By Sierra Hemingway, Junior Reporter
Have you ever wanted to go out in Brandon with your friends to do something that doesn’t cost a lot of money?
1. The easiest activity I have found to do in Brandon, that is also my personal favourite, is to go for a walk in one of the many parks! Whether you want to swing on a swing set or watch beavers swim in the river, Brandon has nine unique and beautiful parks that you can enjoy... until there’s three feet on snow on the ground.
2. Brandon is a city with many cool sites and a lot of personality, which mirrors all the unique people who live in the city. The Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba hosts local and regional artists’ creations. Walking through the Gallery and admiring the work can strike up various conversations with your friends! While contemplating what the artist was trying to portray, what it reminds you of, or any other thoughts and contemplations, you and your friends can talk about your own hobbies and what you like the most about each of the pieces.
3. The Western Manitoba Regional Library can be a great place to spend time with friends, and it is also completely free! You may have to make sure that you stay quiet, but it can be a great place to strike up conversations about favourite genres. It can also sometimes be a place of childhood memories. For myself, I used to go to the library in my home city often as a kid but growing up I went less. Now when I go, it’s often quite nostalgic. You may even be able to find and rent a movie for entertainment in the evening as well - maybe a movie that you can’t find on Netflix or Prime Video.
4. Also, one of my favourite things is to eat after a nice walk. Though it’s not free, eating out can be cheaper if you go to the right place and possibly get leftovers for another meal, which splits the meal price in half! Yes, that is my girl math for you! Eating out, whether its at a fast-food restaurant or a nice sit-down restaurant, can be worth the few dollars with the right company. I often feel bad about going out to meals the times I do, but the memories are so valuable. I mean, who can put a price tag on memories?
5. Wandering around a few stores may seem boring, but you can make it fun with your friends! The cheapest way to go about doing this would probably be to wander around thrift stores exclusively, but there are many stores in Brandon that are worth looking at! For example, there are many stores in the Shoppers Mall where you can find food, jewellery, clothes, books and my personal favourite, school supplies! Browsing can make it hard to not buy everything you want, but to get around that, an idea that may be fun and helpful is to write down the things you see that you want and ask for them as Christmas presents, or take note for the future when you can get what you want without any guilt about spending the money.