10 reasons why your business needs a blog


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Downtown Buzz


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News from the Downtown BIZ


Cirque du Soleil returns to Winnipeg with Kurios


12 June 2017 SMART BIZ The door to opportunity in Manitoba “Mind-blowing”


experience Virtual Reality Arcade bringing people out of their comfort zone in a social environment


Bill Burfoot


than the national average, according to Manitoba Film and Music. In comparison, 2015 brought in $84.2 million. Over the past 10 years, there has been more than


L The Portal owner Chris Hall using Virtual Reality system. Bill Burfoot A


h yes, the fear of heights. It’s one of the most common phobias (followed by public speaking) with an esti- mated three to five percent of the population suffering


so-called acrophobia. For people with acrophobia, the sheer conversation of


someone jumping out of an airplane, going up a ladder, bungee jumping, or even taking an elevator can make them feel queasy. Now if only there was a way to tackle these fears without actually having to do them. Te Portal, a virtual-reality arcade located in the Exchange,


has the technology to help make this, well, a reality. Whether you want to feel like you are flying without your feet actually leaving the ground or if you’ve ever wondered what it would feel like to take an elevator to the top floor of a building that will lead you onto a plank high above the ground, the Portal can help you challenge your fears. Chris Hall is the owner of the Portal and has seen his cus-


tomers do things they wouldn’t normally try in real life. With over 25 different experiences to choose from, Hall says VR has something for everyone. “Most people will hear the word arcade and immediately


think of games,” says Hall. “Of course we do have VR games, but we also have VR experiences that can take you to another place and it’s all really very exciting,” adding many custom- ers who have come to try the VR experience are not gamers.


Te Portal page 5


$1 billion in production in Manitoba, with about half of that staying in the province and that number is expected to continue rising. Unlike other provinces which have moved to cut


their film and TV tax credits in recent years, in 2015 Manitoba opted to extend its tax credit program to 2019. With the fantastic infrastructure, the great tax credit, and the amount of quality crews and production companies in the province, Manitoba is a very attractive place to film. It’s also a very attrac- tive place for people who have considered pursuing acting as a career. All of this success has caused a boom in the indus-


try over the last few years. Jeff Skinner, owner and teacher at the Actors’ Training Centre of Manitoba (ATCMB), has been involved in the film, theatre and


ast year was an amazing year for the film indus- try in Manitoba. Production volume for 2016 sat around $127 million, which is 27% better


Owner and teacher at ATCMB Jeff Skinner.


music industries for close to four decades. Trough- out that time Skinner has seen many ups and downs, but is very encouraged by what he’s seen recently in Manitoba.


ATCMB page 5


Mattress Recycling company teaches life skills Indigenous North End business creating jobs while teaching invaluable skills


Gordon Dillon


out Winnipeg each year. You may be wondering to yourself ‘why that’s a big deal’? The reason is that 90% of that mat- tress you threw out was actually recyclable. Mother Ear th Recycl ing


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(MER), a social enterprise owned by three separate non-profit abo- riginal organizations (CAHRD, Neeginan Centre, Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg) wants to help bring that number down.


0,000. Tat’s the number of mattresses that make their way into landfills through-


smartbizwpg.com ATCMB helping corporate


employees through training Actors’ Training Centre giving actors and corporate employees the tools to get to the next level


Recycled Mattresses inside Mother Earth Recycling's Main St. facility. MER was created when the three


organizations got together in 2012 and decided they wanted to start a social enterprise to employ aborigi- nal people in the community. After


Recycled Mattresses.


sip, sample, stroll (or cycle)


downtownwinnipegtours.com | @downtownpeggy


buying a local company which was already doing e-waste (electronic) recycling, they rebranded it as Mother Earth Recycling.


Recycling page 5


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