Jen Zoratti
Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Contact Jen
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Recent articles by Jen:
School of Contemporary Dancers showcase their skills
In the darkness of the Rachel Browne Theatre, contemporary dancers Shayla Rudd and Sophie Milord are rehearsing a kinetic new work. At first, their movements are sharp, specific and rigid, driven by an unsettling score. → Read More
94.3 pulls morning show plug, fires on-air personalities
There's a saying in radio, says longtime host Kelly Parker of 94.3 The Drive, that you're not really in radio until you've been fired. "It took me 33 years to break in, and now I'm here," he quips. → Read More
After a topsy-turvy 18 months, RWB prepares for a moving return to the stage
It’s been a long year-and-a-half for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. After the pandemic wiped out what was supposed to be a jubilant 80th season in 2020/21, the company had to figure out how to keep on dancing. → Read More
Activism, fight for medical rights drove creation of Women’s Health Clinic four decades ago
In September, Texas passed the most restrictive abortion law in America. It bans abortions after six weeks, a point at which many women don’t know they are pregnant. → Read More
Cynicism fuels Instagram's barrage on self-esteem
Most of us know, in our hearts, that the time we spend scrolling through Instagram is doing us no favours. Turns out that Facebook, which owns Instagram, knows it, too. → Read More
Education puts new lens on Canadian history
At The Forks, you will find a 3.5-metre bison made out of books. The sculpture, created by Indigenous artist Val Vint, is called Education is the new Bison, inspired by a phrase used by elders to underline the importance of education as a sustaining, nourishing resource. → Read More
Rock ‘n’ roll force of nature
Gerry-Jenn Wilson was, to borrow a line from the Rolling Stones, like a rainbow. → Read More
Salon closures during pandemic encourage women to proudly embrace their grey hair
Until recently, Monique Doyle had been colouring her hair for so long, she couldn’t remember what her natural shade was. Doyle, 50, started going grey in her 30s. For decades, she went to the salon every six weeks to have her mane transformed into a rich auburn. → Read More
As live music returns, it's vax, hugs and rock 'n' roll
It’s that moment when the house lights go down for me. That moment when everyone cheers because they know the band they’ve been waiting weeks/months/years/lifetimes to see is about to take the stage. That moment before the first note rings out, when there’s still a whole concert ahead. → Read More
Time to take a break from honouring figureheads, Indigenous artists say
WHEN statues come down, it’s only natural to ask questions: who did they depict, what did they represent, who did they honour, who did they harm, which stories did they tell, which ones did they erase? Who decided to put them up in the first place? → Read More
Grad dresses a stark reminder of students' losses this year
Alexa Craig knew she’d found The Dress the moment she stepped into it. It was a crisp day in late fall, and she and her mom had only begun shopping for grad dresses. → Read More
New artistic director has big dreams for WSO
Angela Birdsell was in grade 3 or 4 when she saw the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for the first time. It was during a school field trip to an afternoon rehearsal at the Centennial Concert Hall, which, in the 1970s, was still fairly new. → Read More
Labours of love
Mothers feed us, bathe us, clothe us and comfort us. And when they’re not busy raising their own children, many mothers also spend their days taking care of others. During the coronavirus pandemic, the demands of motherhood and caregiving have increased exponentially — a reality that has been taken in stride for those who are now frontline workers at home and on the job. → Read More
After spending diamond anniversary separated by COVID-19, couple celebrate 76th year together in same room
Last April, John and Ruth Schroeder had to celebrate a milestone wedding anniversary separated by a pane of glass. John, 102, and Ruth, 99, have been “John and Ruth” for three-quarters of a century, and people who have been together for three-quarters of a century should at least be able to hold hands on their 75th wedding anniversary. → Read More
The waiting is, indeed, the hardest part; only 347,536 to go!
We’ve suffered from Zoom fatigue. We’ve hit the pandemic wall. → Read More
Winnipegger created block therapy to address chronic pain, disrupted sleep
Welcome to Jen Tries, a semi-regular feature in which Free Press columnist Jen Zoratti will try something new and report back. In this instalment, Jen Tries... Block Therapy. → Read More
Curating COVID: artifacts sought for posterity
Last March, Roland Sawatzky gazed out his office window at the Manitoba Museum. The province had just announced its first COVID-19 cases and, already, Sawatzky recognized history unfolding. → Read More
Royal life a blight on Meghan and Harry's storybook romance
When Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in 2018, it was called a fairy tale. Here was a couple, obviously in love. → Read More
''Normal' January misery delivers glorious and expected geographic brutality
At the time of this writing, the mercury is hovering at -30 C. There's not a cloud in the sky, which is a crystalline, eye-watering blue. On social media, low-stakes debates about temperature vs. wind chill — and that meme asking, "Why am I living where the air hurts my face?" — have popped up like reliable old pals. → Read More
Sad but sanguine snowbirds steel for winter at home
Judy and Bob Baker have been going to Arizona every winter for more than a decade, exchanging the face-freezing windchills and knee-high snowdrifts of a Winnipeg winter for flowers in February and fragrant citrus trees. The warm weather was a boon to the couple’s mental and physical health, and the Bakers, who have been married for 55 years, enjoyed spending time with people in their own age… → Read More