Regina's friendly local roundup | Friday, July 17, 2026

Happy Friday, Regina! 👋

The heat is sticking around for the weekend, so keep the water bottle handy and check on your neighbours. It has been a big week for local milestones and hometown pride, and this weekend brings even more reasons to get out and enjoy the city.

620 CKRM turns 100 this Saturday with a gala the whole city can tune into, Regina International Airport just posted its best summer travel numbers in years, and the Pile O' Bones Rodeo rides into the Brandt Centre tonight. Let's get into it.

In today's edition:

Saskatchewan's oldest radio station is turning 100, and Regina gets a front-row seat. This Saturday, July 18, Conexus Arts Centre hosts "100 Years in One Night," a gala celebrating CKRM's century on the air since its 1926 launch as 665 CJRM in Moose Jaw. The evening will honour longtime on-air personalities including Rod Pedersen, Colin Lovequist, Geoff Currier and Lorne Harasen as "620 CKRM Icons," alongside ten more names being unveiled as "620 CKRM Builders" for their behind-the-scenes contributions.

If you can't grab a seat, the celebration will air live on Access TV at 8 PM that night. A hundred years is a long time for any station to stick around, and CKRM's staff say the secret has always been the people and the communities they've shown up for.

A commemorative mural marking the milestone will be unveiled at Saturday's gala. Created by Ranch Ehrlo Society's Paper Crane Art program under facilitator Dustin Ritter, using techniques that include ordinary bingo dabbers, the piece weaves together the Roughriders, the Pats, grain elevators, the Hill Towers and the Legislative Building into one Saskatchewan skyline. After the gala, it will hang permanently in the CKRM studio.

Regina International Airport recorded an 8.3 per cent year-over-year jump in passenger traffic in June, along with a 4 per cent increase in cross-border travel, even as airlines trimmed seat capacity slightly to manage rising fuel costs. Airport CEO James Bogusz said he was blown away with the travel demand in June, which has been phenomenal for the airport.

Behind the scenes, the airport is expanding gates six, seven and eight, targeting completion by the end of summer to create more room in the upper hold area. Some routes, including Minneapolis and Halifax, saw temporary schedule reductions, but Bogusz says those are expected to return to daily service in the fall, with winter charter flight announcements to sunny destinations coming later this month.

Zelda Faulkes and Zihan "Joy" Xu, both of Regina, have been named to the National Youth Orchestra of Canada this year, part of the largest Saskatchewan contingent ever to join the rigorous national training program. Both violinists have performed with the Regina Symphony Orchestra, with Faulkes becoming a contracted RSO musician at just 15.

All three Saskatchewan musicians credit that early symphony experience with easing their path into a program where most applicants don't get in on the first try. Xu began playing violin in Ningbo, China before moving to Regina, where the instrument grew from a pastime into something much bigger. NYO Canada CEO Christie Gray said that talent is great but hard work is going to get you into NYO Canada.

Well done!

Running Backs Coach Andrew Harris, a 13-year CFL veteran, has spent this season teaching A.J. Ouellette how to protect his body without losing his edge. The payoff showed up Sunday: Ouellette ran for 83 yards on 18 carries as the Roughriders improved to 4-1 with a 38-7 win over Hamilton, played in the hottest Roughriders home game in nearly 74 years.

Harris knows the topic firsthand. He racked up over 10,000 career rushing yards and three of his five 1,000-yard seasons came after he turned 30. Ouellette has taken the advice to heart, telling reporters that Harris is the first person in his career to really drive the point home.

Regina has confirmed 26 cases of Dutch elm disease so far this year, and the city says the fight is becoming an annual reality rather than a rare event. Crews are watching for "flagging," where leaves on a single branch wilt and yellow but stay attached, and any suspected tree gets sampled and tested at the provincial lab before removal.

Removing an infected tree costs the city anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 depending on its size, drawn from Regina's roughly $2-million forestry budget. Officials point to climate change as a key driver of the trend, with milder winters helping the beetles that spread the disease survive, and wetter springs helping the fungus itself grow. Residents can help by reporting suspected cases online and by avoiding elm pruning between April 1 and August 31, when the beetles are most active.

