Lunch Skate Date

Last week, I gathered some friends together for a lunchtime skate date. I extended the invite online through the hashtag #lunchskatedate and other Internet-friend lunch-hour adventurers joined us! It was perfectly timed, as the Red River Mutual Trail had just re-opened after being closed due to an unusually warm January week. As an extra bonus, we were able to explore some of the brand new warming huts!

It was one of those perfectly sunny winter days in Winnipeg: blue skies, crisp air and blazing sunshine. It filled my heart to see so many people stepping away from their desks for fresh air, pals and frosty beers! Pro tip: if you live or work on the west side of downtown, you can access the Red River Mutual Trail from the Osborne Bridge.

Skating is one of those activities that you can do in a group and still go at your own pace. It’s a great leisure winter activity for all. Slow and steady or fancy backward crosscuts, we’re all on the same ice together.

It felt so good to be out in the sun breathing in the fresh air. I often think of The Forks as our downtown active community hub. It’s not that difficult to zip out to trade in your cubicle’s fluorescent lights for some sunshine on the Red River Mutual Trail.

We skated through the new warming hut "Open Borders" created by Joyce de Grauw and Paul van den Berg from Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The warming huts are great public art installations. Designers from around the world compete to have their designs built. Brilliantly staggered along the river, they pop up along the ice trail, making for great rest stops to explore and relax your skate legs.

Skating is one of the best "visiting activities." It’s not too intense, and you can just glide along while carrying a conversation (and forget that it’s exercise!).

We capped off our skate with lunch at The Common. Nothing like an après skate with an ice-cold beer! The lunch possibilities are endless at The Forks: soup, burgers, sushi, curry, noodles; you name it—it’s there. And there’s always a new restaurant popping up.

It really is the best way to spend a winter lunch break. Everyone trotted back to their offices feeling lighter, energized and happier. “That was actually super fun and super easy,” reported one skater on his way back to work. “I feel SO good,” said another.

Why not beat those winter blahs and sluggish afternoons by gathering your co-workers, boss and downtown friends and zipping over to The Forks for a #lunchskatedate!

And, if standing on metal blades in the middle of a frozen river still scares you a bit, I have good news! The Forks is offering Suds + Buds skate lessons from 8 - 9 pm every Wednesday night in February hosted by moi! All levels are welcome. I’ll work with you to build your confidence out on the ice so you can enjoy one of our city’s greatest winter gifts! Life is too short NOT to try it. Come on, it’ll be fun!

Lindsay Somers is a Lifestyle Health Coach in Winnipeg. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter. All photos by Mark Reimer.

Small Stores Give Big

The best gifts come in small packages, and so do the best retail experiences. This holiday season, get out of the big-box stores during Ciao! magazine’s annual Boutique Week!

From Dec. 5-14, Boutique Week retailers will be offering special promotions, discounts, gifts and treats that are sure to brighten your festive spirit while shopping. Shop at any retailer at The Forks and receive a free gift with a purchase over $25. As part of this shopping event, Boutique Week shoppers can enter a draw for a Grand Prize Shopping Spree provided by all participating stores.

“Neighbourhood stores are what give each city its local flavour,” says Ciao! publisher Laurie Hughes. “The dedication to high-quality products and service is a reflection of Winnipeg’s passionate local retailers.”

Hop on board a VIP shopping tour on Dec 5, 6, 11, and 12, and avoid the hassle of driving and parking. Tours begin with a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception at The Forks, swag bags included!

For more information and a list of participating retailers, go to ciaowinnipeg.com. 

Summer at The Forks

Canada Day has come and gone and summer is in full swing at The Forks.  The July 1st celebrations were a huge success and we want to thank everyone who came out and made it a party to remember!

Canada Day at The Forks is part of our Scotiabank Summer Concert Series, a collection of four large scale events held on site during the months of June and July.  We kicked off the concert series with Pride Day celebrations, then APTN's Aboriginal Day Live & Celebration and, most recently, Canada Day.  If for some crazy reason you missed all three of those events, not to worry, we have one more coming your way!  The Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Folklorama Kickoff will be hitting the Scotiabank Stage and Festival Field on July 27.  Watch for an upcoming blog post on that.

Looking for something to do at The Forks THIS weekend?  Why not spend the afternoon hanging out on the beach in the Historic Port?  The beach is an interactive installation of art and architecture that is part of Cool Gardens, summer's answer to the now famous Warming Huts.

Feeling the heat from all that beach sitting?  Zip on up to Neon Cone at The Forks Market and grab and ice cream cone or gelato to cool you off while you kick back and relax on the Splash Dash River Tour.  Waterbus tours run daily with pick ups and drop offs right in The Forks Historic Port.

If all that leisure and relaxtion has made you thirsty why not enjoy a cold bevvy in the shade at the Muddy Waters port side patio.  Excellent views of the river and The Forks site make it one of the most appealing patios in town.

Remember we have plenty of places to lock up your bike, so why not leave the car at home next time you head down to The Forks?

If you're looking for more information on any events happening at The Forks, you can always visit our Calendar of Events on theforks.com.  Thanks for stopping in.  Stay cool, Winnipeg!

