Pedal your way to Nuit Blanche

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/09/2018 (2730 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With insomnia so widespread, it would make sense to attend Nuit Blanche Winnipeg, which steals its name from the French expression for a sleepless night.

Nuit Blanche Winnipeg is back for its ninth year on Sept. 29. The celebration of contemporary art takes place every Saturday of the Culture Days weekend from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Held annually since 2010, Nuit Blanche Winnipeg events and exhibits are spread across St. Boniface, Downtown, The Forks and the Exchange District, and its newest addition, the West End.

With several activities in St. Boniface, residents can experience the Run for Your Lite by Wood Anchor and Cloverdale Forge at the Esplanade Riel Bridge Landing at The Forks, and the St. Boniface Bicycle Drive-In Movie Theatre by Neil McArthur and Alanna Thain at Parc Joseph Royal on Tache Avenue.
St. Boniface resident Neil McArthur and his collaborator, Alanna Thain from Montreal have put together an old-fashioned drive-in movie theatre — with a twist.

“It’s meant for people on bikes. And the viewers don’t just watch. The films’ projection and sound take all of their power from a bicycle-powered generator. The attendees have to take turns pedalling to power the projector. And as they negotiate who will take turns powering the movie, and as they sit next to each other in our space, we hope people will talk to each other and get to know each other,” explained McArthur.

“I feel like in our modern world we’ve lost so many of those social spaces where people can hang out with their friends and actually talk to strangers. That’s what we wanted to re-create.”

Films will be short, by independent film-makers from Manitoba and Quebec in both French and English, and will centre around the theme of energy and illumination.

Run For Your Lite by Wood Anchor & Cloverdale Forge features a human-sized hamster wheel that powers a forge. The idea resulted from a conversation between the owners of two custom design build shops; Cloverdale Forge, which utilizes traditional blacksmithing techniques to hand-forge iron and steel, and Wood Anchor, a company dedicated to giving new life to locally harvested trees and reclaimed wood. Visitors can experience their human power by bumping the bellows of the blacksmith forges to make the anvil ring.

“Unlike other Nuit Blanche events in Toronto, Montreal and Paris, Winnipeg’s Nuit Blanche has a real grassroots feel, something we want to keep as the event expands,” says Nicole Matiation, Co-Chair of Culture Days Manitoba.

Nuit Blanche Winnipeg is produced by Culture Days Manitoba with the support from producing partner, Winnipeg Arts Council. More than 25,000 attendees are expected to take part in Nuit Blanche. Visit nuitblanchewinnipeg.ca