|
Winnipeg
is Canada's Cultural Capital and Gateway to the
West
by
Jerry W. Bird
 Call
it Chicago North, Canada's Crossroads, or simply
"The Peg" - Manitoba's capital (population 700,000)
is home to no less than 50 ethnic groups, all of
which take part in Folklorama - a Manitoba Mardis
Gras. Winnipeg is also the
largest
center of French culture outside Quebec and hosts
the Annual Festival du Voyageur in St. Boniface,
Winnipeg's French Quarter.
Having
spent many fun times in and around Winnipeg during
my air force days and later at conventions,
recording sessions, photo shoots and business
trips, it was fun to write the following piece for
Latitudes Magazine featuring the historic
Yellowhead
Highway,
which begins here at the Forks and extends westward
through four provinces to the Pacific
Coast.
Check your map;
see how the streets converge like spokes on a giant
bicycle wheel. Three historic rivers, the Red,
Assiniboine and Seine, merge here at a place called
The Forks. Not long ago, trains shunted back
and forth, and river craft dumped their cargo at
this downtown site. Today it's the "in place" - an
oasis of greenery, scenery and people-watching,
with shops, sidewalk cafes, and a river front
promenade. To many first nations people, The Forks
is where their ancestors hunted, fished and camped
for centuries. The Forks National Historic Site
preserves that 6,000 year legacy with interpretive
programs, displays, sculptures, festivals and
special events.
(See
map of Province
below)
|
Food
for Thought
According
to Mayor Glen Murray, Winnipeg has the
most restaurants per capita of any
Canadian city, which is not hard to
believe when you consider the ethnic mix.
His other comments were, “The reality
of Winnipeg is so vastly different from
the image held by so many people who have
not been here. Whether it's riverside
parks, over 100 km of navigable waterways
within the city, or the activities that
seem to be never-ending around the city's
famous 'Portage and Main' at the downtown
center, Winnipeg is as culturally
fascinating and scenically blessed as any
of her colleagues across the nation.”
www.tourism.winnipeg.mb.ca
|
Lower
Fort Garry National Historic Site
North
America's oldest stone fur trading post stands as a
lone sentinel on the Red River. Launch point for
York Boat brigades, off to Hudson's Bay, Mackenzie
or Athabaska Country, and Red River carts bound for
Minnesota, it was a bastion of Empire. Plan to stay
awhile - fresh bread's baking in the stone oven at
Governor Simpson's Big House - dinner's on, and a
magic lantern show is about to tell the fort's
unique story.
It's a short drive
to
Portage La Prairie,
Mile "0" on the Yellowhead Highway. Here, muscles
of steel were needed to tote one's canoe overland.
Today, Portage is a major food processing center,
amidst some of the world's richest farmland. Lake
Manitoba's beaches bring fond memories from my air
force days. Macdonald Air force base, near Portage,
was my hub of activities for several years as an
RCAF weatherman --it was a fascinating area. I met
a group from Southport
at the Abbotsford Airshow and was pleased to learn
that the city's other base is alive and thriving as
a training and technical center. You'll hear much
more about their projects in a future issue of Air
Highways Magazine.
Airlines
Serving Winnipeg
 Air
BC/ Air Canada/ Bearskin Airlines/ Canada 3000
Canadian Airlines International/ Canadian Regional
Airlines
Evergreen (Cargo)/ First Air/ Northwest
Royal Aviation (Cargo)/ Westjet
Scheduled
Destinations
Alberta:
Calgary / Edmonton
Saskatchewan:
Regina / Saskatoon
British
Columbia:
Vancouver/ Abbotsford
Ontario:
Toronto / Ottawa/ Thunder Bay
Quebec:
Montreal
Northwest
Territories:
Rankin Inlet
USA:
Minneapolis, Minnesota/ Chicago,
Illinois
Charter
Destinations
Canada:
Victoria, British Columbia
Caribbean:
Montego Bay, Jamaica/ Puerto Plata, Dominican
Republic
San Jose, Costa Rica / Varadero, Cuba
Europe:
London, UK /
Frankfurt, Germany
Mexico:
Acapulco,/ Cancun/ Cozumel/ Ixtapa/ Manzanillo/
Mazatlan/ Puerto Vallarta
USA:
Las Vegas, Nevada/ Orlando, Florida/ Palm Springs,
California/ Phoenix, Arizona
Cargo:
Grand Forks,
ND/ Memphis, TN/ Nanjing and Schenzen,
China
Exploring
Manitoba:
At Minnedosa, voted
Manitoba's most beautiful town, a side trip leads
to Riding Mountain National Park. In this "island
of the prairies", buffalo roam and 500 species of
wildlife thrive. Remember when we were kids, wolves
used to whistle -- right? Well you can take wolf
howling lessons here, but the Plains Indians'
relationship with the buffalo is the top item on
the agenda. Bathers can enjoy Clear Lake's sandy
beach; those afoot and on horseback, can rove the
meadows, aspen groves and evergreen forests on a
network of trails. Steeped in the history of hearty
voyageurs and European culture, Winnipeg's sleek
skyline welcomes you to a landscape where massive
herds of buffalo once roamed across the
Prairies.
For information by
mail or phone, contact:
Tourism Winnipeg, 279 Portage Avenue,
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2B4
Ph: 204-943-1970, 1-800-665-0204 (Toll-free in
North America)
Fax: 204-942-4043
WpgInfo@Tourism.Winnipeg.MB.Ca
Winnipeg
International Airshow
please call for times
74 Shamrock Drive, Winnipeg, Manitoba
(204) 257-8400, (204) 256-7799 fax
[Top
of page]
|
..
..
