Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/59721
WESTERN 101 International Peace Garden CATCH THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST Picturesque valleys, rolling hills and dense forests are close neighbours with desert sands and fertile farmland in this region bordering the United States to the south and Saskatchewan to the west. And there's just as much diversity on the festival and recreational front. Summer soirees include the Neepawa Lily Festival, Métisfest in Killarney and Banana Days in Melita, nestled in an area dubbed Manitoba's "banana belt" for its warmer-than-average temperatures. A tour of Manitoba's southwest corner brings a change of scenery at every turn. Westman's challenging trails draw mountain bikers, its golf and country clubs are on par with the world's best, and the fishing is always fine. At Pelican Lake, the catch of the day may be northern pike, pickerel or perch, and anglers appreciate the beauty of the valley setting, amid stands of old oak and poplar trees that shade a colourful array of wildflowers that includes wild roses, crocuses and daisies. Formal botanical gardens lure visitors to the International Peace Garden. Dedicated to friendship, the site at Turtle Mountain Provincial Park hugs the U.S. border, about 50 kilometres south of Brandon. Manitoba's second-largest city, Brandon maintains a charming stock of heritage buildings that stand side by side with modern shops, hotels, restaurants and art galleries. Home to the Brandon Folk, Music and Arts Festival in July, its attractions include the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, a national historic site that recalls the pilots who trained at 14 Manitoba facilities during the Second World War. Westman museums run the gamut from pioneer displays in Carberry and Virden to an automobile museum in Elkorn, the Irvin Goodin International Wildlife Museum in Boissevain and the Margaret Laurence Home, devoted to the celebrated author, in Neepawa. Pelican Lake Carberry's Seton Centre invites guests to retrace the footsteps of famed naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton, who once homesteaded in the area. Seton relished days spent exploring the sand dunes and desert flora and fauna of Spirit Sands in Spruce Woods Provincial Park, and its allure isn't lost on 21st century naturalists.