Royal MB Winter Fair | 2026

THE BRANDON SUN • WINTER FAIR • 2026

2026 • WINTER FAIR • THE BRANDON SUN

If a dog needs more support, owners are there to guide them, especially if they are still getting comfortable per- forming for large crowds, she said. The training process is different for every dog, but Mills uses treat-based reinforcement to help her pets learn tricks, gain confidence and body awareness, she said. Zero learned basic tricks and started relay racing by the time he was a year old, but it’s a never-ending process, Mills said. “We’re continually training. We’re continually get- ting better.” About a month before the winter fair, Zero was working on a lot of body conditioning to ensure he’s physically able to run around for all of show week. He was also prac- ticing new tricks for his dance routine to the song “Boom” by the X Ambassadors. The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair will also feature a sec- ond show called Dogs Do Magic, which combines come- dy, illusions and mind-reading tricks, Matthews said. The 30-minute show will be put on twice per day in the amphitheatre.

“We always say the real magic of the show is seeing the love be- tween the performers and their dogs,” he said. This is the second year the Canine Circus and Dogs Do Magic are coming to the fair with both shows already scheduled to return next year, Matthews said. He said there are eight owners and 20 to 25 total dogs that will perform in either of the shows. Matthews’ five-year-old mini-Australian shepherd Kenobi is one of the mind-reading dogs in the magic show. “His favourite thing is playing on stage before the shows,” he said. “He doesn’t do too much in the shows. What he really loves is socialization.” Matthews encourages people in the crowd to meet the dogs after the show and give them what they love most – pets and treats.

Sarah Mills with her terrier mix Voltage.

Mills and her dogs will be performing as part of The Canine Circus at this year’s Winter Fair. Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun

“The real magic ... is seeing the love between the performers and their dogs.” — Aaron Matthews, the Canine Circus

A Canine Circus dog runs through an obstacle course during an afternoon performance. Hugo Girouard photo

Each of her dogs have a specific skillset and wait in the arena’s staging area until it’s their turn to showcase their talents. “If one dog seems to be getting a little bit more tired at the end of the week, we change it up all the time, so they aren’t getting bored,” she said. The Canine Circus will have three, 30-minute shows every day, starting March 30 to April 4. This particular dog show started out as a two-day drive-in spectacle during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since become a national touring sensation at fairs, festivals and theme parks, said Aaron Matthews. The show made it to the semi-finals on Canada’s Got Talent in 2022. Matthews came up with the initial drive-in idea along- side Brian O’Connor, who runs a dog training facility in Bowmanville, Ont. “With the Canine Circus, we’re taking big dog stunts that you could traditionally see in dog shows, but we’re trying to take it to the next level,” Matthews said. “We have a little dog named Rapid Fyre who jumps nine feet in the air in the show.” Rapid Fyre is a three-year-old whopper, border collie and terrier mix. Mills said all the dogs have performed many times and are so locked into their owner’s cues that they often need little instruction to retrieve objects, weave around poles, go through tunnels and complete jumps.

A dog with Canine Circus takes a flying leap from the body of a handler during a performance at the Westoba Place Arena. Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun