Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/514227
19 Birthday cake, flags and festivities in every town mark the biggest celebration of summer — Canada Day, on July 1. Churchill's Celebrate Canada events start on National Aboriginal Day June 21, and carry on through Canada Day, with a polar bear dip in Hudson Bay, a multicultural food fair and family- friendly games. Crowds flock to Island Park in Portage la Prairie and the Riverbank Discovery Centre in Brandon. In Winnipeg, Assiniboine Park is alive with the sound of music and merriment, while The Forks National Historic Site sets the stage for an all-day party with live music, buskers, traditional First Nations entertainment and a fireworks finale. > theforks.com > assiniboinepark.com Manitoba Moments Share your photos with us on Instagram with #ExploreMB @carladyck 19 O Canada Live Long & PROSPER Capt. Kirk himself, William Shatner has been among the guests who've graced Central Canada Comic Con. Set your phasers on fun Oct. 30-Nov.1, when more than 40,000 fans — along with hundreds of artists, guests and exhibitors — descend on the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg to indulge their love of comic books, sci-fi, gaming, anime, pop culture and fantasy. > c4con.com Show your PRIDE With a salute to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Winnipeg Pride Festival, running June 5-14, chose Evolution as its theme for 2015. The Pride Forks Festival at The Forks June 13-14 draws upwards of 30,000 people to a business market, live music and food vendors. And everybody loves the parade, rally and closing party on the final day. The festival typically begins with a flag- raising at City Hall, followed by several community activities across Winnipeg. If you're in the North, check out the Pride North of 55 Festival in Thompson. > pridewinnipeg.com > pridenorthof55.com RED RIVER EXHIBITION gatherings DOWNTOWN WINNIPEG BIZ /DAN HARPER