Manitoba Agricultural Museum gearing up for Winter Wonderland

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This article was published 07/12/2023 (1018 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sleigh bells will ring through the crisp winter air, and the scent of hot chocolate will tempt holiday revellers at this year’s Winter Wonderland festivities held by the Manitoba Agricultural Museum near Austin.

The museum, located 82 kilometres northeast of Brandon, will be lit up with Christmas lights and full of festive events for the weekends of Dec. 8-10 and Dec. 15-17, from 5 to 8 p.m. to showcase the best the season has to offer, including sleigh rides, kids’ activities and holiday movies from the National Film Board of Canada.

Lise Mitchler, operations manager at the museum, and Trisha Dyck, collections and programming manager, says many people have reached out to share their excitement about the upcoming event.

“We’re capturing lots of anticipation on Facebook and social media as well, and tickets are selling,” Mitchler told the Sun.

Calling the event Westman’s quintessential Christmas/holiday festival, she said she’s not surprised that it has captured the attention and admiration of so many people in this part of the province.

“People are thrilled,” she said. “Sometimes we have a bit of a lineup for the horses, but people are usually okay with waiting. They’re looking at the snow, the kids are playing in the playground. They’re enjoying hot chocolate and perhaps hotdogs around the bonfire.”

The kitchen at the museum will be open this year, so people can grab other treats to eat as well.

The most important part of the festival — and the reason behind it — is to celebrate the history and culture of the region, Mitchler said.

“It’s magical. It’s also historical. We’re celebrating heritage in our village, which is of course bedecked in lights.”

It takes a lot of time, planning and effort to pull off the event, and volunteers begin to string up lights in October, Mitchler said. Three to five people light up all 60 acres of the village, while others help in the kitchen, direct parking and run admission booths. Other people assist with the horses and the lineup of people waiting for their chance to experience a sleigh ride through the glowing historic village.

“We have quite a lot of volunteers that offer their time and efforts for us. It’s wonderful,” Mitchler said.

The three movies that will play at the event from the National Film Board of Canada include “Ludovic – Let it Snow” by Sylvain Lavoie, “The Story of Christmas” by Evelyn Lambert, and “Nunavut Animation Lab: The Bear Facts” by Jonathan Wright.

All three films have different perspectives on the winter and holiday season, Mitchler said.

“They’re all short films, between eight and 12 minutes, and they’ll play on a loop for the whole evening, so nobody will miss anything. You can just go ahead and pop into the building to see the movies at any point during the event,” she added.

Dyck is looking forward to a new event — the Hickory Dickory Dock exhibit, which will showcase the museum’s collection of antique clocks.

“It’s really important that we are showcasing bits of our collection at any point during the year,” she said. “Our village and our larger artifacts like tractors and steam engines get really highlighted during the summer, so winter is a time to kind of take some of those other more domestic cultural objects and have people learn about them, too.”

The event couldn’t happen without help from its sponsors, Mitchler said, which include RONA Building Centre in Portage la Prairie and personal donors.

“We’re very thankful for that gracious gift and for everybody supporting us all these years, and we look forward to having another wonderful Winter Wonderland this year,” Mitchler said.

Tickets for the event are available at eventbrite.ca.

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