Hello, I am Alexander Mickelthwate, Music Director for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) and your Travel Manitoba Arts & Culture Ambassador. The summer always comes and goes too soon for Winnipeggers, but we have a colourful fall and sparkling and snowy winter to look forward to, with many events to warm up with.

The WSO is so excited to bring you the 63rd season beginning September 24 & 25th with Opening Night, Mark O’Connor & Mahler 1. This powerhouse of a program will feature Grammy Award-winning violinist Mark O’Connor performing his own Double Violin Concerto with the WSO’s Associate Concertmaster Karl Stobbe. Other amazing talents are coming to the Concert Hall like the Canadian Tenors, Steve Lippia (for a concert dedicated to Sinatra), Canadian Brass, The Peking Acrobats and world famous percussionist Evelyn Glennie.

Our season of stars is complemented with several hometown heroes such as Chantal Kreviazuk, Guy Maddin, soprano Tracy Dahl, WSO Concertmaster Gwen Hoebig, Latin Jazz ensemble Papa Mambo and Brandon-born violin virtuosi James Ehnes. You cannot miss this season!

There are unlimited events to attend this fall and winter, many of which are free! Keep reading to check out what’s happening.

If you enjoy going behind the scenes and discovering places not commonly visited, check out Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site’s personalized guided tours!

Although no costumed staff are present, uniformed interpreters give you a custom-made tour of the site and buildings. Do you enjoy china? Look behind the cupboard doors in the Big House to see porcelain from the 1830s. Get up close and personal by crossing the barrier in the store and seeing the goods for sale! Why not try spinning wool at the farm? - Personalized tours are offered daily in French or English from September 7 through 30, at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm.

With over 180 years of history, you can imagine the stories surrounding Lower Fort Garry. Take part in the Candlelit Ghost Tours and who knows what (or who) you will bump into! For three weekends in October (15 & 16, 22 & 23, and 29 & 30) you will be able to meet the ghosts of Lower Fort Garry and hear the tales of those who have encountered them! Share stories at the end of the evening with cookies and hot chocolate. Reservations required.

The Town of Morden, a small community nestled on the edge of the Pembina Hills in Manitoba’s Pembina Valley Region prides itself on its unique heritage and promotion of arts and culture within the community.

They were the first Manitoba community to be designated a Cultural Capital of Canada in 2008 and continue to showcase and celebrate the arts and culture sector.

Whether it’s visits to museums and art galleries , public displays of artwork, theatrical, musical and dance performances, community festivals and appreciation for natural heritage – these are all ways culture touches the lives of residents and visitors alike.

If you’d like to experience this for yourself, why not start off with a leisure walk down Morden’s picturesque tree-lined streets and pristine parks? You will notice historic plaques on the store fronts of many stores in the downtown area describing the many businesses that have occupied those premises.

In the very centre of Morden, you’ll see a prominent heritage building with an iconic clock tower. Constructed by the Canadian Postal service in 1913, it became the Pembina Hills Arts Centre in 1993. The centre has become a focal point for arts and culture and features beautiful art work produced by very talented local artists.  

If you want to explore further, you will see some of the finest collections of late nineteenth and early twentieth century architecture. The variety of building types, notable architectural styles, interesting building materials all combine to make Morden a textbook example of the trends that defined how many Manitoba communities developed. The town’s exquisite Queen Anne style houses of wood and stone, with their romantic towers, dainty details and lively colors, have become Morden’s heritage trademark.

Morden strives to leave a lasting legacy of arts and culture for all to see. There are eight murals and a number of sculptures throughout the community. A Leo Mol sculpture is located in the Kinsmen Suncatch on 8th Street, a bronze sculpture of Henry Marshall is located in the Civic Centre rose garden at 5th Street & Stephen Street and a delightful stone Love Seat can be found in Milne Park at 12th Street and Stephen Street.
For more information visit the town’s website at www.mordenmb.com or the Morden Tourism website at www.mordentourism.com.

As the leaves begin to change color and the scents and sounds of fall fast approach, an afternoon drive to the East Gate Registration Complex National Historic Site in Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP) is something to add to the must do list.  

The East Gate at the base of the Manitoba Escarpment is the last of three log entrance gates in RMNP. Riding Mountain National Park was officially opened in 1933 with the complex being built in 1933 and 1934.

Located on Highway 19 at the eastern entrance of the park, the complex is comprised of a registration building and two staff cabins built using indigenous materials. During the depression the federal government supplied funds for the establishment of work camps in Canada’s national parks. The Riding Mountain relief camp was the largest employing over 1200 men.  

With automobile tourism on the rise park gates were constructed as a point where park attendants would register vehicles and provide visitors with park information and regulations.  

