This Weekend at The Forks: Free Fun for the Whole Fam

Winter is coming to its end, so it's time to get out there and enjoy the season that often defines our fine city of Winterpeg. Here are a whole slate of activities that are available to you and the rest of your family for free this weekend including all the Arctic Glacier Winter Park programming:

1. Sleigh rides

Sunday

1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Outside The Forks Market

Thanks to Duran Equipment, you can see The Forks by horse-drawn carriage. Hop on, and don't forget your camera because the horses are adorable and The Forks full of people on a Sunday in winter is a pretty magical sight.

2. Bannock making & storytelling

Sunday
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Teepee in Busker's Lookout

Join Barbara and Clarence Nepinak in the teepee to hear the stories of the land passed down through generations of Indigenous peoples while making a traditional food staple – bannock – plus it's super delicious.


3. Tobogganing

All the time
Festival Field

Grab your best sled and head to the hill in Festival Field for some fast, free fun.


4. Skating

All the time
The Canopy Rink, On-land trails, Red River Mutual Trail

This is a Forks staple, and if you haven't been skating yet, your time is running out, friend! Bring your own or rent a pair from Iceland Skate Rentals in The Market and skate a trail that has already broken a record this year – the longest Red River Mutual Trail we've ever had at 10km – and is about to break another – if the trail can stay open until February 28, it will be the longest on record at 69 days open!


5. Soul on Ice

Sunday
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The Canopy Rink

Get your soul on under The Canopy for a perfect mix of dancing and skating. Sure, you may not be as elegant as Tessa and Scott from Team Canada's figure skating team, but hey, who really is? Bounce and glide to your favourite tunes with DJ Co-op and DJ Hunnicut.


6. Ice Castles

Okay this one isn't exactly free, but part of it is! Enter the code FREEKID18, and you will receive a free kid's pass when you purchase an adult pass to go along with it. This ice marvel won't last forever, and now is the time to check it out if you haven't already.


Other posts that might interest you:

• All booked up: McNally Robinson opens at The Forks
• Three skate tips for beginners
• Weekend Wrap-Up: Photos You Shared That Made Us Go 😍

Three skate tips for beginners

Here we are in the throes of Winnipeg winter. How are you holding up? Are you getting outside?

If you are getting outside, chances are it’s at the Winnipeg winter hotspot: The Red River Mutual Trail. It’s becoming the modern iconic Winnipeg winter experience! This year, it stretches from the St. Vital Bridge on the Red River to the Forks, and continues along the Assiniboine River past the Hugo Docks all the way to Arlington Ave. Thanks to super cold temps and not much snow - it's the longest its been in a really long time! It’s invigorating, relaxing and always so inspiring to see everybody out skating. If you’ve been on the trail, you know it’s an activity that truly brings all of Winnipeg together.

It’s our collective community backyard rink. And it’s a wonderful way to enjoy winter.

According to my scientific Instagram poll 31% of Winnipeggers have never skated before.

This blows my mind, it’s practically a life skill in Winnipeg!

So, non-skaters: I’m looking at you. I think it’s time you get out there! You can do this. It can seem a bit scary to try something new/try something you haven’t done in a while like skating but fear no more! I’ve put together my top three tips to give you the confidence to get out on that trail this year:

Step one: lace it up

One of the biggest complaints I hear from new skaters is that their feet hurt. This is because of poor ankle support and poorly fitting skates.

1.     Skates are generally one size smaller than your shoe size.

2.     Ankle support. Lace them up nice and tight at the top. It’s a hand workout.

3.     Relax your toes. Resist the urge to claw grip your toes in your skates. Just chill.

PS wool socks will keep your feet nice and toasty!

Step two: understanding balance

Skating is all about balance. The shifting of your weight from one side to the other.

1.     Take turns standing on one leg, alternating between the two legs

2.     Keep your knees slightly bent

3.     Core is always engaged, find your centre of balance!

4.     Shoulders are tall. Don’t lean forward.

5.     Look up! Don’t look at your feet.

Step three: edge + glide

Let’s talk about your skate blade and edges. There are two edges on a blade. The inside edge is the edge on the side with your big toe. Outside edge is the side with your baby toe. Make sense?

1.     Take your inside edge and slightly angle your left foot back

2.     Dig your inner edge into the ice to push off with your left foot and glide forward on your right leg with your knees slightly bent

3.     Position your right inner blade on an angle and push off repeating the same motion

4.     Alternate each leg, gliding along….LOOK, YOU’RE SKATING!

Next step: practice! Practice! Practice!

We get better every time. Want to learn how to stop? Come check out the free Learn to Skate lessons at The Forks every Tuesday evening at 7pm. Details here: theforks.com/learn2skate

Lindsay Somers is a Lifestyle Health Coach. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter. All photography by @sierrasavannahf.

