Take one look at The Forks’ devastatingly handsome Instagram account and you’ll quickly realize this place doesn’t just embrace winter, it choreographs a dance with it: one that is equal parts Latin ballroom, lyrical jazz, and flat-out funk train #11.
January is the month when it really starts up, so get ready to be served up more wintery goodness than BDI does soft-serve in the middle of July.
Here’s the gist:
Skate to your heart’s content
One of the world’s longest naturally frozen skating trails – The Red River Mutual Trail – is now open, and along with it there's no shortage of ice surfaces at The Forks to dig your blades into.
A personal favourite of ours is the on-land trails, which take you around parts of The Forks and over the historic Rail Bridge. There’s also the canopy rink, which is attached directly to The Forks Market – with its fresh words of inspiration by artist Kal Barteski – along with the Backyard Rink, which is ideal for a game of shinny with a group of buds (or strangers) underneath the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Of course, this being The Forks where they think of everything, you can rent skates right inside The Market (just $3 for kids, and $5 for adults).
Back to The Red River Mutual Trail, this bad boy is just over 5 km long (so a round trip is 10 km, a good workout) and will soon feature all of the amazing Warming Huts, many of which are designed by international artists and architects who won The Forks’ annual design contest.
New this year will be some awe-inspiring structures, including Stackhouse by globally famed luminary Anish Kapoor – the sculpture of famous works like Cloud Gate (aka “The Bean”) in Chicago. Kapoor’s work will be joined by other fabulous creations from artists/designers from Chicago, Rotterdam, Nova Scotia and Nelson McIntyre Collegiate here in Winnipeg (great job students!).
Party! Party! Party!
Now, you can’t just put beautiful works of art out on the ice without some fanfare, so in the spirit of awesomeness on January 27th, The Forks is throwing a full day of festivities to celebrate.
It all starts at 10:30 a.m. in the Tower Atrium (right by where you can rent your skates) with the Warming Hut reveal. This will be followed later in the early evening with the Hot Haute Hut – a party celebrating the new Warming Huts where you can meet some of the designers while enjoying libations at The Common, The Forks Market’s stylish wine and beer hall.
The Forks peeps know how to throw a party, so expect live music or DJs and much fanfare.
Family Programming
Every Sunday afternoon starting next weekend (January 12th), your family can enjoy FREE programming in a variety of ways from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. as part of the Arctic Glacier Winter Park.
For starters, there is the Snowboard Hill, where tips and instructions are available from a certified instructor for your little shredders from 1:30 p.m to 3:30 p.m. It’s the perfect time for your kids (or yourself) to start perfecting your carving and your aerial skills considering the boat-load of snow we are currently with.
Inside The Forks’ two teepees your little ones will also relish the Indigenous Programming (sponsored by Investors Group), where Indigenous elders share stories while making bannock.
And this is just a snippet of what you'll find at Winnipeg's most-visited attraction this month. So head on over to theforks.com to find out more about what wonders await you and your family this winter!
