The International Peace Garden (IPG) turned 90 years old in 2022 and a special celebration will take place the weekend of July 29-31.
In 1928, Dr. Henry J. Moore of Islington, Ontario had a big idea. A horticulturist and a teacher, he envisioned a place of peace in the form of a beautiful garden on the border of the United States and Canada to celebrate friendship. This dreamer worked with the National Association of Gardeners and in 1932, his grand concept – a garden spanning the border of two countries and two governments — opened to the public.
On July 14, 1932, over 50,000 people gathered for the dedication of the cairn that stands at the Garden’s gateway on the border between the two countries. This summer we will celebrate the 90th anniversary of Dr. Moore’s vision – and this unique garden grounded in peace.
“For back then that sounds like a lot of people but when you look at the old photos you can see that many people did make the trip to open the IPG,” said CEO Tim Chapman.
The 90th-anniversary celebrations get underway Friday night. “We’ll have a First Nations flag raising ceremony, and Friday evening we’ll have a special supper with Manitoba’s Deputy Premier and North Dakota’s Governor attending."
Officials with the International Peace Garden are working to make the tourist spot more of a destination stop for people on both sides of the international border.
“We’re making great progress. We just in the last couple of years added a marketing director and development manager and those folks are getting the word out in a much bigger way. We started that before the pandemic so it slowed us down a bit. But the number of visitors this year has been wonderful.”
Chapman says despite things like having to use the ArriveCan app people are still making the trip.
“It would be nice if there wasn’t that process but we’re doing our best to help our visitors get through that process.