Winnipeg by Winnipeg: Exploring Winnipeg and Beyond gets picked for printing.

I write because I enjoy it, I’m not paid to craft these pages it’s a labor of love.  A few months ago local bookseller McNally Robinson issued a call in local newspapers for photo submissions for a book that would be about Winnipeg by locals. Thus the Winnipeg by Winnipeg project was launched.

McNally Robinson Store in Grant Park Shopping Center

 Over the course of almost five years of blogging I’ve amassed hundreds of photographs of my adoptive city, any number of which would be great for such a publication.  I spent hours digging through my archives looking for just the right shots for submission.  Lighting, composition, and content I knew were going to be judged to be worthy of inclusion in the book.  Last night was the book release event and I had made the cut with one of my photos gloriously reproduced and put into print for the world to see.

Photographers and guests crowd the store to capacity.

 Over one thousand photographers submitted photography and less than 100 were chosen to be included in the book, I was in rare company indeed.  Last night we all gathered together eager with anticipation to see the finished product in a swanky affair hosted at McNally Robinson’s flagship store in Grant Park Shopping Center.  Photographers were professional and amateur, young and old, from every strata of society, giving a true cross-section of life in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg by Winnipeg Cake.

 Photographs from the book were shown on a large screen as each artist was called to the front to receive congratulations and copies of the book.  Some of the shots were simply amazing, creative and revealing.  Showing not only the highlights of Winnipeg but also its darker and arguably more interesting sides.  Darkness and light, beauty and despair all coming together to make this city we call home.

St. Boniface Cathedral from the Red River.

 My shot shows Winnipeg relaxing on Canada Day, a single kayak paddles down the Red River in sight of the St. Boniface Cathedral.  One of many photographs taken at the Forks Market.  I am proud of my accomplishment in making the final product.  But my personal pride is secondary to the feeling I got last night when I saw so many Winnipeggers come together to celebrate our city with warts and all.

Celebrating with my copy of Winnipeg by Winnipeg. Check out my image on page 17 of the book.

 Do yourself a favor explore Winnipeg; check out the back alleys and the boulevards.  Get to know its friendly citizens if not in person then in the pages of Winnipeg by Winnipeg.  You’ll be glad you did!

 

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.

Post 200 – Winnipeg: A pictorial day in the life

Wow I can’t believe this is my 200th post here on WordPress. It honestly seems like yesterday when Dar and I jetted off to New York City and through the encouragement of some people on another blog I started my own journey through life on the blogosphere.

It’s hardly been a smooth journey, I’ve lost my father, been kicked out and accepted back home.  We’ve been to countless restaurants and concerts, not to mention Blue Bomber football games and the awesome return of the Winnipeg Jets.

I’ve been kicking around a lot of ideas for today’s post.  I thought about doing many grand things, like telling you about the Winnipeg origins of the worlds most famous spy.  Or perhaps taking you on that grand tour of the Manitoba Legislature that I have been promising since almost the first sentence of my blog in late November of 2009.

Then I got to thinking about what this blog is all about, Winnipeg,  sure I write it and Dar and I get bit parts in my posts but honestly the city and it’s people are the stars.

So that’s what I’m going to focus on today, number 200 will take you on a tour of Winnipeg with pictures on a frosty winters day in February.

I hope you enjoy.

Winnipeg Mint

The sun is just climbing into the early morning sky as we begin our journey at the Winnipeg Mint. Here’s a snow sculpture of the Winnipeg Jets logo.

Three days of above seasonal temperatures and fog has covered everything in a beautiful layer of hoar frost.

Even the flags are silent in the cold winter’s morning

Date Night: The Current at the Forks Market

Last weekend with all the hub-bub from Christmas and New Year finally past and a few bucks in our bank account thanks to Darlene’s ever joyful mother Rose we were given explicit instructions to go out and enjoy a nice dinner somewhere we had never been before.  You see not only does Rose care very much for our well being but she is also a frequent reader of Exploring Winnipeg and Beyond and loves to live vicariously through our dining experiences that I chronicle here in my blog.

So after much hand wringing and wondering what we wanted to eat for our weekend out we decided on The Current located at the Inn at the Forks, a fairly recent addition to the Forks Market property.  Reservations were booked in a flash using the Open Table app on my phone and we got all fancied up for a well deserved night on the town.

The Current at the Inn at the Forks

For fabulously fresh fish n’ chips find Fergies at The Forks.

As you all know I love food, street food, fine food, pick up a fork and stab me food.  So it should be no surprise that I love good fish.  Growing up literally a 5 minute bike ride from Rainy Lake in North Western Ontario I could hold a fishing rod before I learned to tie my own shoes.

Mom and Dad both loved to fish so I grew up with an appreciation for the different flavours that came out of the lake.  It was a funny little rule that my father had when he took the family out for dinner.  We could eat anything on the menu besides freshwater fish.  He reasoned that we had access to a well stocked freezer full of the best fish in the world so why should he have to pay for it when eating out.

Fergies Fish n' Chips at The Forks Market

Having said that I no longer live 5 minutes from Rainy Lake so what’s a poor boy to do when he’s got a hankering for fish.  Well I head down to Fergies Fish n’ Chips at The Forks Market.  The current incarnation of seafood market and fish and chips stand has been open since 2004 and boasts having access to the over five million visitors The Forks Market attracts each year.

Although Manitoba is hardly next to any major seaport we are however a première shipping hub supplying North America with everything from fresh flowers and yes you guessed it fresh fish.  One thing Fergies prides itself on is the freshness and quality of its ingredients.  From the locally grown fresh cut Russet Burbank potato to the “caught yesterday” selection of Cod, Halibut and Lake Manitoba Walleye (Pickerel).

When eating fish freshness is king, and Fergies delivers that in classic style. Each piece is coated in a beer batter moments before it hits the hot oil, protecting the delicate filet and effectively poaching it to give a crispy delicious exterior and a moist flaky interior to the fish.

Simple and delicious fish and chips served in paper

The chips are treated with equal care, freshly cut and blanched in hot oil before being quickly dunked again for a properly cooked fry.  Crispy and hot on the outside and tender on the inside.

Put the two together and an English favourite hits Winnipeg.  A dash of salt and a splash or two of malt vinegar is all you need to complete this after pub classic.

So when you get a craving for an inexpensive but delicious fish treat you know where to go, Fergies Fish n’ Chips at The Forks Market.