Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/368665
a night in new orleans Winnipeg Mardi Gras (www.winnipegmardigras.com) heats up the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg Feb. 13-14 with live music, dancing and authentic Louisiana cuisine, including freshly shucked oysters and alligator fritters. get down on the Farm Visit one of more than 60 farms across the province that welcome guests with open arms on Open Farm Day (www.openfarmday.ca) Sept. 21. Farmers are happy to show you around and explain how chicken, grain, dairy products and vegetables get from their fields to your fork. Hot tomatoes, cool cucumbers, sweet corn, apples and dozens of other farm-fresh goods are on offer at farmers' markets across the province through September. Le Marché St. Norbert Farmers' Market (www.stnorbertfarmersmarket.ca) is the largest of them all. Open Wednesdays and Saturdays until Oct. 25, the market just south of Winnipeg boasts more than 100 vendors who provide fresh fruit and vegetables, preserves, jewelry and crafts. In Clearwater, a farmers' market is one of the central events of the Harvest Moon Festival Sept. 12-14, along with a fair-trade fair, music, artisans, sustainable-living workshops and, naturally, groaning tables of delicious fresh food. Whet your appetite at the Honey, Garlic & Maple Syrup Festival in Manitou Sept. 5-6 (www.townofmanitou.ca). Cheer For the home team The good old hockey game brings the roar of the crowd to MTS Centre when the Winnipeg Jets NHL team (jets.nhl.com) returns to the ice in October. Regular-season games keep fans on the edge of their seats until April, and there's plenty of pre- and post-game action at surrounding pubs, clubs and eateries. Metropolitan Lounge (www.canadinns.com/meet/themet.php) is located in a revamped 1919 theatre right across Donald Street from MTS Centre, and Tavern United (www.tavernunited.com) is hockey headquarters right next door to the rink on Graham Avenue. The Shark Club (www.sharkclubs.com) at cityplace mall is a premier sports bar, eatery and gaming centre that becomes a dance club on weekend nights. It's also the unofficial home away from home for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers CFL football club (www.bluebombers.com). For home games, fans touch down at Investors Group Field, where the Rum Hut is a popular halftime hangout. For the horsey set, there's live thoroughbred racing at Assiniboia Downs (www.assiniboiadowns.com) until Sept. 21, and simulcast racing year-round, along with VLTs and a hot buffet in the Terrace Dining Room. 16 PHOTO: STAN MILOSEVIC st. Norbert Farmers' market mardi gras – Feb 13-14 WiNNipeg Jets Nhl hockey