Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/514227
47 Day 1 Follow the Trans Canada Highway about 40 kilometres east of Winnipeg to Hwy 12 and turn south to reach Ste. Anne-des-Chenes. On Labour Day weekend, the town celebrates Les Journées Chemin/Dawson Trail Days, with a parade, fireworks, beer garden and live music salute the its role in the 1800s as a trading post and waystation along the 850-kilometre trail from Fort William to St. Boniface. Learn about the area's Métis history at the Pointe-des-Chenes Museum, then steer south on Hwy 210 and head to La Broquerie. Founded by French pioneers in 1883, the town marks La Fête de la Saint Jean Baptiste/St. Jean Baptiste Days each June. The holiday celebrates Quebec's patron saint, St. John the Baptist. A local tradition since 1897, the soiree features family entertainment, live music, fireworks and French-Canadian cuisine. Hit the links at La Vérendrye Golf Course, named for the first French explorer to set foot in Western Canada. Just southeast of La Broquerie, the town of Marchand has a claim to fame as the scene of Franco-Manitoban author Gabrielle Roy's first teaching job in 1929, an experience that coloured her novel Children of My Heart. (Geneviève Bujold played the older Roy in a TV movie of the same title, shot in Manitoba in 1999). Marchand is also the gateway to Sandilands Provincial Park, a beautiful destination for hiking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing. At day's end, hole up at for the Marchand Inn for a bit of R&R on your private patio. > steannemb.ca > labroquerie.com > marchandinn.com Day 2 Head west on Hwy 52 to Hwy 59 and St. Pierre- Jolys. In mid-April the towns holds a Sugaring Off Festival 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 St. Pierre-Jolys Museum grounds in 1986. Visit the museum and Goulet House, a log home built in 1870 that recalls typical French-Canadian homes of that era in the Red River Valley. Continue south on Hwy 59 to St. Malo. Visit the St. Malo Shrine and Grotto – the century-old reproduction of the shrine in Lourdes, France, is the scene of a pilgrimage each August. The St. Malo Museum is right next door, at the gateway to St. Malo Provincial Park, where you can rent a canoe or paddleboat and relax on the lake within a kilometre of the St. Malo townsite. Duck into the Bon Appetit Bistro for a hot lunch or fresh pastries. From St. Malo, take a 45-minute drive southwest to St. Joseph, on Hwy 201 west of Letellier. The St. Joseph Museum boasts an 1890s schoolhouse, general store, blacksmith shop, milking shed and train station with an 1865 caboose, along with a large collection of tractors and artifacts. The Parent Tourisme Centre houses a collection of cameras and rare photos dating back more than a century. The Montcalm Heritage Festival is held on Father's Day weekend each June, with live music, children's entertainment and a Sunday morning community brunch. Swing north on Hwy 75 and make a stop at Ste. Agathe. Already home to several Métis families when farmers from Quebec arrived to settle the area in the late 1870s, the town is home to the Red River Valley Flood Interpretive Centre, which contains a wealth of information about area floods, including the 1997 Flood of the Century. In 1875, the Cheyenne River Boat sank in the Red River here. It wasn't a cause for celebration at the time, but these days, the annual Festival d'été Cheyenne Summer Fest in July includes a pancake breakfast, beer and skits, a dance and fireworks at Cartier Park. Carry on north to St. Norbert Heritage Provincial Park, at the junction of the Red and La Salle Rivers just south of Winnipeg. The park hosts a popular Ghost Hike historical tour each summer. Tour two restored 19th-century homes in this Métis settlement or stroll along a one-kilometre self-guided trail and survey the unrestored log house where the first member of parliament for Provencher, Pierre Delorme, raised 13 children with his wife Adelaide. > museestjoseph.ca > rmofmontcalm.com > steagathe.ca > manitobaparks.com The largest French settlements west of Quebec take great pride in preserving their heritage. Take a leisurely driving tour of some of southern Manitoba's hamlets to immerse yourself in local history. Immersion French ST. JOSEPH MUSEUM SAINT-MALO PARISH