Festival du Voyageur: A Pictorial Post

In my last post I promised all of you a spectacular look at the spectacle that is the Festival du Voyageur international snow sculpture symposium.  Teams come from every corner of the globe to show off their best work to the demanding crowds here in Winnipeg.  Of course one would expect a number of teams from Canada and the northern United States, but would you expect to see teams from China, Spain, Mexico, or Argentina?

Winnipeg supplied the snow and the cold, they supplied the imagination and skill to turn simple snow and ice into a fantasy walk through the festival grounds.  Here for your viewing enjoyment are the best of the best, enjoy.

How they all began.

Awaiting carvers outside the fort.

Park entrance: Sled dogs on the run.

Sled dogs (close up)

Riding the sled.

Sled and riders (front view)

Hé Ho the party is on at Festival.

“Hé Ho, let’s go to festival”,  Darlene said.  Pronounced “Hay Ho” not “Hee Ho”, is just one of the many things a first time visitor to Festival du Voyageur has to learn when navigating the cultural mores that make St. Boniface’s annual winter festival so unique.

That’s right Anglophones leave your English-speaking ways at the gate of Fort Gibraltar, this is a Francophone festivity.  Based loosely on the mid-winter celebrations of the voyageur, this boisterous party celebrates French-Canadian culture and embraces the close bonds of community that only a harsh Canadian winter can bring.

Having won highly coveted tickets to see an invitation only concert by country music recording artist  Shane Yellowbird, we were all set for a night out.  As we left home the temperature was hovering at a balmy -18c but a strong wind decided to play havoc with our plans ensuring that any hardcore partying would have to be done in the relative comfort of one of the event tents set up around Whittier Park.

Having descended back into a deep freeze over the past couple of weeks seemed appropriate for Festival.  Ensuring that all the outdoor events went off without a hitch.  It seems counter intuitive actually wanting frigid temperatures but since so many of the outdoor events are dependant on cold weather not a single soul seemed to mind bundling up before heading out to the park.

Bar de Neige (Snow Bar)

Mid-Winter Magic: Festival du Voyageur is Almost Here.

Winter in Winnipeg can be simply brutal even for the heartiest of folk.  If you hail from a warmer climate just imagine days where the sun doesn’t rise until 8 am and sets before 4 pm in the depths of the season.  Imagine at least 4 solid months where the mercury never rises above freezing and on most days it’s hovering somewhere around -10 to -15 Celsius.  Imagine for a moment if you will of living in the city that often holds the title of coldest city on the planet.

The beginnings of a snow sculpture.

Is it any wonder why then in the middle of this madness we affectionately call winter that we hardy fools bundle up and head out into the winter darkness to enjoy Festival du Voyager. A predominantly french cultural affair that celebrates the men and women who opened up this part of the country during the fur trade of the 17 and 1800’s.

Carved from snow, a giant bird guards her egg.

Tourtière for supper! Two Voyageurs enjoy a hearty meal.

Winter in Winnipeg: Part 2

I guess that this past weekend has given a great deal of my readers a blanket of snow to deal with.  Here in Winnipeg we had a little snowstorm, only about 20 centimetres.  Nothing compared to what happened on the East Coast of North America. From what I understand some parts got upwards of 70 centimetres of the white stuff.

For the record,  amounts like that would even paralyse Winnipeg for a day or so.  Well… ahem.. without further adieu.  More snow!!!

Leaving The Forks Market I just had to take a picture of the tower, the Canadian flag flying proudly in the winter wind.

Canadian Flag Flying at The Forks