Happy 145th Birthday Canada: a photoblog from the Forks Market

In case any of you were wondering how I was spending my incredibly gorgeous long weekend, wonder no longer.  Today Dar and I decided to take a short hop down to the Forks Market and take in a few of the festivities marking the 145th birthday of Canada.  Locally known as Canada Day, it’s a great excuse to have a bbq or crack a couple of cold ones and enjoy the 30 degree heat.

You’ll hardly ever hear a Winnipeger complain about the heat though, after a good solid 6 months of darkness and winter cold it takes a good few weeks of 30 Celsius weather to thaw out our Canadian bones and get us primed for summer.

As you would expect on a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon, the Forks Market was packed, the food vendors were out in full force and the beverages were indeed flowing.

Esplanade Louis Riel

The Esplanade Louis Riel (Louis Riel Bridge) is one of the newer architectural centerpieces of Downtown/St Boniface area.  It’s dramatic cable stay pedestrian bridge complete with restaurant and spire draw many tourist and photographers alike to the core of the city.

Located at the East end of Esplanade Louis Riel, La Crêperie Du Pont is a great choice for a deliciously thin crepe for breakfast or a pick me up snack.

Esplanade Louis Riel from St Boniface.

Enjoying a lovely crêpe for breakfast.

City skyline and Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Breach!

In an attempt to divert water from overwhelming the Assiniboine River defences the Manitoba government has intentionally breached a diking system just east of Winnipeg.  The intentional cut at Hoop and Holler Bend on the Assiniboine intentionally endangers about 200 square kilometres of prime farm land and approximately 200 homes in the area.

Troops help to flood proof a home (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

With water levels still on the rise in the west, and the peak river levels still weeks away Premier Greg Selinger worried that constant pressure on the ad-hoc diking system would be too great to handle the increase in pressure.  Faced with a possible catastrophic diking failure he gave residents as much warning as possible to safeguard their homes before breaching the dike.

Strategic planning diagram of the Hoop and Holler cut (Government of Manitoba)

Bob Vs. The Goog

Goog.  Noun: A Canadian ice  cream confection consisting of an upside down blueberry shake, with a hot fudge sundae and bananas topped with whipped cream. Available at the Bridge Drive-In Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The Goog Sundae

Spring finally must be here in Winnipeg.  This weekend two significant events happened that all but guarantee warmer weather is finally on its way.  Firstly I broke the BBQ out of its icy embrace and fired up the charcoal for the first grilling of the season.  Secondly the Bridge Drive-In is has opened its shuttered windows luring out Winnipegers from under their warm blankets with the promise of ice cream treats.

Bridge Drive-In

Winnipeg in Autumn: Kings Park

Since I received such an overwhelming response to my first Winnipeg in Autumn piece I decided to throw together another quick posting of one of my other favourite public spaces within the City of Winnipeg.

Kings Park, in the extreme southern quadrant  of the city just outside of the University of Manitoba on the Red River.  It is, in my opinion one of the most picturesque parks in the city, containing  Japanese style pagoda gardens throughout.  It also has vast rolling greens, wooded paths and a quiet river walk that skirts the winding Red River.

A recent addition is the Carol Shields Memorial Labyrinth, completed in Spring of 2009 it offers a place to walk and reflect quietly within the peaceful park setting.  Carol Shields was of course the world-renowned author of such enduring classics as The Stone Dairies.  She lived and worked in Winnipeg for many years and identified with the realities of life on the prairies.

Kings Park

Entering Kings Park

Enjoying a Stroll on a Sunny Afternoon

A Pagoda in the Park