Happy birthday to us! There's something for everyone -- and their pets, too -- in and around the city to celebrate Canada Day By: Eva Wasney Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Friday, Jun. 28, 2019

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This article was published 27/06/2019 (2010 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Put on your best Canadian flag shirt and pack up your fireworks-watching blanket — there are plenty of patriotic activities happening in and around Winnipeg this Canada Day.

Aside from being a day off work for most, July 1 is a chance to celebrate the country’s birthday in whatever fashion you’d like. Below you’ll find events geared toward families, music lovers, pet owners, sports fans and everyone in between.

Canadian pride in the park

Assiniboine Park is a hub of family-friendly Canada Day activities. While live music wafts from the Lyric Theatre, the adjacent field will be full of bouncy castles, a giant inflatable water slide, human foosball, face painting and an obstacle course for kids of all ages.

Parks Canada will host a selfie and activity station and the Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre will have an exhibit on birds of prey.

The day kicks off with a citizenship ceremony at 11 a.m., followed by live entertainment from the Royal Canadian Air Force Band, juggler Robin Chestnut, the Dust Rhinos and others.

The beer gardens at the Pavilion run until 6 p.m and, due to the construction of Canada’s Diversity Garden, there will be no fireworks at the park this year.

Red, white and fur

Pet owners with a passion for dress-up can head to Osborne Village for The Great Canadian Patriotic Pet Parade.

With judging categories that include most patriotic, most Canadiana and best duo or group (which can be animals and humans), going all out with the flags, Maple Leafs and all manner of kitsch is recommended. Registration and marshalling starts at 11:30 a.m. Register and see the rules online.

While you’re in the Village, check out the other events happening during the annual Canada Day Street Festival. Hosted by the Osborne Village BIZ, the event runs from noon to 10:30 p.m. on June 30 and July 1. There will be live music and art performances, streetside shopping, a family fun zone, pop-up patios, an artisan market and food vendors.

The street will be closed from Confusion Corner to the Osborne Street Bridge, so plan your transportation to and from the festival accordingly.

Please rise for the national anthem

Winnipeg’s newest professional sports team will be playing on home turf this Canada Day. Valour FC, currently sitting third in the Canadian Premier League’s spring season, takes on Ontario’s York9 FC at noon Monday at IG Field.

If you’re headed to the game with the entire extended family or soccer team there’s an opportunity to make the day extra-patriotic. Groups of 25 to 30 can sign up to hold the large Canadian flag on the field during the pre-match ceremony — the opportunity is dependent upon availability and requests need to be made in advance at valourfc.canpl.ca.

A classic Canada Day pastime, sports fans can also head down to Shaw Park to cheer on the Winnipeg Goldeyes as they take the field against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks at 4 p.m. The Fish will be wearing special jerseys during the game in honour of Team Canada’s bronze-medal victory at the 1999 Pan-Am Games, which took place at Shaw Park.

Once the baseball wraps up, you’ll be within walking distance of the many Canada Day celebrations happening close to downtown.

Tune North strong and free

The Forks will be alive with the sound of local music on Canada Day.

Concerts start at noon and wrap up at 10:45 p.m. on the mainstage with a performance by Eagle and Hawk with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Other artists performing throughout the day include The Noble Thiefs, Kendra Kay, Madeleine Roger and Leaf Rapids.

New this year, The Forks has partnered with the Exchange District BIZ to create a walkway along Waterfront Drive that will connect to an outdoor stage at Stephen Juba Park for more musical performances. Along the way, visitors can stop and make some streetside art with Art City and The Travelling Sign Painters.

There will be plenty of other activities at The Forks throughout the day, including a powwow and Founding Nations Tribal Village in Oodena Celebration Circle, pick-up ball hockey games, dance and lacrosse demonstrations, food trucks, a market and beer gardens. Fireworks start at 11 p.m.

Celebrate Francophone history in St. B

What’s Canada Day without a little local history? Free activities and tours will be taking place at museums and historic sites across St. Boniface on Monday.

Over at Fort Gibraltar, interpreters decked out in period costumes will be running family activities and traditional crafting and cooking demonstrations.

Tourisme Riel guides will lead free historic walking tours of Winnipeg’s French quarter beginning at the organization’s office at 219 Provencher Blvd., no reservations required.

St. Boniface Cathedral, La Maison Gabrielle-Roy and the St. Boniface Museum are also hosting daytime events.

Live art demonstrations, buskers and food vendors will be stationed at Esplanade Riel and the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain patio will be open for adult beverages and live music.

Art in the heart of the continent

The Winnipeg Art Gallery is running a Canada Day special this year.

For $5 admission, visitors can check out the gallery’s current exhibits from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday. The WAG has seven exhibitions on display, many of which feature local and Canadian artists.

Local work included in the program is filmmaker John Paskievich’s documentation of Winnipeg’s North End, artist Divya Mehra’s inflatable Taj Mahal in Vision Exchange: Perspectives from India to Canada and University of Manitoba professor emeritus Robert Archambeau’s ceramics in A Conversation in Clay.

Canadians Tony Scherman, Norval Morrisseau and various artists from Baker Lake, Nunavut, are also featured; along with work by European artists from the 16th to 19th centuries.

Canada Day past the Perimeter

Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre is throwing a birthday bash Monday, complete with cake and an O Canada sing-along at 2 p.m.

There will also be horse-drawn wagon rides through the marsh with storyteller Allan Webb and guided canoe adventures.

Head west of the city to participate in Riding Mountain National Park’s Indigenous Voices from our Homeland event. In honour of the International Year of Indigenous Languages, the park has invited different artists to share their language through performance.

Musicians Tracy Bone, Leonard Sumner, Iskwe and a selection of emerging artists are scheduled to perform.

Closer to the city, the St. Norbert Farmers’ Market is hosting an all-day celebration with food vendors, artisans, local produce and family fun. Fireworks start at dusk.

eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @evawasney

Eva Wasney
Arts Reporter

Eva Wasney is a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press.

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