Celebrate Summer

Canada Day here in Portage la Prairie was a huge success. Everything that Stride Place had to offer was excellent. You could tell that the biggest highlight for the kids had to be getting their faces painted and going through the bouncy castles, as the lineups were extremely long. The day started with a pancake breakfast being put on by the Portage Rotary Club. Portage also had the honor of unveiling the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Garden. For the main stage entertainment, they had Rainy Day Apparel, Terry Human, Doubletalk, and Azaria Neuschwander.

Tonight was Hollands Canada day celebration...a day early!! It was a lot of fun for everyone who attended. The day started for the kids with a scavenger hunt and a bunch of games at the Tiger Hills Arts Association building. There was also a classic car parade that toured around town. The Credit Union was selling some ice cream for people to enjoy in the warm weather. The show stopper for this day had to be the free Quinton Blair concert, where everyone was welcome to attend.

From pancake breakfasts to fireworks, Canada Day is back in a big way and the celebration is on. Food, children's activities and live entertainment will be found in communities all around the region.

In Portage, the Rotary Club will fire things up early with the ever-popular breakfast. Hi-Lites of the day include the unveiling of the new Queen's Platinum Jubilee Garden at 11 am, the Big Brothers, Big Sisters Duck Race, and the fireworks at dusk. The activities will be centered around Stride Place and Island Park. 

Night markets are officially back here in Portage la Prairie!! The United Way Central Plains put on a night market at the Fort la Reine Museum. There were many local vendors, a lemonade truck, and a beer garden. For the kids, they had a coloring station to color monarch butterflies. With your admission to the night market, you could also take a look around the museum and everything it had to offer. I hope you enjoy the photos that I captured while there.  

Oh, the Treherne Fair, what a blast it was! The fair was put on by the fantastic volunteers from the Treherne Agricultural Society. This year, the community celebrated 120 years of fairs! You could tell that the community was so happy to get back to in-person events, especially to celebrate this exciting occasion. The fair had many vendors, a penny arcade, and bouncy castles for the kids. The show stopper had to be the cattle shows. You could tell how proud the families were to show off their cows. They had The 3 Burts band playing their lovely music for everyone to enjoy.

The MacGregor Fair was today. At the fair, they had terrific activities for the whole family! The children's highlight of today was the bouncy castles, mini train rides, axe-throwing, and soccer darts! The horse show and the slow pitch tournament were a favourite for the adults. Along with all these great activities, there was also an animal exhibit where you could see live animals and even hold snakes. At the fair, there was some excellent food for everyone to enjoy. The Ribbon fries from Nacho Mommas Ribbon Fries n Tacos seemed to be a big hit!

Post-pandemic fun is picking up momentum as more events are happening outdoors for all to join starting today. Dakota Days is taking place at Dakota Tipi First Nation. 

Councilor Kyle Pashe outlines the events this week and on into next.

Hello! I'm Shelby Proznick, your Celebrate Summer host! I am a small-town Saskatchewan Girl who now calls Manitoba home. I love getting out into the community to meet new people while participating in a few adventures along the way. 

The 3rd Annual 50s Car Hop was this weekend at the Herman Prior Activity Centre, and the parking lot was full of old and new cars, waiting to get some burgers and listen to some fantastic music. Inside the Center was a Sunset Palliative Care team, selling tickets for their rainbow auction to raise money for their organization. It was so amazing to see all of our community come together to support a great cause. I can also attest that the burgers were absolutely fantastic. Please enjoy some of the moments that I captured while I was there!! 

This past weekend the third annual Table for 600 Field of Hope event occurred at the Rotary Republic of Manitobah Park in Portage la Prairie. 

The unique community dining experience was to raise funds for Central Plains Cancer Services. The community supported this cause by buying tables and decorating them to a specific theme. Once all of the tables were set up, the dining experience began.