Winter WOW

Jacquie Crone January 1st, 2010 | Posted by Jacquie Crone
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Hello January. I’ve been anxiously awaiting your arrival. So now that you’re here – what to do, what to do . . .

Well, it’s winter and this is Manitoba, so that means snow, cold, short days, long nights – and did I say cold?

I’m a big fan of winter and I fear none of the above. In fact I want to experience as much of it as I can – and I’d like to invite you to join me. The Winter WOW blog with Travel Manitoba will give us a chance to exchange ideas and experiences, so come along with me (virtually), as I go about the business of unlocking this province’s winter treasures.

It is the end of the decade and the start of a new one. Have you noticed all the top ten lists around these days? Ten this, ten that. We have about 10 weeks of winter left – which is not much time really, but long enough for me to post 10 winter experiences, rate them out of 10 and – you guessed it – sum it all up in March with a top ten list. (Thank you David Letterman).

I started a list a while back and the only problem I’ve been having is trying to narrow down the choices to a mere 10. The Manitoba Homecoming 2010 events will keep us busy enough and I know that as we go along you’ll have some intriguing ideas as well. So I say let’s get going and we’ll see how the list evolves.

Here’s some of my thoughts so far:

  1. Cross-country skiing – I see this as an ongoing activity and a great opportunity for conversation as you help me improve my skills. Ultimately I would like to wrap this up with a weekend in February at Riding Mountain or Hecla Island Resort.
  2. Snowmobiling – I’d like to try this out. There are opportunities galore, for example, a poker derby in Carman on February 3rd.
  3. The Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail – The frazil ice situation has been rectified, (thank you Paul Jordan), and now the River Trail will be operational this winter. Yahoo! The January 8 event called ‘Trail by Fire’ with performances by the Fire Pyxies sounds like fun.
  4. Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Center – January 21 is the first of a monthly astronomy night.
  5. Lockport Children’s Festival – Manitoba’s only winter children’s festival.
  6. Winter Carnival, Altona – February 6.  I particularly like the unconventional activities associated with this festival – like the ice cream toss.
  7. Prairie Pathfinders Winter Hiking Festival – March 19 to 21.  2 days exploring the Whiteshell’s winter wonderland, with about 100 other participants!
  8. Critter related activities like dog sledding, ski-joring, or a horse-drawn sleigh ride.
  9. Road trip and photo shoot along the east or west side of Lake Winnipeg.
  10. Saison Voyageur – a celebration of winter throughout January and February, culminating with the Festival du Voyageur, St. Boniface – February 12-21.

Remember, this list is a work in progress and that things could change because of unavoidable circumstances or new ideas coming in from you. Be sure to check in when ever you can. I can be contacted by email jacquie.crone@gmail.com

Category: Places & Portraits
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