Summer Starts Here

STARTS HERE 03 By Jared Story The Cube is the cultural core of Winnipeg's Exchange District. Opened in 2012 in Old Market Square, The Cube is part open-air performance stage and part interactive art installation. Designed by 5468796 Architecture, The Cube is clad in chain mail, comprised of 20,000 identical aluminum links strung together on aircra cables. The shimmering membrane of the 28-foot by 28-foot cube can be manipulated to reveal the stage and structure within. Behind the aluminum curtain, The Cube is host to a variety of entertainment options, including annual summertime events like the Winnipeg International Jazz Festival and Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival. "It's an open-air stage in the middle of Winnipeg's original downtown," says David Pensato, executive director of The Exchange District Biz. "You're in the heart of a significant and beautiful historic area. That's a pretty distinct thing for the city, and I would argue, for North America. The more I meet people visiting here from other cities, the more I hear how astounded they are by the amount and degree of architecture that we have in the Exchange. And to have an outdoor stage in the middle of that is really unique." In addition to the Jazz Fest and Fringe, The Cube and Old Market Square is the site of summer music festivals like Soca Reggae Festival, the Northern Touch Music Festival, and Manitoba Electronic Music Exhibition (MEME), as well as the contemporary art installations of Nuit Blanche Winnipeg. On June 8, The Cube stage was graced by international recording artists Bruce Cockburn and Ani DiFranco for "Rise Up 100: Songs for the Next Century," a concert in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike. The site also hosts slightly smaller events such as Concert Movies at the Cube and the weekly Caravan at the Cube, a Monday night open mic for artists of all styles. "Starting from about now until the end of September, it's pretty constant," Pensato says. The Cube has become a hub for summer fun in Winnipeg, but it was controversial when it first popped up in 2012. Some praised its ultra-modern design, which earned 5468796 a Governor General's Medal for Architecture in 2014. But not everyone was pleased. Some even compared The Cube to The Borg cube, the starship used by the hive-minded cybernetic antagonists in the Star Trek franchise. That said, The Cube criticism seems to have dropped off in recent years. Perhaps it's true that "Resistance is futile." "We're a slow growth city so things take a little bit of time," Pensato says. "When the team put that space together (the redevelopment of Old Market Square), they envisioned this. They knew this was where the Exchange was headed. Things take time. It's much like all the development along Waterfront Drive. Everyone thought it wasn't going to work, and here we are now, and the buildings are all filled." One thing every Winnipegger can agree on though is a deal. Most events at The Cube are free and completely open to the public. "Having Old Market Square and The Cube there in the middle of a park that is always open to the public is special. We've lost a lot of those spaces," Pensato says. "(There's) the vibrancy of the neighbourhood around it too. You can go to Old Market Square for a concert or an activity and there's dozens of fantastic restaurants all around and cool little shops where you can find things you'd never find in a boring shopping mall. "And the beautiful architecture and landscape. I think Winnipeggers sometimes forget it's here because we're so used to it, whereas anyone visiting here is just amazed. They walk around the Exchange practically gaping as they look at all the buildings and pop into all the shops. "I would love for more Winnipeggers to realize what we have here. It really makes us feel like an international city." It's hip to be SQUARE THE CUBE HAS BECOME A HUB FOR SUMMER FUN IN THE EXCHANGE MORE THAN 20,000 IDENTICAL ALUMINUM LINKS HELP GIVE THE CUBE ITS DISTINCTIVE LOOK WHICH HAS WON NUMEROUS AWARDS FOR ITS ULTRA MODERN DESIGN. COURTESY NICHOLAS FRIESEN, EXCHANGE DISTRICT BIZ. THE CUBE IN THE EXCHANGE DISTRICT HOSTS A NUMBER OF EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER INCLUDING THE WINNIPEG INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL, THE WINNIPEG FRINGE FESTIVAL AND THE NORTHERN TOUCH MUSIC FESTIVAL. COURTESY MIKE PETERS, EXCHANGE DISTRICT BIZ. ManitobaMuseum.ca @ManitobaMuseum OPEN 10 AM – 5 PM Thur 10 AM – 9 PM "Very well done, interesting (for adults+kids!)" Get Under Nature's Skin

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