Men With Brooms TV Shoot to Help Fund Fort Rouge Upgrades

A summer-long shooting schedule for a TV series based on the popular 2001-02 film Men With Brooms will occupy the Fort Rouge Curling Club from late-June to the end of August and will make a significant contribution to the club's upstairs lounge renovation plans, the FRCC Annual General Meeting was told Thursday evening at the club. Upgrades to insulation and interior walls in the ice-shed are already underway, thanks to a federal government RinC grant reported here a week ago.

Ice will be installed for the entire summer at Fort Rouge for the exclusive purpose of shooting the on-ice sequences in the series which has been added to the CBC`s fall line-up, according to an article in today`s Winnipeg Free Press.

According to the Free Press story by Brad Oswald, Paul Gross (who starred in the feature film) is one of the show`s producers and will act as the narrator and occasional guest star.

According to Fort Rouge Manager Jeff Hodge and various committee reports presented at the AGM, the Fort Rouge lounge upgrade will continue after the TV shoot is concluded. Re-finishing of walls and ceiling and replacement of carpeting will bring the room up to the standard established with the first phase bar replacement last year.

The Fort Rouge AGM reported a positive year for the club with a full complement of 84 men's teams, the highest number since the days of two-night-a-week curling, 57 young people involved in the junior program, and a nearly full complement of mixed teams in the Friday evening, alternate Saturdays, and every third Saturday leagues all contributing to the club's positive bottom line.

"The ice will be available in September and we'll finally be able to respond to the many requests we get for early practice ice every year," Hodge says.