Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/368665
15 Festival des amis – Feb 13-16, 2015 snow Queens and Kings King and queen trapper competitions, dog sled races, bannock baking and ice-worm scavenger hunts are staples of winter festivals in the North. The five-day Northern Manitoba Trappers' Festival (www.trappersfestival.com) in The Pas is the biggest of them all. It's also Manitoba's oldest festival, dating back to 1916. Each February, hardy men and women compete in king and queen trapper events like wood splitting, canoe packing, muskrat skinning, snowshoe racing and moose calling. Spectators cheer on mushers in the three-day World Champion Dog Sled Race, which runs in heats along a town loop. And a raucous rendezvous, beer festival and Fur Queen pageant are among dozens of fun events. The Thompson Winterfest (www.thompson.ca) spans the entire month of February, with new treats each weekend, ranging from dog sled races to competitive trapper events to bannock bake-offs and fireworks. Gillam's Annual Winter Carnival (www.townofgillam.com) features jigging, live entertainment and an ice-worm scavenger hunt in mid-March, at the starting point of the Hudson Bay Quest (www.hbqrace.com) dog sled race. Mushers and teams of eight to 10 dogs take about two days to complete the gruelling 320-kilometre race to Churchill, where there's another party at the Churchill Aurora Winterfest (www.everythingchurchill.com). The town's biggest annual festival features mutt races for kids and their pet dogs, snow sculpting, igloo building, king and queen trapper competitions and more. FestiVal des amis The Friends of St. Malo Provincial Park (www.friendsofstmalopark.com) embraces the bonhomie of Festival du Voyageur as an outpost Feb. 13-16. There's a pea soup cooking contest, a snow maze, live entertainment, a social and beer garden, with outdoor activities such as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, skating and tobogganing. The St. Claude Winter Carnival (www.stclaude.ca) is a warm-up party held the week before Festival du Voyageur. Skating, snow sculpting, hockey and a broomball tournament are part of the fun. And the Ste. Anne Winter Carnival (www.steannemb.ca) is held on the last weekend in January, with a social and dance, hockey, curling and snow sculpting. salute to louis riel Many French and Métis communities throw parties to coincide with Louis Riel Day, which falls on Feb. 16 in 2015, in honour of the Métis father of Manitoba. The Powerview, Pine Falls & St. Georges Winterfest (www.powerview-pinefalls.com) features a snowboarding muck jam, fireworks, wacky sled races and a swinging snow golf tournament. During Louis Riel Days in St. Lazare (www.stlazare-ellice.com), you can learn to jig or try your hand at barouche, a Métis card game. NortherN maNitoba trappers' Festival – Feb – the pas