  

Taking Green to the Next Level

We’ve got an impressive goal with our Target Zero initiative: zero garbage, zero water consumption and zero carbon emissions. This year, we saw some real green when it came to this initiative, both environmental and cold, hard cash. 

There are some pretty cool statistics that go along with our savings:

·       Geothermal – Last year we saved $100,000 in heating bills due to the installation of the geothermal heating/cooling system in The Forks Market. As a direct result nearly 1 kilotonne of greenhouse gas emissions were not put back in to the air.

·       Water – Since The Forks began its water conservation/matching use program, 7.5 million litres of water have been conserved in The Forks Market at a savings of $22,000.

·       Waste – In 2005, The Forks paid $75,000 to put waste into the landfill. Last year, only $30,000 was paid and revenues from other tenants totaled $20,000.

·       Fuel – By converting fryer oil and powering site equipment, 22,000 litres of “veggie oil” were used and $30,000 was saved. That’s why our Zamboni smells like French Fries!

But, we’re not stopping there. We’ve been meeting with active living and recreational groups to find out how they use our site. We met everyone we could think of: biking, walking, hiking, kayaking, running, winter and skateboarding groups. We want to come up with a strategy for everyone that could improve amenities, communication and use.

We also just launched a really cool walking tour for school kids that teaches them about our stuff and then encourages them to think of things they can do themselves. The Target Zero Eco-Kids Tour, presented by MMSM, is led by two great actors from Green Kids Inc.

Inside The Market there’s now a green store too. The aptly named Generation Green specializes in eco-friendly bio-degradable items for household use. They have laundry detergents, baby stuff and tons of cosmetics.

And, we’re not slowing down either. We really do believe that we can make a difference by continuously looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint. No greenwashing here either. When we do it, we do it the best way we can. 

The Waterfront

As many of you may know we are working on a long term plan for Winnipeg’s downtown waterfront – really a 20-30 year vision of what can be done to celebrate Winnipeg as a river-city.  We’ll be providing an update on the plan at our upcoming AGM on October 31*.

The idea for creating such a plan evolved over the last decade or so through a variety of discussions with people from throughout North America (and beyond) at the WaterfrontCenter annual conference. When I chaired the awards selection jury at this US based organization it became quite clear that the creation of a long term vision is an early and important step in city-building.  It was equally clear that Winnipeg has a great opportunity waiting to happen.  So discussions began with senior city, provincial and federal officials and the idea was embraced - create a river-front plan that celebrates Winnipeg as a river-city.

With developments at The Forks we have taken a very important step in that direction. In fact, Winnipeg has received three Waterfront Centre awards including the Riverwalk (Forks to Legislature), The Forks Historic Port and River Trail/Warming huts.  Winnipeg and The Forks have become well recognized at these conferences.

A long term vision needs careful thought and consideration.  Participation in meetings and work-shops at those conferences, where we hear examples of what works and what doesn’t develop prepares us with new insights and knowledge.   

Two weeks ago I attended the 30^th Annual Waterfront Center Conference in Washington DC. Although attendance was lower than usual with approximately 150 participants, it had representation from many parts of the world.  I had the pleasure of chairing a panel on mixed-use development with some very smart people from NYC, Vancouver BC, and Duluth.  Different stories from different places with some very similar messages.

Some of the highlights that hit home are:

• ·       Plan for the big-picture but don’t be overly prescriptive.  Be open to take advantage of new ideas and new opportunities as they arise.
• ·      Although it is big attractions that often draw people to the waterfront we were reminded by our NYC panelist, who designed Battery Park, that the most compelling element is the relationship with the surrounding environment and making the waterfront part of everyday life.
• ·      Big is not always better and it is important to take full advantage of small green spaces that create intimate natural settings for leisure and relaxation.
• ·      Waterfronts are a life’s work and need continuous care and improvement (we experience this at The Forks).
• ·      It takes time and often a number of plans before projects are adopted and built so diligence and determination are required. (Interestingly those we speak to are impressed how quickly The Forks transformed a rail-yard into what exists today – it seems like a long-haul to us.)
• ·      Connect the waterfront to the people first, not the buildings.  And acknowledge the gaps, ensuring linkages to the adjacent neighbourhoods.

These are good lessons many of which we have tried to incorporate into or planning process.  We are appreciative of those that share their stories at conferences like this but are equally receptive to local Winnipeggers sharing their thoughts and ideas. 

-Jim August

*The Forks North Portage Annual General Meeting is being held on Wednesday, October 31 from 8:30 am to 10:00 am at the Children’s Museum. It is open to the public. 

Yudyta's Ukrainian Food

When Judy Woligroski opened Yudyta’s Ukrainian Food in The Forks Market in 1989, she didn’t even know how to make a perogy.

The only thing Judy knew for sure was that she liked The Forks because it was a “cool place to hang” and saw potential in its daytime traffic and diverse clientele.

Initially her plan was to open a retail store but a hungry family member suggested a food kiosk. She would take the advice, but would need her mother’s traditional Ukrainian recipes, and more importantly she would need her mother’s help.