It is your turn to treasure the history of Manitoba’s oldest national park which awaits the adventurous spirit within you. Contact park staff for more information on your real, inspiring discovery 204 848 7275.  http://www.parkscanada.ca/riding

More than 150,000 theatre lovers take in performances by the Manitoba Theatre Centre (MTC) every year. This season MTC brings big laughs, big music and big stories to the stage. First up is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (October 14-November 6). Based on the revolutionary 1962 novel, this terrifying yet funny story of rebellion and courage remains relevant today. Celebrate the holiday season with the classic musical White Christmas (November 25-December 18). A stage adaptation of the tender and suspenseful silver screen hit Brief Encounter runs January 6-29. Manitoba playwright Patrick Friesen’s The Shunning (February 10-March 5) weaves a tangled web between faith and the faithful. Based on a true story, Calendar Girls (March 17-April 9) is a rich and rewarding comedy about the ladies who made headlines posing in a classic women’s institute calendar – in the nude. The season closes with The 39 Steps (April 21-May 14) a madcap thriller based on the Hitchcock film, which sees four actors juggle 150 roles.

For tickets, show times and more information, go to www.mtc.ca.

Down the block at the John Henry Warehouse Stage, MTC stages another “dramatically different” season. Jake’s Gift (November 4-20) is an award-winning Canadian play about a Second World War veteran’s return to Juno Beach. The Sea Farer (December 2-18) is an Irish black comedy which raises the stakes damningly high. An escalating affair and volatile power struggle set in the English country-side are brought to life in After Miss Julie (January 20-February 5). Gallows humour and ghostly brides grace the stage in The Drowning Girls (February 24-March12).

For tickets, show times and more information, go to www.mtc.ca.

With six plays that touch the theme of community connection, Prairie Theatre Exchange (PTE) offers Canadian works in its 2010-2011 season. A crisis of faith is at the centre of The Savannah Disputation, a comedy made in heaven (October 14-October 31). A comeback story set to the score of country music, Back to You: The Life and Music of Lucille Starr (November 11-November 28) is the story of made-in-Manitoba legend. The December Man (l’homme de décembre) (January 26-February 13) is a devastating study off the after-effects of the massacre at Montreal’s L’ecole Polytechnique. Burnin’ Love (March 3-March 20) is a play about love, death and Elvis, written by Manitoban Sharon Bajer. Thunderstick (March 31-April 17) follows the road trip of the Aboriginal “Odd Couple”, played by acclaimed comedic actors Lorne Cardinal (Corner Gas) and Craig Lauzon (Royal Canadian Airfarce). There are distractions abound derailing the search for a new well in Wingfield Lost and Found (April 21 – May 8).

For tickets, show times and more information, go to www.pte.mb.ca.

As the oldest theatre company in North America, Le Cercle Molière has a long and distinguished reputation of sharing our culture through French-language plays. Its 2010-2011 season, the first in its brand new theatre, offers five plays, including a Molière classic transported to the swinging 60s (Le Mariage forcé, October 1-23), as study of relevance of art and beauty (Le chemin de la mecque, January 14-February 5), and a story of a militant Métis who channels the spirit of Louis Riel (Li R’venant, March 11-April 2).

For tickets, show times and more information, go to www.cerclemoliere.com.


A small but mighty theatre, The Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, is dedicated to keeping Jewish culture alive and well in Winnipeg. Its 2010-2011 season begins with the Canadian premiere of Lenin’s Embalmers (October 14-24), a dark comedy following two Jewish chemists tasked with embalming the Communist leader Vladimir Lenin. The Father (January 27-February 6) is an adaptation of August Strinberg’s famous play about a man feuding with his wife over how to raise their daughter. Set in West Hawk Lake, One of Ours (March 31-April10), two Jewish brothers’ lives are changed when one brings home a young actress from New York.

For tickets, show times and more information, go to www.wjt.ca.

I was up before the birds Friday and my ride would be arriving soon. I didn’t have to wait for my alarm to sound, a wicked thunderstorm was right on top of me and the ka-boom could have woken the dead. One strike was so close I peeked between the venetian blinds just to make sure my massive elm tree was still in an upright position. A rather ominous way to start the day.

I looked at the weather channel before leaving. The forecasters were tracking the cold front, that was meeting the warm front, doing that thing they do and making predictions as best they could. Bottom line: the storm was tracking slowly east towards my destination, near the Manitoba/Ontario border. We could expect a mere 1  mm of rain with the temperature warm at around +25. All systems go.

2 hours later I’m standing on the Canadian Shield, along with 30 other people, the rain pelting down, knees knockin’ from the cold, watching our day’s plan go down the drain. We had been invited to the... READ MORE