There's nothing like a summer road trip for making memories. Pack up a cooler with a few snacks, toss your swimsuit in a tote and make a break for it. There's plenty to see and do in Manitoba, for both city slickers looking for wide open spaces, and rural residers looking for urban experiences.

July 20-22, take time to smell the flowers at the Neepawa Lily Festival. There’s  a town-wide garage sale during the weekend, a Farmers Markets and of course, the Lily Show. Find out more at lilyfestival.com.

Morris is home to the Manitoba Stampede July 19-21. Manitoba’s only pro-rodeo event on the Canadian Tour circuit, the Manitoba Stampede stars some of the top names in bull riding, bronco- busting, tie down roping, bareback riding and steer wrestling. Also check out the fast-paced thoroughbred chariot and pony chariot and chuckwagon racing.

The last days of July shine bright with the Manitoba Sunflower Festival. There’s a town-wide scavenger hunt, Gallery in the Park featuring works by Don McMaster and Ivan Eyre, and the festival street dance with Celtic Rock band the Dust Rhinos.

Search all It’s Manitoba Time events for more ideas for summer road-tripping, and find the perfect accommodations along the way.

In Winnipeg,  Cirque du Soleil brings the critically-acclaimed production Quidam to MTS Centre for seven performances only July 19-22. The international cast features 52 world-class acrobats, musicians, singers and characters. 

For music in the park, look to the Lyric Theatre's Summer Music Series, Tuesday and Thursday evenings in August. The Assiniboine Park's Leo Mol Sculpture Garden is also home to the Sunday Jazz Series August 5-26.

The classical crossover quartet Il Divo arrives at the MTS Centre July 31. The Il Divo 2012 world tour, the group's fourth, follows the release of the quartet's latest album, Wicked Game, and includes the title track, a dramatic reworking of the Chris Isaak classic.

Folklorama brings all corners of the city to life for two weeks August 5-18, with more than 40 pavilions featuring food and entertainment from around the world. New this year, the Cycle Tours include visits to two pavilions that you travel to and between on your own bicycle.

When you visit the Casinos of Winnipeg, you expect to find exciting entertainment, a great dining experience and friendly helpful staff. But you may not expect all the sustainable environmental standards in place that make the casinos two of Manitoba’s BOMA BESt buildings, the leading environmental certification program for commercial buildings.

From the moment you enter, rest assured that environmental sustainability is top of mind. The staff takes great pride in presenting a clean, well-maintained property and that involves using Lake Friendly certified products which are safe for the environment, staff and guests. Every washroom features high-efficient fixtures that deliver the utmost in water and energy-saving technologies.

You'll enjoy a variety of mouth-watering selections at casino restaurants, but anything remaining on your plate will be commercially composted. And that’s true for all casino food-waste.

All renovations and new construction at casino buildings is subject to strict environmental standards that result in recycling old materials and selecting sustainable new ones.

Facilities’ staff work hard to optimize casino heating and cooling efficiencies, and several fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles are used on the properties.

So next time you visit the Casinos of Winnipeg, you might spot a few good reasons to call them your favourite sustainable entertainment destination.

Canada's Parks Day is an annual event where thousands of people participate in fun, educational, family-oriented events in parks and historic sites across the country. 

Not sure where to go? Check out Manitoba’s Parks and search Manitoba's National Historic Sites and Riding Mountain National Park at  Parks Canada.