Most years in February, students take a bus to Winnipeg for a weekend at the Festival du Voyageur, an annual celebration of the culture of the Voyageurs, fur traders and merchants who frequently traded goods with Native communities.
Now in its 50th year, the Festival celebrates traditional Voyageur culture through song, dance, costume, and historical reenactments, along with ice and wood sculpting contests.
The key to fun at the festival is pre-planning: research each of the musical groups featured at the festival to decide where you would like to be. Besides the music, here are some festival activities not to miss:
- ‘the fort,’ a village of traditional merchants where you can learn about the past: iron works, purchasing animal pelts and other goods on a barter system, etc.
- a horse and carriage ride
- tire-la-neige, a maple syrup sucker you make yourself by rolling it on ice as it cools
- la poutine - french fries smothered in melted cheese and gravy
- Morris travelers take a break from the Festival to explore the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, shop at The Forks (an international mall), and ice skate on the Assiniboine River.
Check the official Festival du Voyageur page for regular updates about February's festival & sign up to head north with Entre Nous, UMM’s French Club.