Hé Ho, let’s go!

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/02/2024 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The temperatures were high and so was the joie de vivre at Whittier Park Sunday afternoon.

Alyssa Harder and her family tried their hand at three-person skiing in the recreational area of Festival du Voyageur, as attending the festival is tradition for the Franco-Manitoban family.

Despite some of the grounds having more puddles than snow piles, the skiing proved to be a success.

“It’s amazing what they’ve done to compensate for the lack of snow,” Harder said. “The weather is really good, I think it’s encouraging more people to come out.”

“It’s amazing what they’ve done to compensate for the lack of snow”–Alyssa Harder

The first weekend of the 55th edition of the event was buzzing with activity, despite speculation the cherished festival wouldn’t be the same given the unseasonably warm weather.

Some attendees swapped their ski pants for rain boots as the mercury hit -5 C, a few degrees warmer than the average temperature for the February long weekend.

There was never a question of if the festival would proceed, but how they would adapt to the conditions, said executive director Breanne Lavalee-Heckert.

The festival has been monitoring the weather since early fall and was cognizant the winter would be mild compared to year’s past.

“It was an opportunity to find innovative and creative solutions,” Lavalee-Heckert said. “We were ready to make some changes.”

“It was an opportunity to find innovative and creative solutions. We were ready to make some changes.”–Lavalee-Heckert

Because the winter weather hasn’t yielded much snow, the festival swapped some snow sculptures for ones made of mixed natural materials, including hay and wood. The children’s playground also swapped its usual ice blocks for ones made from woven materials to offer the same element of play.

Last year the festival boasted bigger snow sculptures with an interactive component, and while this year’s event won’t have such features, Lavalee-Heckert is pleased with the pivot.

“It’s been exciting to see those new elements come into play and see people experience the park in a different way, but still having that same energy and joie de vivre,” she said.

However, not all traditions had to be swapped.

Claire Harvey and Meg Lovett waited patiently for their maple taffy to harden on a bed of snow inside the Cabane a Sucre tent — known as the sugar shack to anglophones.

Harvey hasn’t rolled taffy since she was in grade school; for Lovett, the experience was a first.

“The weather has been beautiful, we’ve been waiting to do this, it couldn’t be a better day,” Harvey said.

The festival’s executive director said the warm weather is a reminder of the changing climate and a conversation which should happen on a larger scale.

“It’s something that as a winter festival, we have to be very, very cautious of and very respectful of how we engage with the environment around us,” Lavalee-Heckert said. “I really hope that in the future we can continue to experiment with these alternative mediums if we have to, but I mean, snow is such a huge part of Festival.”

Festival du Voyageur runs until the 25th.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca