Category Archives: Winnipeg Programs and Activities

Monday Mash – Wellness Links – May 27

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festivals-portal

Gear up this summer for some wellness approved summer festivals!

  • Skip the workout! Spend an evening (or a week and half) hiking from venue to venue around downtown Winnipeg, while watching some of the best theater the 2nd largest Fringe Festival in North America has to offer.
  • Music is medicine! Check out the Winnipeg Folk Festival for some natural (legal) happiness therapy.
  • People from Japan, Italy and the Scandinavia are some of the world’s healthiest. Learn their secrets of food and dance at Folkorama. Check out the VIP Cycle Tour to burn calories between pavilions!
  • Let the kids run wild at the Winnipeg International Children’s Festival. BUDGET SAVER ALERT! Did you know that children under 12 can pay once and visit everyday of the festival? Just keep that wristband on and trade in at the box office when you go in again.

Need more culture? Visit Travel Manitoba to fill your summer with fun!

Winnipeg Leisure Guide – 2013

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The City of Winnipeg offers many great programs which it promotes bi-annualy via it’s Leisure Guide. You can check out the city’s site here and find a a pdf version of the 2013 Winter Leisure Guide here.

Here are a few highlights:

  • Registration for swimming lessons begins December 11th
  • Registration for all other programs begins on December 12th
  • There are three ways to register – online, by phone (311), or in-person at select location (see the Guide for details)

The Guide is full of activities for pre-schoolers, children and adults.  Recreational activities include gymnastics, swimming, martial arts, dance, badminton, soccer, squash, basketball, skating lessons and hockey.  There are also many leisure and creative activites like cooking, pottery, and other artistic activities.

Aside from these programs, the guide has contact information for community centres and features on other regular activities in the city. Too much to summarize in a post – check it out yourself – you’re bound to find something of interest.

 

Best Race / Worst Race

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In anticipation of next week’s First Annual Red River College Fun Run, we asked several regular RRC runners to recollect their own best and worst races.  If you are interested in taking part in the Fun Run,  the race will be held on October 10th (noon start) at the bus loop on the Notre Dame Campus. Click here to register.

James Slade – Instructor

Best race: No question, Boston Marathon, 2008 where I had to run with one contact lens missing (lost it in the pool the night before) in the blazing sun (who the heck thinks of sunscreen in April???) and desperate for a port-a-potty (yup…me and the other 25,000 runners…get in line).  What was it that made it the best?  The crowd was the absolute best!  I was at least a km away from Wellesley College and thought I could hear water running, then about 500m away I realized it was not a waterfall, but the famous Wellesley Scream Tunnel!  You get through that, you go on another 17 km or so and enter the city proper to more screaming fans, on both sides of the road, and by the end of that stretch, my ears were ringing!  You simply cannot quit amidst all that support.

Worst race:  So many it’s hard to pick just one, y’ know?  Was it the torn hamstring that went ‘pop!’ at km 4 of the 10 k that slowed me to a snail’s pace, looking for ice at the finish line to discover NO first aid facilities whatsoever?  Or was it the race I showed up late for…so late when I arrived, everyone else was finishing? (just screwed the time up, no one to blame but me).  I could go with, not a race but rather, my first really long run starting my marathon training that was all of 6 km, and hurt so bad I had to walk down stairs backwards for the next two days!  Here I am still running and still looking for more ‘worsts’!  In the grand scheme of things, I always figure that if this is the worst thing in my life right now, then life’s pretty good!

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City of Winnipeg’s Winter Leisure Guide full of affordable activities around the city

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There’s lots of great things to do in Winnipeg – especially in the winter. While most of us know where to find favourite outdoor skating rink, taboggoning hill, or what general fun can be found at The Forks, there are endless other events and activities going on in the city that you only need to look as far as the City of Winnipeg’s Winter Leisure Guide to discover.

The guide includes information on countless different events, activities, classes, and programs that are all being offered throughout the winter months at different recreation centres and organizations in Winnipeg. Part of the guide is organized by age group (pre-school, children, youth, adults, and seniors), so it’s easy to see what’s available for either yourself, or your children. The guide also includes a directory of all Winnipeg community and recreation centres, as well as information on how to register for any of the programs that are being advertised.

After browsing through the guide, here are a list of great affordable (or free!)  events coming up that might be worth checking out:

  • Cooking classes: Throughout January, February, and March,  learn how to create a new dish that you can serve up at home with classes at the St. John’s Leisure Centre, Arthur A Leach School, and the Fort Rouge Leisure Centre. For often less than $40, you can get hands-on training with an instructor on how to make dishes from around the world – like Asian curry dishes, French soups, and Nigerian cuisine.
  • Free swim: Swimming is an excellent way to exercise – especially if you’re overweight, have a physical disability, or are a senior. From January 3 – March 11, over a dozen indoor pools across Winnipeg are offering free swim periods for people at any age  that are often scheduled in the evenings, and on the weekends. Some pools are also offering free swim periods for youth ages 9-19 only. For a full list of Winnipeg pools to see which ones are offering free swim programs in your neighbourhood, click here
  • Drop-in fitness classes: Can’t commit to a full 10 or 12 week fitness course? Many of the fitness programs listed in the leisure guide also allow for drop-ins for those who can’t attend regularly, or who want to check out several different classes. Most classes charge a $10.75 one-time drop-in fee, but passes can also be purchased in groups ($42 for 4 classes, $74 for 10 classes, $134 for 20 classes, or $171 for 30 classes). The best part? They don’t expire.
Want more ideas on free activities you or your family can take part in this winter around Winnipeg? Check out the City of Winnipeg’s Winter 2012 Priceless Fun free programs guide. You can also register for any of the city’s Leisure Guide programs at www.leisureonline.ca 
 
Submitted by Hayley Brigg, Creative Communications student