Lögberg-Heimskringla - 03.10.2003, Blaðsíða 9

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur, 3 október 2003 • page 9
FRÉTTIR • NEWS
Travis Lycar Receives Awards
Maddin Feted by his Home Town
Dilla Narfason
Gimli, MB
When Travis William
Lycar graduated with a
Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours
degree from the University of
Manitoba this year, he was
awarded the Gold Medal for
the highest standing in that
Faculty.
Besides this achievement
he received the University Pro-
grani Medal which was award-
ed for the highest standing in a
Faculty or School Program and
two more awards, The Tania
(Tye) Asper Memorial prize
for exceptional work in paint-
ing in Fine Arts and the Helga
Miller Scholarship which was
awarded by the U of M.
Travis has returned to the
U of M this fall to take further
courses in painting and ceram-
ics with the Faculty of Fine
Arts. He will also seek to apply
for graduate school for a Mas-
ters Program.
Travis is the son of Phyllis
(Larusson) and Larry Lycar of
Ginili, and through his moth-
er’s ancestry can trace his roots
to Bólu-Hjálntar, a well known
poet and carver in Iceland frorn
years gone by.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DIILA NARFASON
Stefan Arnason Competes at
World Youth Track and Field
Competition
Dilla Narfason
Gimli, MB
This past suntmer, sixteen-
year-old Stefan Arnason
had the experience of his life-
tirne when he participated in
the Octathlon competition at
the World Youth Track and
Field Championships in Sher-
PHOTO COURTESY OF DIILA NARFASON
brook, QC.
To get to this event Stefan
had to compete at a qualifying
meet in Toronto where he suc-
cessfully met the necessary
standards and was the only
male Canadian to go onto the
world competition.
Out of six sixteen-year-
olds and thirty seventeen-year-
olds competing in the
Octathlon, Stefan came twen-
ty-fifth out of thirty-six. He
was grateful for the opportuni-
ty and quite satisfied with his
perforntance for a first time
experience. He also enjoyed
meeting other athletes from all
over the world including four
front Iceland.
More recently Stefan
attained Gold for a Heptathlon
competition for National Youth
Track and Field Competitions
in Kitchener, ON. He was also
named athlete of the year for
both Rural and Urban Track
and Field. Stefan is the son of
Janice and Cameron Arnason
of Gimli.
When Guy Maddin
returned from rave
reviews at the Toronto Inter-
national Film Festival for his
new movie The Saddest Song
in the World, he and his
friends, family and colleagues
were treated to a lunch at the
Manitoba Legislative Build-
ing. The host, the provincial
Minister of Culture, Eric
Robinson was present at the
opening of Guy’s movie in
Toronto, and said he thought
Guy’s home town should
express its appreciation of his
gifts and contribution.
At the reception, Vonnie
Von Helmolt, who produced
Guy’s Dracula, Pages from a
Virgin’s Diary, presented him
with an Emrny. She won for
producing the feature, and
managed to jurnp through
some bureaucratic hoops to
secure a statuette
for Guy as well.
Maddin used
the “bizarrely hon-
ouring occasion”
to offer his own
thanks to the Man-
itoba government,
and specifically its
arts agencies Man-
itoba Filrn and
Sound and the
Manitoba Arts
Council for their
continued support
of his films.
Following the
luncheon, Guy was
presented to the
members of the
Legislature, who
were in session.
Sources: Winnipeg
Free Press,
CBC Radio.
Ivhmli
Leigh Syms Sees Project to End
Leigh Syms has had his hand in the planning for this display since it was tlrst proposed fif-
teen years ago
The Manitoba Museum
opened its Parklands/
Mixed Woods Gallery in Sep-
tember. It has bats, snakes,
fish, ants amongst the leaves,
grasses, prairie plants and
bushes. It’s the largest gallery
the Museum has opened in
years.
Leigh Syms has had his
hand in the planning for this
display since it was first pro-
posed fifteen years ago. And
he returned to the Museurn fol-
lowing his retirement to com-
plete the job he began.
He takes special pride in
certain of the displays. Such
as the Diversity Tree, a hands-
on exhibit that allows rnuse-
um-goers to santple the range
of life in the region.
The other is an archeology
wall, which details 12,000
years of provincial history
through a display of aboriginal
artifacts and trade networks,
what Leigh calls “the out-
standing accomplishments of
our ancient first nations.”
“Many of these things are
absolutely exquisite,” he says.
“Their spear points and axes
aren’t’ just tools, they’re
works of art.”
The Parklands/Mixed
Woods region extends from
the western border north of
Duck Mountain, southwest
through the central Interlake,
across to the eastern
Whiteshell and south to the
United States border, includ-
ing most of Winnipeg.
It is a transition zone from
the northern boreal forest to the
southern grasslands, and thus,
in terms of flora and fauna, the
province’s most variegated
area. Many, if not most, of the
immigrants from Iceland
would have lived in this belt.
Leigh served as the curator
of archeology at the Manitoba
Museurn for twenty-two years
when he retired earlier this
year. He has been active in the
Icelandic communities in
Edmonton, Brandon and Win-
nipeg for longer. He is mar-
ried to Shirley (Bjarnason)
Syms.
Source: Winnipeg Free Press
Creating Community • Sköpum Samfélag