Take advantage of Canada’s gems this year
Every community has its little events and festivals. You know the ones. To locals they are a gem while to outsiders they might seem a little off the wall. And Manitoba is a great place to celebrate, well, anything really.
The list is so long that I can’t even name them all. Off the top of my head I think of Festival du Voyageur, the Corn and Apple Festival, the Icelandic Festival. If you aren’t from around these parts some of the activities at these events might not resonate. That is, until you experience them.
I just got back from Whitehorse where I was invited to check out the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Festival (arguably one of the longest event names I have ever had to rattle off over and over again on the radio while covering the festivities). And admittedly when I saw the initial lineup of events my eyebrows raised a little, maybe I smirked, maybe I shook my head a little.
After all, my first night there I went to a burlesque show. I also took in an axe throwing contest. There were bed races. There was a dog howling contest. I even got a chance to meet the queen. Probably not the one you are thinking of but the Queen Mum of the festival was there where we had a great interview. (And I even got a very fancy teacup and saucer as a souvenir from her.)
At first I was skeptical about having a good time. Once I was in the heart of the action I was kicking up my heels and dancing during the variety show and waving at the community members on parade floats as the festival came to a close. And there was just as many people lining the streets in Whitehorse as there were for Donald Trump’s inaugural parade.
Nevertheless, as we approach Canada’s 150th birthday I encourage you to check out as much of this country as you can. It doesn’t have to be a cross-country adventure. Even exploring things in southern Manitoba or someplace close by is enough to make you realize how – dare I say it – kick ass this country is.
See the fun from Sourdough Rendezvous at winter.jbonair.com.
