The Festival du Voyageur has been held annually since 1970. Every February, people gather in what could be called the dead of winter and celebrate a wonderful heritage that helped create the city of Winnipeg—the French fur trade.
This year, Festival runs from February 17–26 (excluding February 21–22). The opening weekend is a long weekend in Manitoba on account of Louis Riel Day, which is quite fitting.
Festival du Voyageur is headquartered at the Voyageur Park at 233 Provencher Boulevard, in the heart of Saint Boniface. The festival employs thirteen full-time staff year-round, but in February they hire more than 200 employees. In 2013, 97,000 people attended the Festival.
A local family from Île-des-Chênes has been involved for almost 20 years.
“My husband and I, along with our two younger daughters, were the official family that represented the Festival at various other festivals and events in 1998 and ’99,” says Agathe Lacroix. “After that, we have remained involved in various capacities, such as helping host visiting festivals from the U.S. My husband, Guy, is a musician and has played at various festival venues over the years.”
There are plenty of things to do when you attend Festival. The Market Days run from February 18–25, in which 10 different artisans set up their tables in a heated 4,800-square-foot tent. For those who love to cook, the festival hosts a pea soup cook-off. There are also family-friendly, voyageur-themed games, not to mention areas to participate in winter activities like snowshoeing, skating, sledding, and sleigh rides.
Throughout the event, you can check out the hand-carved snow sculptures that reach up to six meters high. Festival also hosts the International Snow Sculpture Symposium, which brings together artists from all over the world. Teams each get a slab of snow measuring 10 feet by 12 feet. The pieces they create are meant to reflect their experience at the Festival du Voyageur.
Festival features an outdoor bar inside the four walls of Fort Gibraltar. People can visit Bar Gibraltar and enjoy the festive ambiance. A deejay plays music all night alongside a bonfire and fire jugglers.
If you’re more of an indoor person, Festival presents dozens of live musical performances and plenty of French cuisine to enjoy. As the festival is a celebration of a nineteenth-century fur-trading outpost, organizers also throw a period costume ball. The Bal du Gouverneur takes place at the Fort Garry Hotel and includes a five-course meal and dance.
“The Festival is our way of adding warmth to what would otherwise be a long cold spell from Christmas to spring,” says Lacroix. “It adds considerably to the economics of the city through the visitors that it attracts. It is also an excellent way of celebrating Francophone, Metis, and Aboriginal history.”
Tickets can be purchased at Safeway/Sobeys or at the Voyageur Park.