Other posts that might interest you:

• Get Going: Commuting with Company Using GoManitoba
• A New Year: 3 Ways to Feel Great & Be Active in 2018 
• Getting Cozy: Winter Prep in The Forks Market

How to Crokicurl

If you've been to The Forks this winter, you might wonder what that giant ice rink bullseye equipped with curling rocks situated at The Plaza is... Or, if you're Manitoban, you might just intuitively know: it's Crokicurl!

Crokicurl is the brainchild of Public City Architecture, and combines two iconic Canadian pastimes: crokinole and curling, to become an exciting new outdoor sport for all ages.

The object of the game is to accumulate the most points through shooting the rock into the center button and positioning the rocks on the playing surface so they remain within the highest scoring circle at the end of the round.

The Rules:

• The game is played with two teams. Each team is composed of 1-2 players. Teams of 1 play from opposing quadrants. For teams of 2, players from the same team play from opposing quadrants. Each player is limited to 1 quadrant. Each team has 4 rocks of the same colour.

• A crokicurl shot is accomplished by firmly sliding a rock onto the playing surface, releasing before the halfway point of the starting line. The rock may be played from any point within the assigned quadrant. Players are permitted to place their feet against the side rail while shooting the rock.

• The first player will try to score 20 points with their shot. If the rock successfully lands completely within the button it is removed and set aside to count as 20 points at the end of the round.

• Subsequent shots attempt to remove an opponent rock from the playing surface, unless there are no rocks on the playing surface. If the rock fails to make contact with an opponent rock, the rock is removed from the game. At the same time, each player attempts to make a 20 point shot difficult for the opposing team.

• Whenever possible, each player seeks to score 20 points by shooting a rock into the center button.

• No player may enter the coloured point rings during game play until all rocks have been played by both teams and scoring is being determined. The exception to this is when a team scores 20 points with their rock entering the button.

• Players may not change quadrants during a round.

• Play proceeds in a clockwise fashion, alternating each team and player.

• A rock that lands more than halfway over the outer edge of the starting line will be removed from game play.

• Scoring occurs after all rocks have been played. Teams play to a per-determined score. The player or team with the higher score wins the round. The winner of the match is determined by the team who wins the most rounds, best of 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.

• Losing team treats winning team to mini donuts or a round of drinks from The Common.

Rocks are accessed on a first come, first served basis. Please be respectful of other players and limit your time to one hour.

Crokicurl FUN FACTS: 
• Junior curling rocks used to play Crokicurl weigh 20lbs - half the weight of a normal curling rock
• After its debut in Winnipeg in 2017, Crokicurl rinks popped up across the country, including Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Yukon
• Northern-most Crokicurl rink: Dawson City, Yukon
• Litres of water pumped from the river to create the rink: 37,000

Until We Meet Again

More than just ice and snow - we had over six weeks of beautiful conditions on the Red River Mutual Trail. Winnipeggers came out in record numbers to embrace winter and take advantage of 6 kilometres of river skating trails, an art gallery, Warming  Huts, and to check out classic "Winterpeg" events on ice.

While we glided our way down the trails, there was a crew hard at work creating and maintaining the ice. Made up of 11 members, the team worked morning, noon and night to keep our ice in impeccable condition.

One of the crew members, Jordan Janisse, captured life on the trail, giving us a glimpse into their world.

                                                                  

Let the season begin.

                                                                  

First flood.

                                                                  

Long days.

                                                                  

Getting ready for the crowds.

                                                                  

Opening day.

                                                                  

Flooding morning/noon/night.

                                                                  

Winter fun on the Red River Mutual Trail.

                                                                  

Too soon, the season comes to an end.

Until we meet again.

Photos by: Jordan Janisse

Fun Facts of the 2016 Red River Mutual Trail (RRMTrail):

- Open for: 46 days

- Total length: 6 km
- Most skates by one person (that we know of): 31
- Most Skaters in a weekend: 18,000 on Louis Riel Long Weekend
- Gallons of water pumped from the Red River to flood the RRMTrail: 630,000
- Thickest part of the ice: 28"
- Warming Huts on the RRMTrail: 5 new and 12 returning
- Warming Hut children got lost in: Snow Maze (don't worry, all children were also found)
- Hockey pucks recovered from berms around the Historic Port Rinks: 138
- Kilometres driven by the Olympic Ice Resurfacer: 700
- Number of canoes raced down the RRMTrail: 4
- Wind Derby Machines flown down the RRMTrail: 6
- Gourmet meals and cocktails consumed at the RAW:almond restaurant: 3200
- Number of Christmas trees used on the RRMTrail: 300
- Number of people on the RRMTrail Crew: 11
- Total of floods happening between 10 pm and 5 am : 10
- Litres of coffee consumed by the RRMTrail Crew: 80
- Total of injuries for RRMTrail crew members: 0
- Number of Fashion Shows on ice: 1
- Bathing suits that were worn on the RRMTrail during the fashion show: 2
- Weddings on the RRMTrail: 1

- Listed as one of the Top 10 Rinks in Canada!