GATEWAY TO THE NORTH

Before heading north to see polar bears, learn about ’s capital city and its connection to Churchill through the fur trade. Take in the city’s sights, where you’ll marvel at art, decode Masonic symbols at one of Manitoba’s grandest buildings, along with viewing wildlife and feathered friends at an international birding hot spot.

Day 1

Arrive in

Winnipeg City Tour: Discover Winnipeg’s rich historic past on a guided city tour. A professional guide takes your group to various areas of the city, providing commentary along the way. Learn about St. Boniface, Winnipeg’s French Quarter that is home to a thriving Franco-Manitoban community and the St. Boniface Basilica, and The Exchange District, a National Historic Site home to one of North America’s finest collections of turn-of-the-last century architecture. You’ll also visit The Forks and see the construction site of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, set to offer dynamic group programming in 2015. Part of the experience includes a trip to the Manitoba Legislative Building for a Canadian Tourism Commission Signature Experience: the Hermetic Code Tour. Enjoy a tour of mystery and intrigue as you unlock Masonic symbols and numerological codes cleverly masked in the building’s fascinating architecture.

The : Kick off the evening with a hosted reception at this award-winning museum and set sail on a thrilling voyage of excitement and discovery. Learn about when Churchill was covered by an Ordovician Sea millions of years ago and the province’s connection to the fur trade. Travel through time to the roaring ‘20s, and view treasures from around the world. An ever-changing variety of touring and specialty exhibits are a fantastic complement to its nine permanent galleries. Your group bonds over dinner in the Nonsuch gallery, a replica 17th- century ship housed in the museum.

Day 2

FortWhyte Alive: A Prairie Legacy: the Bison and its People is a unique Canadian Tourism Commission Signature Experience offering an authentic wildlife experience without leaving the city. Come discover how bison influenced the history of Manitoba and the lives of aboriginals, Métis, voyageurs and pioneers as you are immersed in a way of life from the prairie past.

Your heart will leap when you catch your first up-close glance of a herd of bison. While here, your group connects with Canada’s prairie grasslands, while exploring the aspen forest, marshes, open prairie and their inhabitants. