Annual Report
The Forks
Mission-
The Forks - Shall be developed as a ‘Meeting Place,’ a special and distinct, all season gathering and recreational place at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, through a mixed use approach including recreational, historical and cultural, residential, and institutional and supportive commercial uses.
What has made The Forks the meeting place for nearly 6,000 years is its ability to change, embrace new opportunities while respecting and celebrating its heritage.
Events are one of the top reasons visitors come to The Forks. Our innovative and entertaining programming is what sets us apart.
Arctic Glacier Winter Park is gaining popularity each year and it is the partners including, Arctic Glacier, Great West Life, Investors Group, Scotiabank, Omni Facilities and many others, that allow us to offer quality programming and great winter attractions.
The Forks was able to claim the longest skating surface in the country for a brief time as Ottawa’s Rideau Canal was not entirely frozen. The ensuing Winnipeg vs. Ottawa media coverage has planted the seed for Winnipeg to make a true attempt at becoming the longest skating trail in the world this year.
Scotiabank Family New Year’s Eve came complete with two great fireworks shows and all day family programming, in spite of a surprise blizzard that morning,
Our Summer Concert Series Live on the Scotiabank Stage once again allowed us to partner with others to bring large scale programming to the site. The series is anchored by a Signature event, Canada Day at The Forks presented by Rogers, and includes Kidstock, the kickoff of Folklorama and the finale for the Indigenous Tribal Village. The fifth part of the series, The Biggest Fur Trading Party Since 1821, celebrated the designation of the Red River as a Heritage River by The Canadian Heritage Rivers Council with a large scale historic reenactment.
Two of our Signature Series welcomed a new title sponsor this year. Casinos of Winnipeg Move and Groove and Casinos of Winnipeg Salsa Sundays have a loyal following with their format of live music paired with professional dance instruction and fun.
Rogers WAM at The Plaza, an inaugural amateur skateboarding competition held in August, was a great success. Attracting competitors from across North America with its $15,000 cash purse, the three day event set the bar for competitions of this type and attracted thousands of spectators of all ages.
Three weeks of Skate Camps at The Forks were once again generously supported by Investors Group.
The site itself also became the backdrop to several major exhibits, each highlighting either an area of our province or our country as a whole.
A partnership with the town of Thompson brought The Wolves of Thompson, a series of 10 concrete wolves decorated by Manitoba artists, to the site.
In conjunction with Quebec based organization Reporters Communication, The Forks hosted a major photo exhibit on the preservation of the boreal forest in Canada.
Inside The Forks Market another partnership, this time with the town of Morden, resulted in a summer exhibit of Sea Monsters. The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre and The Forks Market created the two month long installation of fossils and activities, including a gigantic sand sculpture that attracted a great deal of media attention.
The Forks Market itself continues to build upon the fresh food concept. Our most recent survey indicated that fresh food was one of the main reasons visitors came to The Forks Market. Tenants in the fresh food category have seen over a 100% increase in their sales from this time last year.
New tenants at The Forks Market show the effect the skateboard park has had on our site. SK8 Skates moved from its Corydon Avenue location to the second floor of the Forks Market this year and Pylon, specializing in youth oriented items, moved next door.
Restaurants at The Forks are major attractions and our fast food tenants continue to offer a wide range of diverse ethnic offerings. Branigan’s underwent a name change and renovation this year.
The Inn at the Forks has built a solid clientele of conference, business and leisure travelers over its three year history. Their reputation has attracted local, national and international clients to their one-of-kind boutique hotel.
The Manitoba Children’s Museum (MCM) and Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) both continue to report strong attendance at their venues, with MTYP’s season being one of the best yet. Comet in Moominland, one of the venue’s original productions is New York bound this fall, a testament to the calibre of performance showcased at this venue. And at MCM, a new gift shop has been a great addition to the museum.
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will become the only federal museum to be located outside of the national capital area with the Prime Minister’s announcement that CMHR would become a federal institution. Fundraising efforts continue with nearly $240 million, of the $265 million required to begin construction, already committed. We are working closely with all the partners involved to address parking and transportation issues to ensure all of the site’s needs are met during and after construction.
We bid farewell this year to the Splash Dash Water Bus service. While the operator will continue to provide tours of the river, the feasibility of the water bus is in jeopardy, as the docks can’t be installed until water levels recede to a certain level, something that has rarely happened until at least early August in five of the last six summers. We continue to search for alternate solutions for the coming season.
A new Forks initiative is beginning this fall. Target 0:2010 is our commitment to find ways to reduce The Forks’ carbon footprint to zero by the year 2010. With projects on both the consumption and supply side of the equation, the ambitious target will be outlined on www.theforks.com and at a press conference in early November.
The Forks Heritage Advisory Committee completed a significant project that was launched on The Forks web site. The new Forks Heritage Research web page contains an abundance of information about pre-contact (pre-fur trade) and recent historical details of The Forks, one of Canada’s most prominent historic zones.
The Forks Foundation mission is “to raise funds to support and enhance historical, cultural and public amenities at The Forks”. Over the past year, The Foundation has received funds in support of programs from Investors Group, The Burns Family Fund, The Winnipeg Foundation, and donations from individuals in memory of a loved one.
The Forks Foundation also launched The Forks Bench Tribute Program to allow the public to purchase a bench in honour of a loved one or to commemorate a special occasion. And The Great Wise Owl, a sculpture piece designed by local architect Etienne Gaboury will soon be installed in front of The Forks Market to accept donations for The Forks Foundation.