Winnipeg and its surrounding areas’ best feature may be the quality of life it offers. The population is large enough to support a rich cultural and sporting life, but small enough to keep the air and water clean, the traffic moving, and the many natural attractions uncrowded.
For additional information on parks in the city, visit the City of Winnipeg website.
There are professional sports teams in the American Hockey League, the Canadian Football League, and the Northern Baseball League. In recent years, the province has very successfully played host to sporting events such as the Grey Cup, the World Curling Championships, and the Canada Summer Games.
In 1999, the Pan American Games made a successful return to Winnipeg, which also played host in 1967. The 1999 Pan Am Games were the biggest multi-sport event ever held in Canada, and the third-largest ever held in North America, after the Atlanta and Los Angeles Olympics.
Winnipeg has an active theatre scene, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Manitoba Museum, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and the Manitoba Opera Company. The famous Royal Winnipeg Ballet performs around the world. The enthusiastic support of Manitobans for the arts is evident in Statistics Canada data, which shows that Manitoba’s performing arts companies enjoyed the highest per capita revenue in Canada, including revenue from ticket sales, public grants, and fund-raising. Manitoba ranked first or second in each of these categories individually.
Manitoba’s many cultural festivals include Folklorama, the world’s largest multicultural festival; the Winnipeg Folk Festival, one of the largest in North America; the Festival du Voyageur, a celebration of Manitoba’s French-Canadian heritage; and more.
Residents of Winnipeg have access to 2.5 million acres of parkland and more than 100 golf courses in the province. Winnipeggers can fish in one of the province’s 100,000 pristine lakes, hike over the sand dunes in the desert near Carberry, or stroll along the many long, sandy beaches. In fact, Grand Beach on Lake Winnipeg is one of the best in North America. You can watch the huge and varied flocks of birds from the boardwalks at Oak Hammock Marsh. The choices are almost endless. Best of all, there are so many great outdoor locations and activities that it is easy to get away from the crowds.