
“We’re very open that if businesses want to come here and make sure that people who are brand new to Winkler know about their business or their service, they’re welcome to do that … and then stay and enjoy just getting to know people,” Hildebrand says.
One of the businesses involved right now is Gardenland Co-op, which provides refreshments and has staff on hand to talk about what it means to be a Co-op member.
Shepherd Chiwandire, Co-op’s marketing and community events coordinator, says the event lines up well with the company’s “You’re at home here” motto.
“That’s the reason we exist … we want to connect with people to make them feel as welcome as they can,” he says.
“It’s not always about the business side—it’s also about the community side of things,” Chiwandire adds, noting the company prides itself on sponsoring local organizations like WAC, and supporting programming that brings people together. The Newcomer Welcome Evenings certainly fit the bill on that front, he says, creating “a welcoming environment and a sense of belonging.”
Chiwandire moved to Canada from Zimbabwe over a decade ago, so he knows what it’s like to find oneself making a home in an unfamiliar country.
“When I moved here in 2015, if I had know there was a newcomer welcome evening, definitely it would have made a huge difference,” he says. “It gets people out of their homes … out into the community.”
Everyone is welcome
Everyone is welcome to attend these gatherings, stresses Hildebrand, and in fact they would love to see more longtime residents come out to greet newcomers.
“I think there’s a little misconception that some people have: a lot of people think this is just for newcomers, but this event is for everyone, whether you’ve lived here forever, for 10 years, for five years, or for one week.”
The definition of “newcomer” is also much broader than just those immigrants who are brand new to Canada, Hildebrand adds.
“We want to welcome people that are moving here from another country, but also another province, or maybe even just another city or town in Manitoba.
“We just want to connect people within our city to create new relationships,” he says. “The more people that come who have lived here for a longer time, the more information is available, and the more connections that can be made.”
“And also, maybe, even if you’ve been around here for a long time, you might feel that you don’t have the connections that you’d like to have,” Hildebrand adds. “This is a great place to create new friendships.”
The next Newcomer Welcome Evening is coming up on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.
“We promise newcomers and longtime residents a warm welcome,” Rochshina says, “and we would like to see them come out.”
