Two Facts and a Fib

Two Facts and a Fib - Trivia from the 2026 Brandon First Night of Delight

We had so much fun with these on the bus I thought I'd share them for you at home! Test your Brandon knowledge, and maybe you'll take away a new factoid or two you never knew about our City!

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Round 1 - Exploring the Riverbank

Statement 1: The Assiniboine Canoe/Kayak Cove is a fully accessible water launch located south of the Discovery Centre; the peaceful river inlet it sits in was actually carved out naturally by the massive historic floods of 2011 and 2014.

Statement 2: The Brandon Riverbank grounds feature a sprawling underground bat sanctuary beneath Festival Park that helps protect local nocturnal wildlife.

Statement 3: The grounds are being transformed into an international artistic destination through a multi-year project installing 16 large-scale wildlife bronze sculptures created by renowned Manitoba artist Peter Sawatzky.

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Round 2 - Brandon Sports Edition

Statement 1: The Brandon Cloverleafs were widely regarded as one of the ultimate senior sports dynasties in Manitoba history. They were the only franchise to compete in all 55 years of the Manitoba Senior Baseball League's (MSBL) existence, winning championships in six different decades.

The Brandon University Bobcats men's basketball team achieved legendary status by winning three consecutive national CIS (now U Sports) championships in the late 1980s. BU’s next national title would come decades later when the Men’s Volleyball team won the CIS nationals at home at the HLC in 2025.

Former NHL All-Star defenseman and powerhouse hitter Dion Phaneuf briefly suited up and played three games for the Brandon Wheat Kings as a 15-year-old teenager before officially making his major junior debut.

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Round 3 - City Landmarks

Statement 1: Brandon’s iconic water tower, still visible from many places in the city, was built in 1882 at Brandon’s founding and was one of the longest used water towers of its type in Canada.

Statement 2: The Dome Building’s actual name is Display Building Number 2. It is the last remaining display building built for the Dominion Fairs, and it is more than 113 years old.

Statement 3: The historic seven-storey McKenzie Seeds building on 9th Street was the very first building using a reinforced concrete structure ever constructed in Brandon.

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Round 4 - Brandon Venues

Statement 1: The Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium houses a large collection of authentic, mid-century-modern moulded Eames chairs! These aren't cheap knock-offs, they are design masterpieces worth thousands of dollars each, designed by the most famous furniture makers of the 20th century.

Statement 2: The massive Keystone Centre is so large that it sits on a footprint equivalent to about 5 football fields, all under one roof. It features three NHL size ice pads, a curling club, a main arena that seats roughly 4,600, meeting rooms, a 544-seat amphitheatre, the ACU Agricultural Centre and so much more!

Statement 3: The outdoor 400-metre running track at the Sportsplex was originally built as a dedicated outdoor speed skating oval for the 1979 Canada Winter Games, before being completely repurposed into a rubberized summer running track for the 1997 Canada Summer Games.

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Round 5 - Historical Brandon

Statement 1: When Brandon began in it grew so fast that it went from an empty field to a city of over 3,000 people in less than a year. In 1882 it was never incorporated as a village or town and went straight to City status.

Statement 2: The original municipal charter officially registered the name as "The City of Brandon-on-the-Assiniboine," but the title was legally shortened three years later because it was too long to fit on documents of the time.

Statement 3: Brandon was originally supposed to be located west of where it is and named "Grand Valley," but the local landowners refused to sell their land to the railway, so the CPR moved a few miles east and named it Brandon instead.

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Round 6 - Famous Connections

Statement 1: Tommy Douglas, the famous Canadian politician widely voted as "The Greatest Canadian" for introducing universal healthcare to the country, graduated from Brandon College (now Brandon University) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1930.

Statement 2: World-famous Canadian comedian Jim Carrey spent two summers in the 1970s working as a teenage counselor at a summer camp along the Little Saskatchewan river just outside Brandon.

Statement 3: On January 2, 1965, a teenage Neil Young traveled to Brandon and played a live gig at the Brandon Roller Rink. The band was paid a grand total of $100 for the night.

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Round 7 - Hollywood in the Wheat City

Statement 1: In 1993 the Brandon Airport and CAPTM were used as primary filming locations for wartime drama, For the Moment starring a then relatively unknown Russell Crowe.

Statement 2: In 2015 Dennis Quaid got a flat tire riding his bicycle just outside of Brandon and was given a ride to A+L to get his bike tire fixed.

Statement 3: In 1980 Keanu Reeves traveled to Brandon to try out as a goalie for the Brandon Wheat Kings before deciding to pursue full-time acting instead.

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Round 8 - Brandon Mental Health Centre and the Assiniboine College North Campus

Statement 1: The historic Brandon Mental Health Centre on the North Hill was so self-sufficient back in the day that it had its own farm, power plant, water tower, and fire fighters.

Statement 2: Today, Assiniboine College uses the beautifully restored site to house the state-of-the-art Manitoba Institute of Culinary Arts, the Len Evans Centre for Trades and Technology and the Russ Edwards School of Ag and Environment.

Statement 3: Because of its beautiful architecture, the campus was (very) briefly considered as a filming location for the Harry Potter movies to represent parts of Hogwarts.

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Round 9 - Local Food & Culinary Lore

Statement 1: Brandon, specifically Joe Beeverz, holds the Guiness World Record for the world’s largest serving of poutine.

Statement 2: Chez Angela holds the Canadian record for baking the largest sourdough, it’s famous Wheat City Sourdough, with a loaf weighing in at nearly four and a half POUNDS!

Statement 3: In Brandon, you can find food from more than 20 different countries like Colombia, Ukraine, Ethiopia, India and more!

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Round 10 - Parks & Rec

Statement 1: Originally established during Brandon's boom era in 1908, Rideau Park is one of the city's oldest and most historic municipal parks, featuring an outdoor public swimming pool that has served East End families since 1967

Statement 2: Brandon has over 90 city parks, playgrounds and greenspaces including 3 off leash dog parks and multiple splash pads and toboggan hills.

Statement 3: The city’s trail system is so well-connected that you can walk or bike from the far east end to the far west end of the city entirely on dedicated paved paths without ever crossing a single main road.

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BONUS ROUND - Wild Manitoba Weather

Statement 1: Brandon once experienced a freak summer weather event where it snowed the first week of July.

Statement 2: Brandon sees some of the largest temperature changes from summer to winter on the planet, with over a 90 degree Celsius or 162 degree Fahrenheit difference from our highest highs in July to our lowest lows in January.

Statement 3: Despite its harsh winters, Brandon is one of the sunniest places in Canada, averaging over 300 days of measurable sunshine every single year.

Your score is

The average score is 75%

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Two Facts and a Fib

Jenn Watson

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