Focus on expansion at eighth ManyFest

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This article was published 15/08/2018 (2945 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s largest downtown festival, the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries ManyFest, is returning for its eighth year and, living up to its name, attendees can expect many changes.

This year, the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ has contracted True North Sports + Entertainment and Smith Events to lend a hand in planning the annual street party, which runs Sept. 7-9 in and around Memorial Park.

“Over the past seven years, this event has grown to be one of the premier events in Winnipeg and in Manitoba,” said Jason Smith, president of Smith Events.

“We are thrilled to be participating this year in this exciting new chapter as we move ManyFest into its eighth year.

“In January, we sat down and talked about what they (the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ) really liked about the festival, and some areas they were maybe hoping to make improvements on. We sort of went from there, so it’s been a work in progress along the way,” he later added.

Expansion is the name of the game this year with so many new elements added to ManyFest’s lineup of events. The annual Food Truck Wars is back, and more than 40 food trucks have registered to participate, making it the largest group the festival has had to date.

Third + Bird, Winnipeg’s largest urban market, will also be joining the ManyFest team to help revamp the artisan and farmers market, which will be set up in front of the Law Courts building on Broadway and feature more than 50 local vendors.

Lake of the Woods Brewing Company will be on hand to provide attendees with a frosty beverage at one of ManyFest’s multiple bars or in hand as they wander the festival — a large part of the ManyFest site will be licensed this year for the first time.

There will also be a Wonder Shows midway — carnival rides will pop up along Broadway and a ferris wheel is expected to be erected in front of the legislative building — and an electric donkey walk/run featuring DJs, glow sticks and a dance party back at the ManyFest site.

In addition to all of the new pieces of the ManyFest puzzle, many old favourites will return as well, including the MiniFest Family Zone, the Running Room’s 10 + 10 race and a full roster of musical performances including artists from the Winnipeg Folk Festival’s Young Performers Program, who will serenade shoppers as they visit the market area, as well as a Banjo Bowl after-party on Saturday, Sept. 8, featuring the Wind-Ups and a reunion performance from the Boogie Nights Band.

Movies in the Park will also be returning, this time sponsored by Call to Recycle, which will be handing out beach blankets to anyone who brings batteries to recycle. Friday night will be an ’80s movie night, featuring screenings of E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Saturday will be ’90s night, with screenings of Toy Story and the original version of Jumanji, starring Robin Williams.

True North and Smith Events, who were also the team behind the Whiteout parties during the Winnipeg Jets’ playoff run in the spring, have already committed to an additional three-year partnership with ManyFest, and Smith is happy to be around for a while to see where the festival can go from here.

“We felt like, for both sides, it’s important when we make a lot of changes to things, or at least re-vision some of the parts of it, I think you have to be around long enough to sort of bring it to fruition,” said Smith

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @NireRabel