Counting on fans for countdown to 60th Festival du Voyageur

Festival du Voyageur is seeking memories and memorabilia to help celebrate an upcoming milestone anniversary.

Organizers are looking for donations of vintage photos, programs, merch and other items of interest to be displayed during the francophone winter festival’s 60th birthday in 2029.

It’s a project that started at this year’s festival with the debut of L’shed à Léo, a gallery of archival ephemera onsite at Voyageur Park.

“We went through our basement at the festival office and found a bunch of cool stuff,” says Colin Mackie, director of the festival’s heritage and education programs.

“It really struck a chord with our visitors and longtime volunteers and people involved in the community.”

Anything and everything is on the table, from vinyl records to medals from festival-sponsored sporting events to branded T-shirts.

Fitting donations will also be shared in themed L’shed displays over the next three festivals leading up to the anniversary.

Next year’s gallery will focus on Festival du Voyageur-related art, including music, dance, snow sculptures and crafts; while the 2027 and 2028 iterations will focus on heritage and community, respectively.

In his role, Mackie typically focuses on educating the public and school groups on Voyageur, Indigenous and Franco-Manitoban history. He’s looking forward to turning that focus inward and celebrating the founders, volunteers and supporters of the long-running festival through the displays and an accompanying oral history project.

“The festival is getting kind of historic as well. We have people who have been building Voyageur Park for 25, 30 years and their perspectives are equally important to anyone who’s worn a suit and stood in front of a camera,” Mackie says.

Donors can drop off their wares at Festival du Voyageur’s main office at 233 Provencher Blvd. and will be asked to fill out a questionnaire for archiving purposes.

The organization is unable to accept loans of items, except in special circumstances.

The 2026 festival takes place Feb. 13 to 22 at Whittier Park. Visit heho.ca for more information.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

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