Bringing mini-donuts, ferris wheels, classic cars, live music, and more to our community, the Winkler Harvest Festival once again proved to be one of southern Manitoba’s most beloved summer traditions, drawing thousands over the weekend for live music, food, family activities, and the unmistakable spirit of community.
Mayor Henry Siemens happy with turnout
Mayor Henry Siemens said this year’s festival brought the full spectrum of Manitoba summer weather, from sunshine to rain, hot to cool, and even some wind, but nothing dampened the enthusiasm of those in attendance.
"We've had sun and rain. And hot and cool and windy and everything in between. But through all of it, our community has shown up," Siemens said. "We've had crowds like we've never had at the parade. It was so amazing to see in in some areas, we literally people were four and five rows deep as we went through the community here tonight. What an amazing crowd to just see everything happening. Overall, I think we're extremely happy with what it is, taking the weather into consideration."
While official attendance numbers are still to come, Siemens said the festival’s economic and social impact continues to be significant.
"It allows us to put our foot forward as a community and allows us to invite southern Manitoba and the Greater Manitoba community here to show off all of the things that we are and who we are and what we do," he noted. "This festival is tremendously well supported… and it's good to see people come because one of the things that's really important to recognize is that if we put all of this work into it and nobody came, it wouldn't be a success. But… the people came. They're here. They're enjoying themselves. It's really gratifying to see."
Siemens credited festival organizer Karina Bueckert, City of Winkler staff, volunteers, and sponsors for making it all happen. He also highlighted one personal highlight: sampling from the many food trucks on site.
"We've absolutely enjoyed the food trucks. We've spent all of our meals this weekend visiting different trucks and the variety that's there and the friendliness of the people… I am so amazingly proud of southern Manitoba in this community for how we roll with whatever comes our way," he said.
Mainstage brings the stars back home
The Harvest Festival main stage saw a mix of homegrown talent and national acts, including The Quonset Brothers, who made their return to the same stage where they performed one of their first big shows over a decade ago.
"Yeah, we've been very well received in our community and it was 11 years ago that played one of our first big gigs and it was on this stage, which was there's a lot of fun memories rolling back here. So really looking forward to… putting on a show," said guitarist Jeremy Giesbrecht.
Bandmate, and drummer, Jason Giesbrecht said it was "a huge privilege… a blessing to be able to play music with these guys and that people show up to listen and appreciate our stuff."
The brothers spoke about their musical variety, which can shift from gospel to old-time country to rock within a single set. Jeremy said that range allows them to "appeal to a very wide portfolio of people… if you don't like what you're hearing, you're gonna like something generally." Jason added that switching styles is "a fun challenge big time."
Also returning to the Harvest Festival stage was Juno Award-winning group The Color. Lead singer Jordan Janzen said, "Being able to be on this stage on Sunday night is very special for us… it's nice to be welcome back and it's just something we've always had such great hometown support over the years. I don't think we'd be doing this if we didn't have that."
Guitarist Larry Abrams said the hometown crowd pushes them to deliver their very best: "People… they pour into us and love on us and we want to show them the best possible show we can."
The Color also treated fans to their latest single, Heartbeat, which Janzen described as "upbeat… uplifting… and a good representation of where we're at." Abrams said recording their upcoming EP largely from home studios has allowed them to "have more of our identity in it than we've ever really had before."
Both members said they were looking forward to sharing the stage with other artists and performing for family, friends, and familiar faces. Janzen said his kids were especially excited and would be "out there dancing."
A fitting finale
As the sun set on Sunday night, headline act Tenth Avenue North took the stage, leading into the traditional fireworks show; a dazzling conclusion to three days of music, food, and fellowship.
It was a great weekend of connecting with old and new friends. Tenth Avenue North brought the crowd to the fireworks that wrapped up the evening and the weekend.
