Regina's friendly local roundup
Monday, July 13, 2026

The orange heat warning that's gripped the city since the weekend is finally easing off today. We'll still hit a sunny 28°C this afternoon, but temperatures slide into the mid-20s for the rest of the week, with cooler nights on the way. It’s a welcome break after a stretch of 30-plus days and some seriously high humidex readings.

It's a good week to be proud of this city: a Riders blowout at Mosaic, two local residents playing hero on a highway, a brand-new accessible park, and a bookstore built to make more people feel like they belong here. Let's get into it.

In today's edition:

🏈 SPORTS

The Saskatchewan Roughriders put together their most complete performance of the young season Sunday night at Mosaic Stadium, thumping the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 38-7. The Riders' defence, which had managed just three total turnovers all season heading into the game, forced three in this one alone, including a turnover on downs and a fumble forced by Antoine Brooks Jr. that set Saskatchewan up at the one-yard line.

The highlight, though, belonged to linebacker Josh Woods, who picked off a pass and returned it 107 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Trevor Harris, playing in his 200th career CFL regular-season game, threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns, while running back A.J. Ouellette made his return from an ankle injury count with 83 yards on the ground.

It's the kind of win Rider Nation will be talking about at the water cooler all week and with the team now 4-1, the good times at Mosaic look far from over.

🚗 COMMUNITY

Marjorie Flavel, a Regina senior, is crediting two "angels" after her SUV veered off Highway 20 near Craven and began sinking into a slough. Flavel had dozed off at the wheel; when she woke, the vehicle was already going into the water and its electrical systems had failed, trapping her inside with her dog, Angel.

Matt Mario and his father Mike, who were driving by, waded into the slough — water up to Matt's chest — to reach the SUV. When the doors wouldn't budge, Matt climbed onto the roof and helped Flavel crank open the sunroof by hand as the water rose. True to form, Flavel made sure her dog came out first. "I consider myself very lucky, and more, to have two angels that did save me," she said afterward.

It's the kind of story that reminds you what this community looks like when it matters most. Total strangers, no hesitation, and a happy ending.

🌳 CITY UPDATE

Regina's newest large-scale community park had its grand opening Sunday in the Eastbrook neighbourhood, and it's setting a new bar for inclusive design. Maka Park, developed by Dream Developments, features the first playground in the city built to fully meet Regina's new accessibility policy. Smooth rubber surfacing, extra-wide flush pathways, wheelchair-accessible structures, adaptive swings with secure harnesses, and ground-level musical and sensory panels for kids with cognitive or sensory needs.

Beyond the playground, the park includes a multi-tiered pump track, extensive green space and walking paths, and a new community garden with 98 plots (12 of them wheelchair-accessible) run by the Arcola East Community Association.

📚 ARTS & COMMUNITY

Regina has a new independent bookstore, and it's built to be a lot more than shelves of books. Black Bird Commons celebrated its grand opening Saturday, the culmination of a long-held dream for co-owners Timothy Blackett and Chantelle O'Connor to give the city a bookish, inclusive gathering place, something Regina had been missing since the closure of Penny University Bookstore in 2024.

The shop stocks Prairie, Indigenous, queer and other underrepresented voices alongside general fiction and nonfiction, and it plans regular programming: an Indigenous voices book club, a queer voices book club, and workshops in traditional beadwork, sketching, painting and quillwork. The pair funded their lease through an eight-week Kickstarter campaign that came together in its final stretch, including one supporter who covered naming rights for one of the shop's spaces.

More information on their website

📜 HERITAGE & EDUCATION

The University of Regina's Dr. John Archer Library and Archives has launched a project to transcribe the handwritten papers of Gladys Arnold, a Macoun-born journalist who covered the Great Depression, the Spanish Civil War, and the fall of France in the Second World War. Arnold got her start at the Regina Leader-Post before becoming the sole Canadian correspondent in Paris at the outbreak of WWII and she fled the city just one day before the Nazi invasion in 1940, interviewing displaced refugees along the way.

Because Arnold's writing is in cursive, the library has enlisted help from Zooniverse, a volunteer platform where people around the world contribute to real academic research. This is the first time U of R has crowdsourced a transcription project like this. "To be able to provide access to these materials, to give people who are looking for different perspectives that first voice to tell stories in different ways, I think it's so fantastic," said archivist Crista Bradley.