July 17 to 19

🤠 Pile O' Bones Rodeo | Brandt Centre, 1700 Elphinstone Street | 7:00 PM (also Saturday) | Paid admission — two nights of CPRA-sanctioned bull riding, barrel racing and bareback, presented by REAL District and Canadian Western Agribition. Tickets →

🎶 Calling All Captains: "The Things That I've Lost" Record Release Show | The Exchange, 2431 8th Avenue | Doors 7:00 PM | Paid admission — a hometown album release from the Regina band. Details →

🌷 27th Annual Secret Gardens Tour — Night Gardens | Multi-location, self-guided | 7:00-10:00 PM (also Saturday) | $60 — a self-guided journey through privately owned Regina gardens, with pop-up dance performances throughout the weekend. Locations released with your tour passport. Details →

🚗 Friday Nights Classic Car Show | Southland Mall | 5:00 PM | Free — a weekly summer gathering of classic cars. Details →

🎬 RPL Film Theatre | Central Library, 2311 12th Avenue | Free admission — Doom at 4:30 PM, Adjust Tracking 87: Alien Agenda at 7:00 PM.

🎸 The Haileys with The Won'ts and Creeek! | The Cure Kitchen & Bar, 2323 11th Avenue | 9:30 PM | Paid admission — Winnipeg's The Haileys bring their "Paper Cut" tour to Regina, with local openers The Won'ts and Creeek!. Details →

🤠 Pile O' Bones Rodeo | Brandt Centre | 7:00 PM, followed by the Pile O' Bones Cabaret with Rock Solid | Paid admission (see Friday for rodeo details)

📻 CKRM's 100 Years in One Night Gala | Conexus Arts Centre, 200 Lakeshore Drive | Cocktails 5:00 PM, Dinner 6:00 PM, Program 8:00 PM | Paid admission, also airing live on Access TV at 8 PM. Tickets →

🥕 Regina Farmers' Market | Pat Fiacco Plaza, 2190 12th Avenue | 9:00 AM-1:00 PM | Free entry — local produce, baked goods, honey and crafts. Market schedule →

☀️ Solar Viewing with the Royal Astronomical Society | Victoria Park, 2190 12th Avenue | 9:00 AM-4:00 PM | Free — safely view sunspots and flares on the sun. Royal Astronomical Society - Regina

🌷 Secret Gardens Tour — Day Gardens | Multi-location | 9:30 AM-4:00 PM, plus Night Gardens 7:00-10:00 PM | $60 (see Friday for details)

🥧 Saskatoon Berry Festival | St Mary's Anglican Church, 3337 15th Avenue | 12:00-4:00 PM | Free — outdoor grill, kids' activities, bake sale, and saskatoon berry pies while supplies last. Details →

⛏️ Saskatchewan Mining Association Drop-In | Royal Saskatchewan Museum, 2445 Albert Street | Included with admission (runs through Aug 28) | Games and activities exploring Saskatchewan's geology and mining industry. Details →

🦸 From Market to Magic: Meet Belle & Spider-Man | Victoria Park, 2190 12th Avenue | 9:30-11:30 AM | Free — photos, autographs and a Storytime with Belle right after the Farmers' Market. Details →

🧱 LEGO Day | Central Children's, Regina Public Library | 1:00-3:00 PM | Free, ages 6-12 — building stations hosted with the Young Makers Studio. Details →

🎬 RPL Film Theatre | Central Library | Free admission — Brother Bear at 1:00 PM, Encino Man at 4:30 PM, Mother Mary at 7:00 PM.

🎸 Barfstock 3 | The Cure Kitchen & Bar, 2323 11th Avenue | 9:00 PM | Paid admission — local lineup of Psst Shh, Dream Creeps and Ghostform, plus a surprise headliner. Details →

🌷 Secret Gardens Tour — Day Gardens (final day) | Multi-location | 9:30 AM-4:00 PM | $60 (see Friday for details)

🖼️ MacKenzie Art Gallery | 3475 Albert Street | 11:00 AM-5:30 PM | Free admission — don't miss Strange Dark Memory, Maia Stark's first major solo exhibition, on now through August 9. Exhibit info →

🏛️ Communication Across Time Tours | Government House, 4607 Dewdney Avenue | Hourly, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM, through July 25 | Free — costumed Victorian-era tours with a special theme on how communication has evolved. Details →

🎨 Connective Tissue | Dunlop Central Gallery, Regina Public Library | Free, through September 5. Details →

🎨 Bruce Anderson: Herd-Bound | Dunlop Sherwood Gallery, Sherwood Village Branch | Free, through October 14. Details →

🦉 Whoooo Made This? | Royal Saskatchewan Museum | Drop in 10:00 AM-noon | Free with admission, ages 5-8 welcome — a weekly craft project, running through August 26. Details →

With the heat still hanging around, what's your weekend plan?

🎡 Catching the rodeo at the Brandt Centre
🎶 Tuning in for the CKRM gala
🌷 Wandering the Secret Gardens Tour
🥵 Staying cool inside, thanks anyway

Hit reply and let us know :)

Thanks for reading Queen City Digest. Stay cool out there, cheer loud at the rodeo, and enjoy the weekend! 😃

🗓️ Next edition: Monday, July 20.

-QCD