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Photo courtesy of Adrenaline Adventures Snowshoeing at FortWhyte Alive: Stan Swanson 38 2016 FALL/WINTER EVENTS & ITINERARIES GUIDE Winnipeg Family Fun (#bestparentsever) You won't need to tell the kids this — as they'll be all over Instagram and Snapchat upon arrival with their iPads — but there are a couple #hashtags that cool parents should be in the know of when looking for fun #onlyinthepeg where #weownwinter. First, as to that #weownwinter bit, it's most evident during Western Canada's biggest winter festival, Festival du Voyageur #FDV #Heho! This 10-day festival sees St. Boniface, and particularly Fort Gibraltar, turned into a family friendly party replete with giant snow sculptures (carved by international artists), voyageur games, snowshoeing, live music, maple taffy, costumed interpreters, and French food — all in the name of Winnipeg's historical foundation as a French fur trading hub. (February 17–26) Second, there's #meetmeattheforks — which we assure you has nothing to do with being a carnivore. That's "meet me at The Forks," as in Winnipeg's most-visited tourist attraction, which is a veritable fall and winter wonderland. There's no shortage of kid-friendly institutions at The Forks. For starters, get tickets to Manitoba Theatre for Young People whose 2016/17 season starts October 26 and includes performances of Alligator Pie and The Jungle Book. As well, there's the Children's Museum, where kids have a blast using their creative — yet educational — play structures. Outside, when the snow covers Winnipeg, you and the family can rent skates (from inside The Forks Market) and join everyone out on the Red River Mutual Trail, one of the world's longest naturally frozen trails. Novice skaters can sit in groovy red chairs while parents push them past the numerous internationally designed warming huts (they hold a contest each year for new entries) along the trail. They also have kilometres of on-land skating trails that are simply stunning with their overhead lighting. If your kids are #shredders they can try out the Arctic Glacier Winter Park which features snowboard rails and table tops, or if you're #borntobemild you can partake in a leisurely horse-drawn carriage ride around The Forks (usually only on weekends). Your final find at The Forks is The Great Ice Show, a spectacular world of ice sculptures, slides, ice bumper cars and other illuminated, amusing frozen things, whose carvers and artists come all the way from Harbin, China to create. Next there's FortWhyte Alive, an urban nature reserve that has an incredible array of activities. In fall, you can still take to their lakes in their large voyageur canoes, or perhaps even head out for a sail in their small boats, while plenty of nature trails — along with the world's largest urban bison herd — can be found year round. In winter, traverse these trails on snowshoes or cross-country skis, or go for a skate or ice fish on those lakes. Afterward, warm-up fireside and roast marshmallows or bake bannock over an open flame with FortWhyte's staff. Adrenaline Adventures is the place for winter thrill seekers of all ages. Their snow tubing hills have various lanes ranging from extreme — which will see riders gaining maximum speed and some big air off jumps, to more casual rides that would be just fine with the little kids and grandparents. They even have a towrope that will bring you back up the hill, while snowboarders can also bring their boards to challenge Adrenaline's terrain park.