From September 11th through 13th, Broadway will be closed to traffic and turned into an epic downtown Winnipeg street party – named Manyfest. This fun event offers a full program of events that will run all day and late into the night, and you’ll be able to take your kids for much of the daytime programming but you’ll definitely want a babysitter so that you can enjoy the fun stuff happening once the sun goes down too.

For foodies, there are farmers’ markets running on the Saturday and Sundays where you can pick up locally made treats and produce. You can participate in Food Truck Wars that are happening on all three days, where you can sample the crazy good selections from Winnipeg’s exciting food truck scene and then vote on your favourites (last year’s winner was The Red Ember, Winnipeg’s only food truck to have its own wood-fired pizza oven). If you’d prefer a few drinks, there’s a wine and beer garden open every day of the festival where you can try all kinds of liquid goodness (Mantiboa LIquor and Lotteries sponsors Manyfest).

The entertainment program for all three days is excellent. Throughout the days there are kids activities, and plenty of live music to shake your booty to. Musical acts performing this year include Attica Riots, Slow Leaves, Don Amero, andSweet Alibi. Much loved local DJ Mama Cutsworth will be operating a super fun family dance party too, so even your littlest ones can get their groove on. The festival is operating in partnership with the Manito Ahbee Festival, and there will also be Indigenous performers on site throughout the three days. On Sunday night at sundown (about 8pm) you can catch the movie Inside Out on a big screen in the park.

There’s an eclectic mix of other random events too. There’s a 5K run where everyone is adorned with glow-sticks, a bicycle soapbox derbyand various other cycling related events, an after-hours pub crawl, and a Saturday night party with entertainers specializing in fire acts.

On Sunday morning, there’s a special Stanley Cup themed pancake breakfast where you can hang out with Blue Bombers, both current members of the team and older ones too. At $5 a head, this is a bargain, and should be absolutely delicious too.

Whatever you’re into, there’s bound to be something that floats your boat happening at Manyfest. The event last year drew more than 50,000 people – making it downtown Winnipeg’s biggest summer festival. The atmosphere is fun, and the programming varied, so don’t miss Manyfest if you’re in town that weekend.

Staying at one of our Winnipeg Suites puts you close to everything downtown so that you can enjoy this, and all the other great festivals that happen in Winnipeg throughout the summer. Contact us to see how we can arrange your perfect stay. 

Manyfest image by Flickr user Steve, used under Creative Commons licensing.