Arnold, who was later named an honorary brigadier in the Free French forces and received the Legion of Honour, spent her later years in Regina until her death in 2002. It's a great reminder of the remarkable history sitting in our own backyard and if you're the transcribing type, anyone can pitch in.

More information here

Monday, July 13 – Wednesday, July 15

🎨 Connective Tissue curated by Wendy Peart | Dunlop Art Gallery, Central Library, 2311 12th Avenue | Free | Exhibition runs through September 5. Details

🎨 Bruce Anderson: Herd-Bound curated by Alexander Rondeau | Dunlop Sherwood Gallery, Sherwood Village Branch | Free | Exhibition runs through October 14. Details

🌿 Smudge in the Commons | Community Commons, Central Library | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Free | Everyone welcome. Details

🀄 Social Mah Jongg | Sunrise Branch, Regina Public Library | 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Free | All levels welcome. Details

🐟 Gills to Gulls (with the Saskatchewan Science Centre) | Albert Branch, Regina Public Library | 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM | Free — Ages 6–12, hands-on water creatures exploration. Register

🎨 V.I.B.E. Arts Camp | The Saskatchewan Cultural Exchange, 2431 8th Avenue | 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM, Week 1 runs July 13–17 | Ages 6–12 | $315/week | visual arts, music, drama and dance for young learners, lunch included. Week 1 wraps with a showcase Friday, July 17 at 1:30 PM. Register

🎵 ONE WAY OUT — Monday Night Jazz & Blues | Bushwakker Brewpub, 2206 Dewdney Avenue | 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM | Details

🎬 Moana: The IMAX Experience | Kramer IMAX Theatre, Saskatchewan Science Centre, 2903 Powerhouse Drive | Playing through July 16 | Paid admission | Showtimes

📖 "A" is for Aesop Puppet Show | Connaught Branch, Regina Public Library | 10:30 AM | Free — Ages 4+. Details

🐟 Gills to Gulls | Sunrise Branch, Regina Public Library | 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM | Free — Ages 6–12. Register

🎨 Drop-In Art Studio with Geanna Dunbar | Community Commons, Central Library | 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM | Free — All ages. Details

🚤 STEAM Challenge: Tinfoil Boats | Regent Place Branch, Regina Public Library | 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Free — Ages 8–12. Details

🎮 Big Screen Video Games | Central Library, Children's area | 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM | Free — Teens, Mario Kart & Smash Bros on the Film Theatre big screen. Details

🎬 Moana: The IMAX Experience | Kramer IMAX Theatre, 2903 Powerhouse Drive | Continues through July 16 | Paid admission | Showtimes

🥕 Regina Farmers' Market | Pat Fiacco Plaza, 2190 12th Avenue | 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Free admission — local produce, baked goods, honey and more. Details

🍋 Library Lemonade Stand | Central Library, Adult area | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Free — Ages 12 and under, a cool drink and a new book in the shade. Details

♟️ Chess Club | George Bothwell Branch, Regina Public Library | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM | Free — Ages 6–15. Details

🎬 Red Fever | RPL Film Theatre, Central Library, 2311 12th Avenue | 7:00 PM – 8:45 PM | Free admission — 2024 Canadian documentary. Details

🎵 HOTDOG! BLUEGRASS — Wednesday Folk Night | Bushwakker Brewpub, 2206 Dewdney Avenue | 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM | Details

🎤 Big Wreck | Casino Regina Show Lounge, 1880 Saskatchewan Drive | 8:00 PM | Paid admission, 19+ | Details

🎬 Moana: The IMAX Experience | Kramer IMAX Theatre, 2903 Powerhouse Drive | Final day of this run | Paid admission | Showtimes

🥗 Farmers' Market run for fresh produce

🏒 Nothing beats a Riders win — I'm still riding that high

📚 Checking out the new bookstore everyone's talking about

🌳 Taking the kids to try out the new accessible park

Hit reply and let us know :)

Thanks for reading Queen City Digest. This is a good week to get out and see this city — a new park, a new bookstore, farmer’s market is full of fresh produce and some milder temps will make it easier to enjoy the sun all day. Stay cool out there, and we'll see you Wednesday.

🗓️ Next edition: Wednesday, July 15.

-QCD