Hého… Let’s Go… to Winnipeg! Festival du Voyageur
By Kathleen Somers
If you’re going to bundle up and venture your group out into the winter cold, what better place to go than a festival that celebrates travelers. A ten-day winter event in Winnipeg, Manitoba, during February fits the bill perfectly. The Festival du Voyageur (translated as Festival of the Traveler) celebrates Canada’s fur trading past and her unique French heritage with entertainment, arts, crafts, music, and displays. It’s Western Canada’s largest winter festival, the experience of which will convince your group that winter just isn’t long enough.
Those early fur traders were a hardy bunch, and while life might have been harsh, complaining was not their style. No, they kept a happy attitude and a joyful spirit no matter what life dealt. It’s that same joie de vivre that Festival du Voyageur captures and delivers consistently to your groups. The voyageur era included First Nation Tribes and Métis, an ethnic group of mixed Cree, Ojibwa, Saulteaux, French Canadian, Scottish and English. Festival du Voyageur offers an opportunity to learn about, experience, and celebrate all those cultures, but you certainly don’t have to belong to any particular one. Indeed, the festival is designed to appeal to all ages, all appetites, all sizes, all types, and well…ALL.
From its humble beginnings as a three-day event in Winnipeg’s French Quarter in 1970, the festival has grown to its present size and location. Permanently housed at the reconstructed Fort Gibraltar in Voyageur Park, the festival now has plenty of room for the nearly 100,000 travelers attending the 10-day celebration. Fort Gibraltar stands most of the year as an historical site featuring colorful characters living in 1815. Come February though, well, that’s when Gibraltar awakens to the beat of the voyageur and the excitement of winter festivities. That’s when the “World’s Largest Kitchen Party” kicks off.
Mark your calendar for February 17-26, 2012. And to figure out when Winnipeg’s largest festival is held any year, just know that Louis Riel Day is always the third Monday of February. Louis Riel is considered, by many Canadian folk, a hero. He is one of the founders of the province and frequently referred to as the “Father of Manitoba.” So it’s fitting that the Festival du Voyageur always begins the Friday prior to Louis Riel Day and continues for ten days. If you can’t remember Louis Riel, just remember Presidents’ Day—they are the same day on the calendar.
Recognizing the special needs of groups, the folks at Festival du Voyageur have done an excellent job of accommodating motorcoach tours. Maison du Bourgeois, a large and elegant log structure within the fort, serves as the venue for group reservations, dinners, and a traditional French Canadian music and show offered exclusively to groups. Packages include a one-day pass to Voyageur Park, the central hub of the festival. There you have access to multiple tents with food, entertainment, the International Snow Sculpting Symposium, arts and crafts, plus so much more. Your group will also enjoy reserved seating at a dinner and show in La Maison du Bourgeois.
There’s a torchlight walk on opening night that I highly recommend. Participants gather at The Forks and carry candles or torches across the frozen river to Voyageur Park. It’s so much fun to be a part of, so they’ve made is accessible for those who choose not to walk by having buses at the ready for them. It’s a sight to behold either way.
You may choose to customize your package to include festival merchandise such as the signature voyageur sash (ceinture fléchée). Or maybe you would like to do a special and memorable group activity like weaving a giant sash. Your contact for making your group experience the best is Maxine Robert 204-237-7692 ext 225, or email at mrobert@heho.ca. She can also assist in getting you in touch with other attractions in the city.
You’ll find themed tents, heated and warm, 12-foot high snow sculptures, fiddling, jigging, costumed voyageurs, free snowshoeing workshop, souvenirs, artesian tents, canoe races, a pea soup challenge, rope weaving, works of art, music of all kinds, dancing, French Canadian food like sugar pie made with maple syrup, and, well, the list goes on. It is such a unique event, fun and warm and welcoming…and it just happens to be in the winter. Everyone who’s having fun give me a hého!
