Winnipeg Attractions

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is the home of the annual Folklorama festival; featuring two weeks of multicultural events. This festival celebrates the ethnic heritage of the region with wonderful food, folkdances, arts, crafts, and music. 2010 will see the 40th Anniversary of the Folklorama festival, which was intended to be a one-time celebration of their centennial. Fortunately, it was so successful that it became an annual event.

Since the festival runs for two weeks, half of the pavilions are operating the first week, and the remainder the second week – mostly in the evening hours. It is recommended that visitors pick three pavilions to visit each night, and choose from the following recommendations:

1. The first week there are approximately 25 countries represented including Africa, Brazil, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Italy, Russian, Sudan, the Philippines and several other countries...

Looking for an interesting museum while visiting Winnipeg, Manitoba? The Manitoba Museum is just the fascinating alternative to a routine day. It explores the great history and environment of the area from the northern Arctic coastlines to the southern prairie grasslands, a Planetarium, and the Nonsuch ship replica from 1668. In all, this museum offers a unique form of entertainment that is educational and enjoyable.

Some of the exhibits housed in the Manitoba Museum include the following:

1. The Orientation Gallery depicts a Metis hunter stalking a heard of bison, which introduces the philosophical theme of the Muesum's interrelationships of man and nature.

2. The Arctic/Sub-Arctic gallery is lit with a fascinating aurora and covers the Arctic region of the Hudson Bay. Among the highlights include a large polar bear and a herd of migrating caribou.

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The Festival du Voyageur is an annual ten day winter celebration in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that is a tribute to those involved in the fur trading industry. Voyageur means traveler, and commemorates the unique heritage and culture of the area through music, arts, crafts, folklore, music, and dance. The first three-day festival, celebrated in March of 1970 with approximately 50,000 visitors, has now turned into a full ten days of heritage and culture events.

There is much to be enjoyed at the Festival du Voyageur, including the following special activities:

1. The River Trail allows visitors to skate, walk, or go sledding along a natural skating trail enjoying the picturesque sights of Winnipeg along the Assiniboine River.

2. Fort Gibraltar provides special programs including arts and crafts, folklore, historic presentation, voyageur games, and strolling musicians. There are numerous characters in appropriate costumes to keep the visitors interesting and encourage participation...

The Manitoba Children's Museum, opened in 1983, is housed in the historic Kinsmen building, formerly Canadian National Railroad's engine repair depot. There are several exhibits at the museum stimulating the interest of young children, and encouraging their imagination. During the Christmas season, the museum has a Santa's Village and magnificent lighting display..

Since there is so much for children to see and do in the Manitoba Children's Museum, here are some of the recommended highlights:

1. Spring Break Day Camp is a special event for children that features fun-filled days with workshops and a variety of activities that invigorate their bodies and stimulate their minds, and includes field trips and many activities.

2. Each month has its own Project du Jour which includes crafts such as yogurt cup circle paintings, tie-dyed painted shamrocks, hand painted tulips, bunny ears, and many other projects to keep young minds stimulated...

Dr. and Mrs. Mol inaugurated Leo Mol Sculpture Garden within the Assiniboine Park on June 18, 1992. The one-of-its-kind sculpture garden has mesmerized many awe-struck art lovers. The Leo Mol Sculpture Garden is part lush garden, part museum and part art gallery. Located in Manitoba province, near the Pavilion, this combination of nature and art is unique in the world. There are hundreds of sculptures that would keep you engrossed for an entire day as you stroll around the garden pathways.

Dr. Leo Mol was master sculptor and his visions are indeed quite a sight. Each sculpture is like a unique masterpiece. The garden was a result of the generous and philanthropic nature of Dr. Mol. He was born in 1915 in Ukraine, and he migrated to Winnipeg in 1949. He contributed all his bronze works along with paintings, ceramic art and drawings to his community - The City of Winnipeg...

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is also known as "Musee Canadien des Droits de la Personne" due to French being a major language in Canada along with English. It is located at the well-known "Forks" in Winnipeg, Manitoba (in Canada) where it is currently undergoing construction and is set to open in 2012. "The Forks" is a historically significant place located in Downtown Winnipeg where the Red River meets with the Assiniboine River.

Purpose of this museum is to improve the awareness of human rights, in order to encourage respect for everyone, boost righteous thinking and promote peace through dialogue. The project is the dream-child of CanWest founder Izzy Asper, who was born to Ukrainian Jewish Migrants. His daughter, Gail Asper, has been the force behind its construction. The Canadian Government turned it into a Federal Crown Corporation on 13th March 2008 through the Museums Act which came into force on 10th August 2008...