Luckily for Judy, her mother Caroline adored The Forks. She loved the morning commute, the wildlife, the trees and the overall atmosphere of the area. They both knew it was a special place and wanted to be a part of its bright future.

So, together, the Woligroskis began pumping out delicious perogies, cabbage rolls, garlic sausage and borscht gaining a reputation throughout Winnipeg as a premiere perogy palace.  As demand for their product grew, so did their operation.They began catering special functions from office parties to weddings. They couldn’t make perogies fast enough during the holiday season, as they became an extremely hot commodity.

To the Woligroskis, The Forks Market is a second home and its tenants a second family. They support one another; if someone runs out of oil or potatoes they are quickly taken care of. It’s a community of caring and cohesion coming together for a common goal of making The Forks a Winnipeg destination.

This family element was especially evident in June when Judy’s mother tragically passed away. Again, Judy needed help, and The Forks community gave her the support she needed to continue the Yudyta’s legacy.

Although Judy has had challenges to overcome, mostly related to replicating her mother’s borscht recipe, you can still find Judy behind the counter at Yudyta’s. Still serving up exceptional Ukrainian cuisine and tremendous customer service.

So if you find yourself at The Forks on an empty stomach go see Judy at Yudyta’s Ukrainian Food. Never tried a cabbage roll before? She will treat you to a free sample. What to learn how to make a perogy? Wash your hands and put on an 

apron.

Warming Huts Jury

 It is always an interesting mix when you have a group of artists discussing a project with some operations guys.

This past Saturday the warming huts jury, with nine established and creative architects and three operations people, met to select this year’s winning warming huts. Five huts needed to be picked out of 100 submissions from all over the world.

The day started early as the jury who hail from as far away as Halifax, Albuquerque and New York came together to start plowing through the stacks of drawings hoping that the winners would pop out right away. No such luck. This year’s submissions were of high quality. After three years of competition teams are starting to really go for it creatively.

The first cull by the jury took two hours and all they were able to eliminate was 25 submissions. The jury realized at this point that they were going to have to be ruthless if they were going to get it down to the top five by day’s end. Another cull and another ten were out.

The jury then broke onto three groups and were instructed to come back with their top five. After a few more hours they were down to the final fifteen. Now the debates began in earnest.

This is the point where the operations guys, including me, start to get really nervous. Although we can’t vote or influence the jury, we are going to have to try and build what they select. There was lots of nervous whispering amongst us as the jury got down to the final five. We agreed that as long as one particular entry didn’t make it we would be ok. Of course, it came in at number three and my brain started to hurt just thinking of how the hell we were going to build it. It’s going to be an interesting six weeks as we try and figure it out. We’ll give it a good shot and if it can’t be done we have two really strong alternates that we can default to.

The three entries that were selected are interesting this year. They will be far more subtle then past winners and all of them explore a deeper sense of winter and nostalgia.

As always I learn a lot about how other countries perceive us. Our climate, our tremendous isolation and the unbelievable uniqueness of building something that rests on a frozen temporary environment intrigues creative minds from all over the planet.

The Warming Huts v.2013: An Art and Architecture Competition on Ice is entering its fourth year. The entries chosen last weekend now go through a due diligence phase to ensure they can be built. Winners will be announced in mid November. 

The Forks North Portage Blog

We have been talking about a blog for ages but haven’t gotten down to actually writing one.  So, here we are.  

The Forks Arial Shot by Dan Harper

As most of you know we have a lot going on around here and we have great stories to tell and ideas to share.  We will be discussing The Forks and the seasonal programming that takes place, sharing some stories about the North Portage neighbourhood, as well as what goes on behind the scenes.  Hopefully we can give our readers some insight on how we operate and what is important to us and ultimately to the broader community.

It is our intention to do a weekly entry. I plan on writing many of them, but our management group and even our tenants will be doing some of the pieces.  The upcoming entries will be diverse and cover a breadth of topics and subjects that are of interest to us and you.

Warming Hut Under Construction @ The Forks

Over the next few months we will discuss some of the headway we are making on our recent (2011) Ten Year Concept and Financial Plan. We have some significant planning challenges as we take a closer look at the Railside development concept identified in that plan.  It’s not only challenging from an economic and development perspective but we are very aware that the community has strongly held opinions on what should and should-not occur on that site. We need to make the economics work and do what is best for The Forks as a site as well as for the visitors.

We are also completing the downtown waterfront vision document and hope to have something to share at our AGM in late October.  This is a very exciting, albeit long-term, vision that we have been working on for the previous 18 months with the City of Winnipeg and other key stakeholders.  

There will be much to talk about as we plan for the winter programming at The Forks and we will provide an overview of the behind the scenes process that is underway for the now internationally recognized Warming Huts program.

We encourage our readers to share comments and opinions on what we write.  We want to start conversations on your thoughts and ideas on The Forks and other related downtown topics.  There will be future opportunity for guest blog spots,  and we are always interested in writing about topics suggested by our readers so feel free to contact us with ideas!

Written By: Jim August

 Chief Executive Officer