Tourism Winnipeg

Canadian Museum for Human Rights RAW: almond: Jacqueline Young The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre presents 10 plays per year (October through May) with six at the John Hirsch Mainstage and four at the Tom Hendry Warehouse, while they also present the Master Playwright Festival (February) and the Winnipeg Fringe Festival (every July), which is North America's second- largest fringe fest. There's also the Rachel Brown Theatre — where you can catch intimate and often edgy indie plays and Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers, along with Prairie Theatre Exchange — which puts on six performances per year. Finally, there's Canada's longest-running outdoor theatre, Rainbow Stage, where two to three Broadway musicals are performed in July and August. For visual arts, there are numerous galleries located throughout the Exchange District, The Forks and Winnipeg's more central neighbourhoods, the majority of which showcase local works. Our main artistic institution of course is the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG), which is Canada's oldest civic art gallery and home to the largest public collection of Inuit art in the world. Finally, this would not be an Arts & Culture guide without Winnipeg's most eye-catching attraction, that being the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR). Simply put, the CMHR is one of the most stunning buildings in Canada, a setting so extraordinary that there is a tour dedicated solely to its architecture. An exploration of its interactive galleries — which utilize a combination of new media displays and artifacts — will have you climbing from the cavernous ground floor up to the illuminating Tower of Hope, which provides panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. Celebrate Winter If Frosty the Snowman was to visit Winnipeg in the winter, he'd certainly be a very happy soul. With his eyes made out of coal he'd see a veritable winter wonderland; a scene with icy, snowy goodness that surely would cause his corn cob pipe to fall out of his mouth as his snow-packed chin hit the floor. Plus, old Frosty would really be in his element as there is no way he would melt away in a day. In fact, he could pretty much hit the town from December to March, taking in some of the world's best winter festivals and events. For starters, there is Festival du Voyageur (February 17-26), Western Canada's largest winter festival. All of St. Boniface — Winnipeg's French Quarter — brims over with a joie de vivre for this one. Along its streets you'll find massive snow sculptures and lively events in its restaurant and bars that complement the main action, which can be found within the gates of Fort Gibraltar. At the fort, costumed interpreters will regale Frosty with tales from their fur-trading days, before he has some maple taffy on snow and some savoury French fare before hitting the dance floors of the many tents where outstanding bands play all throughout the weekends (mind you, those shows can get quite hot). He could also find some new clothes — like a fur hat — in the many artisan tents, or perhaps even some fresh winter wares at Festival du Voyageur's fashion show on ice at The Forks. The Forks is the spot in winter where our #weownwinter hashtag is most evident. It's here Frosty can lace up his skates (or rent them from the market) before heading out on the Red River Mutual Trail — one of the world's longest naturally frozen trails. While he's skating he'll spot an abundance of stylish warming huts — which are the results of international architecture competitions. He can also skate up onto The Forks' on-land trails before trading in those skates for a snowboard, skis or a slide at the Arctic Glacier Winter Park. Winnipeg is also the location of one of the world's most unique dining experiences every winter. At RAW:almond, an annual pop-up restaurant and Canadian Tourism Award winner, diners experience multi-course meals prepared by some of North America's (and Winnipeg's) finest chefs served on long communal tables in an elaborate tent on the frozen Assiniboine River. Along with three nightly seatings (where diners purchase tickets in advance), there's also brunch service on weekends that you can enjoy in your skates (or boots) on a first come, first served basis. RAW:almond 2017 runs January 19-February 13. 12 2017 OFFICIAL VISITOR'S GUIDE Winnipeg

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