Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/368665
Salut VoiSin – Howdy neigHBour weekend – Sep. 12-14 – notre daMe de lourdeS pArLez pArty in ALL SeASonS Reconstructed fur-trade post Fort Gibraltar and la Maison du Bourgeois (www.fortgibraltar.com) are bustling during Festival du Voyageur each February, when winter festivals break out in French towns and villages throughout southern Manitoba. And there are many other occasions for celebration. In the fall, Mud Fest á Sainte-Adolphe (www.ritchot.com) is dubbed "a family messtival" for good reason. The event held Sept. 5-6 includes mud sliding, mud-pie making, a muddy tug-of-war and a "mudcake" breakfast. do the MonSter MASh Be careful not to wake the sleeping monster during Manipogo Festival (www.festivalmanipogo.ca) in St. Laurent. The celebration to mark the end of ice-fishing season each March is named for Lake Manitoba's version of the Loch Ness Monster, who has been sighted as recently as 2011. Ride a Bombardier to a fishing hole to try your luck by day, then dance the night away at the Fisher's Ball. LiFe iS Sweet in St. pierre-joLyS St. Pierre-Jolys (www.stpierrejolys.com) is famous for its summer Frog Follies, but the village is jumping in mid-April during the Sugaring Off Festival. The party has a dual purpose; to celebrate the arrival of spring as well as the village's distinction as Manitoba's first maple sugar producing community. The Sugar Shack is named Cabane d'mon oncle Armand in honour of Armand Desharnais, who first tapped maple trees on a whim on the local museum grounds in 1986. MaiSon du BourgeoiS Notre Dame de Lourdes (www.notre-dame-de-lourdes.ca) tees up a golf tournament, entertainment, fireworks and pig races during Salut Voisin - Howdy Neighbour Weekend Sept. 12-14, in honour of one of its founders. Don Paul Benoit led settlers from France and Switzerland to the area in 1891, and a group of Chanoinesses (nuns) followed. Trace their history at the Pionners and Chanoinesses Museum. Manipogo feStiVal – MarcH – St. laurent 28