Winnipeg Famous

How did Cheryl Lashek, a civil servant and mechanical engineer, become Winnipeg Famous without ever trying? Meet the artists and Winnipeggers who have created tributes to the elusive 'Elevator Lady', whose signature graces every elevator permit in Manitoba. Follow host Bridget Forbes on her quest to land an interview with the public servant who rarely speaks, and tests the theory that in Winnipeg, it’s not six degrees of separation, it’s more like three.

In this episode we finally hear from the woman herself! What does the civil servant Cheryl Lashek think of the notoriety she never sought? Discover the secret behind her signature. Find out what happened in grade seven that blew her mind and changed her destiny. Hear how she tries to encourage young women to become engineers, a field where only 14% of practicing professionals are female.

You either love it, or you love to hate it! A simple layer cake made Jeanne's Bakery 'Winnipeg Famous', but the family that built the business over three generations is more mysterious. Who was Jeanne anyway? And why did her grandson sell a successful business that had been in the family for 65 years? It turns out the reason is tragic.

He looks like Rod Stewart, claims to never sleep, and once had to hire a detective because teenage pranks got out of control. So how did a local realtor become Winnipeg Famous, and what personal challenges drove this larger than life character to put his face all over the city?

When there's an important event in Winnipeg's Indigenous community, Gerry 'Gramma' Shingoose is there - often at the front - with a prayer, a drum, and exactly the right words. But Gramma Shingoose says her connection to her culture was severed, once by residential school and once by grief. So how did she find her strength and her way back to become the respected elder she is today?

John Scoles walked into a bar with a broken heart nearly 30 years ago. Little did he know it would be the beginning of a new love affair that would give birth to the Times Changed High and Lonesome Club. In Part One learn how he transformed the dive bar into a favourite stage for musicians, helped energize a scene, then walked away in protest, to everyone's dismay.

Why does it matter that John Scoles' triumphant return to the bar is on the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic? Why was a successful beloved bar that packs in crowds most nights, always at risk of closing? And how did love help save the day? Find out in Part Two.

Winnipeg Famous gets inside the personal lives of the people who are part of Winnipeg's quirky culture. Host Bridget Forbes gives you a sneak preview.