Qaumajuq, the new museum inside the
Winnipeg Art Gallery, houses the world's
largest collection of contemporary Inuit art
with over 27,000 pieces. See nearly 5,000
stone carvings in the Visible Vault, catch
new rotating exhibitions and stop in at
Katita Café and the Gallery Shop. Admission
to the first floor is always free (www.wag.ca/
about/qaumajuq).
CITY LIGHTS
Foodies alert: Manitoba's culinary scene is a
rising gem, from haute to heavy-duty
chowing down. You'll find food tours that
cover Winnipeg's West End—the city's
unofficial dining district—as well as beer and
spirit tours through the historic Exchange
District (www.soncinatravel.com/tours).
Manitoba's famous Fall Suppers circuit
offers home-cooked, hearty, community hall
family-style fare all autumn long, with
listings at Travel Manitoba (www.travelman-
itoba.com). Shoppers will be overjoyed with
the Outlet Collection Winnipeg's high-end
brands, and special tourist deals
(www.outletcollectionwinnipeg.com).
Summer brings the Winnipeg Goldeyes
AAA baseball to Shaw Park
(www.goldeyes.com). Canada Life Centre,
the winter home of NHL hockey's Winnipeg
Jets, mounts concerts and special events
year-round (www.canadalifecentre.ca),
while the city's south end CFL Winnipeg
Blue Bombers' Investors Group Field
tackles big blockbuster concerts
(www.bluebombers.com/stadium). In
July, the four-day Winnipeg Folk Festival at
Birds Hill Provincial Park, north of the city,
is family-friendly (www.winnipegfolk
festival.ca), as is the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's
"Ballet in the Park" at Assiniboine Park's
outdoor Lyric Theatre (www.rwb.org).
Winnipeg warms up winter with the
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
(www.wso.ca), Manitoba Opera
(www.mbopera.ca), the Royal Manitoba
Theatre Centre, Tom Hendry Warehouse
Theatre (www.royalmtc.ca) and Prairie
Theatre Exchange (www.pte.mb.ca). Year-
round, Thermëa by Nordik Spa in the city's
south end (www.thermea.ca) and Ten Spa at
the Hotel Fort Garry (www.tenspa.ca),
provide sybaritic pleasures.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Provincial parks provide groomed hiking
trails and offer on-line summer campsite
bookings, and most are near small towns
where local motels appeal to family-oriented
explorers (www.gov.mb.ca/sd/parks/
index.html). Whiteshell Provincial Park
(www.whiteshell.mb.ca) is a handy hour's
drive east of Winnipeg and, further afield,
wilderness wanderers can take to lakes and
rivers in canoes, kayaks, or fishing boats.
Cosy resort communities like Grand Beach,
Gimli, Winnipeg Beach, Victoria Beach,
Sandy Hook, Matlock, and many more lay
claim to wide, sandy beaches. Gimli is a
favourite weekend hangout with its
charming marina and beach-town
atmosphere (www.gimli.ca), along with
an annual celebration of Icelandic culture
each August during the three-day festival
called Islendingadagurinn. In Spruce
Woods Provincial Park, a day tripper's
hiking trail covers forests, hills, a genuine
desert, and the eerie, deepwater blue
Devil's Punch Bowl (www.travelmani-
toba.com/directory/spruce-woods-
provincial-park).
HERITAGE AND CULTURE
Winnipeg's historic Exchange District is
home to the Design Quarter, a casual
grouping of eclectic, original design shops
ranging from fashion to fine dining and fine
art (www.designquarterwinnipeg.ca).
Outside the city, historic gems include
Thompson's Heritage North Museum and its
tales of the Indigenous Peoples of the area
(www.heritagenorthmuseum.ca); and, in
MB
50
CHURCHILL LAZY BEAR • TRAVEL MANITOBA
Special Events
www.travelmanitoba.com/
things-to-do/art-arts/festivals-events
JANUARY – FEBRUARY
• WINNIPEG NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL
FEBRUARY
• FESTIVAL DU VOYAGEUR, WINNIPEG
• NORTHERN MANITOBA TRAPPERS'
FESTIVAL, THE PAS
MARCH
• FESTIVAL OF FOOLS, WINNIPEG
• HUDSON BAY QUEST, CHURCHILL
MAY
• MANITO AHBEE FESTIVAL, WINNIPEG
• WINNIPEG COMEDY FESTIVAL
MAY – JUNE
• PRIDE WINNIPEG
JUNE
• MANITOBA ELECTRONIC MUSIC
EXHIBITION, WINNIPEG
• MANITOBA SUMMER FAIR, BRANDON
• TD WINNIPEG INTERNATIONAL
JAZZ FESTIVAL
JULY
• MANITOBA STAMPEDE & EXHIBITION,
MORRIS
• WINNIPEG FOLK FESTIVAL, BIRDS HILL
PROVINCIAL PARK
• WINNIPEG FRINGE THEATRE FESTIVAL
AUGUST
• CANADA'S NATIONAL UKRAINIAN
FESTIVAL, DAUPHIN
• FOLKLORAMA, WINNIPEG
• ICELANDIC FESTIVAL, GIMLI
SEPTEMBER
• MANYFEST, WINNIPEG
• NUIT BLANCHE, WINNIPEG
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER
• CULTURE DAYS, WINNIPEG
OCTOBER
• WINNIPEG COMICCON
THE ST. BONIFACE MUSEUM, ORIGINALLY
BUILT AS A GREY NUNS' CONVENT, IS
WINNIPEG'S OLDEST BUILDING AND NORTH
AMERICA'S LARGEST OAK LOG STRUCTURE.
Quick Fact
