Summer in the City

August 12, 2013 Michelle Panting

One of the things I love best about summer is the way Winnipeg comes to life. Although there are certainly things to do year round in the city, I look forward to summer in Winnipeg with special excitement. Of the summer-time events here, Folklorama is one of my favourites. Some of my best memories of summer come from attending Folklorama with friends: a highly competitive game of Belgian bowling that lasted hours, the discovery of Chris's family tartan and crest at the Scottish pavilion, a playful skirmish while exiting the Indo-Carribian pavilion that landed one of my friends in the hospital for stitches, the list goes on. With a history of 43 summers in Winnipeg, Folklorama gives you the chance to experience the spirit of travel without leaving the city. Each of its 40+ venues leaves its visitors with a distinct cultural experience - from food to history, dance, alcoholic beverages and shopping. It's a unique opportunity to sample the cultural flavours the world has to offer.

Last week, my friend Lindsey and I visited the Serbian KOLO pavilion. We sampled Serbian dishes like spinach pie, stuffed peppers and sausage, sipped some plum and pear brandies that are not for the faint of heart, and went home with a few Serbian candies in our pockets. The highlight by far were the energetic and skilled KOLO dancers. The final number especially, with its exciting lifts and quick footwork, was highly entertaining.

If you're in the Winnipeg area and are interested in checking out Folklorama, the schedule for the second week can be found here. They also offer a number of packaged deals you can read more about. I'm still hoping to check out a few more pavilions, so if you have any specific recommendations to share, please feel free to leave your comments.

As a quick note, this post and my visit to Folklorama were not sponsored by the organization in any way. I am promoting this event because it's one that I truly enjoy, and the idea of bringing a traveller's spirit to your hometown is one of the goals of this blog. I feel that Folklorama is in keeping with that goal.