The Living Prairie Museum, located in Winnipeg in Manitoba (in Canada) is a unique natural museum of sorts. A "Prairie" refers to grasslands with long, slender, slanting grass. They are part of temperate climates and are generally characterized more by herbs, shrubs and grasses rather than trees. The "natural" museum spans across 12 hectares (30 Acres) of reserved and preserved land right inside the city of Winnipeg. The reserve was created in 1968 and contains well over 160 prairie plant species along with a wide variety of prairie based animals.

A team of International Biological Program discovered that only the areas around Winnipeg were the most undisturbed and hence this reserve was constituted over 4 decades ago. Before the colonization of North America by Europeans, almost all of it, from Texas to South Manitoba and Winnipeg, was covered in Prairie grass...

Like its name suggests, Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre is the favorite haunt of archaeologists and geologists. It is situated in Morden, Manitoba at the lower floors of the Morden Recreational Complex and is a very popular educational destination for all ages especially kids with programs such as Fossil Dig Programs, School Programs and Kids Programs among others. It is always counted in the top destinations to visit in Manitoba.

The Centre was earlier known as by the name of Morden and District Museum. It has one of the well-documented information regarding the Cretaceous period and marine reptiles of that era including the squid Tusoteuthis longa. Most of the fossils on display were found along the Manitoba Escarpment area in Pembina Hills around Red River Valley.

This museum contains one of the greatest collections of marine reptile fossils. Kids who love Dinosaurs just love Mosasaur, named Bruce, which is 43 ft long...

The building of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (Assemblee legislative du Manitoba in French) looks like a parliament building. It is the place where the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba meets in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. No surprise that it was earlier christened the Manitoba Parliament Building, instead of Legislative Building. The architecture can be described as new age classical or "neoclassical". This 77 meters tallbuilding was finished in 1920 and was designed and constructed by Frank Worthington Simon and Henry Boddington the Third, with the help of many other Masons and talented crafts-folk. Frank (1862-1933) studied neoclassical art at the École des Beaux-Arts. The most striking characteristic of the building is the "Golden Boy" - a gold plated bronze statue akin to the Roman god Mercury and the Greek god Hermes. It is fixed right on top of the cupola, or the famous domed ceiling of the Legislative Building...

"The Forks" is a historically significant place located in Downtown Winnipeg where the Red River meets with the Assiniboine River. It is the point of confluence of the two rivers. Both the rivers were part of larger continent-wide waterways. This site has always been a highly important origin and destination point for river transportation as well as for commerce and settlements. Fort Rouge, Fort Gibraltar and the two Forts' Garry were all historically located in The Forks.

A huge number of tourists throng the Forks during festivals, celebrations, events due to the soothing views. Aboriginal people came to the Forks as far as 6000 years ago. This was confirmed byarchaeological digs in 1989 and 1994 which discovered many ancient camps. The Aboriginal people (Nakoda (Assiniboins), Cree, Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) and Sioux (Dakota)) fished and hunted bisons. So the place is very historical.

Post European settlements between 1738 and 1880, the Forks became a great meeting place for place for fur traders, buffalo hunters, Scottish settlers, riverboat laborers, railway tycoons and many immigrants...

The WAG or Winnipeg Art Gallery was setup in 1912. Its purpose is to collect and display works of artists from Manitoba, Canada as well as from renowned international artists. The building itself is a work of art, shaped like an arrow head. It is situated at equal distance from the provincial legislature and the University. Over 23000 works form the permanent collection at the Gallery, which is really again a misnomer, as a gallery this large is surely a museum. It also has the distinction of being the first public/civic art gallery of Canada.

The origin of the building is quite an inspiring story. A group of businessmen from Winnipeg each contributed $200 in 1912 to form the WAG. They were sure that art has "a civilizing effect" and they began this institution of excellence with 2 rented rooms in the Federal Building that lies on the corner of Main and Water Streets...

The McPhillips Street Station Casino is one of two casinos in Winnipeg. The other one is Club Regent. It is located on a major street within the Winnipeg city limits. A whole host of various amenities is just a stone's throw away.

As the name implied the casino features the old world charm of a train station in all its design and interiors. McPhillips Station claims to make visitors relive the opulent times of yore and experience the street of a historical railway village and the charm of old world living.

The casino has stupendous views showered with the shimmering lights like in the chandelier in the Royal Alexandria Room, The casino claims to make people forget time and get lost in the past glory days. The exceptional old-world charm and elegance in this one-of-a-kind casino has created many loyal visitors...