Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
We're doing our part to show off Manitoba
submitted photo The visitors will enjoy the cabins at High Lake as part of their experience.
If you had nine days to show visitors what you love most about Manitoba, where would you take them?
That's my challenge this year as my partner and I host more than a dozen visitors from overseas -- and at least that many from across North America -- who are flying in for our June wedding.
It's a twist on the Homecoming 2010 reunion concept -- in this case for people who have never been to Manitoba before.
After months of mulling it over, here's our plan:
Day 1 to 3: Heart of the Continent tour.
We've booked a walking tour of the historic Exchange District through the Exchange District BIZ. General tours depart daily at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from Old Market Square from June 1 to Labour Day, with shorter tours on themes such as the Winnipeg General Strike over the noon hour. The cost is $6 for adults. For a group of 10 or more, the BIZ will arrange a tour tailored to your interests and timetable. (www.exchangedistrict.org/biz/exchange-district-biz/guided-walking-tours)
We'll borrow or rent as many bicycles as we need to take our more fit visitors on our favourite cycling route from Wolseley to The Forks, via the Assiniboine River walkway, then across the Provencher Bridge to St. Boniface and Louis Riel's once controversial statue behind the college. At The Forks, we'll climb the tower for a panoramic view of the city and we'll visit the construction site for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
If it weren't for Canada's leadership on human rights -- specifically same-sex marriage -- all these visitors would likely be joining me at a commitment ceremony on a beach somewhere on Australia's Gold Coast. Think of them as harbingers of the tourists to follow once the museum opens.
Most foreign visitors are intrigued by Canadian aboriginal culture, so we'll check out the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's event at The Forks from June 16 to 19. The Australians will have a chance to compare how our two countries are coming to terms with mistreatment of indigenous people.
For a taste of what the prairie was like before Winnipeg sprung from the plain, my guests will tour FortWhyte Alive before a dinner including bison and wild rice in the Buffalo Stone Cafe. You can rent the Alloway Reception Centre after hours for $550 to $750, plus catering.
Day 4 to 9: Eco-adventure
We'll drive our guests east to Whiteshell Provincial Park, where we've rented two walk-in cabins on High Lake (www.falcontrails.mb.ca/Falcon_Trails_Resort/highlake.html) and a road-access cabin at Falcon Trails Resort.
There's nothing a German craves more than wilderness, while the solar power and composting toilets on High Lake will appeal to our environmentally conscious Aussie guests. The granite outcrops and clear lakes of the Shield are quintessential Canada, and we'll have canoes on hand as our group of 20 makes like the Group of Seven.
What better spot for a collective honeymoon.
helen.fallding@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 7, 2010 A13
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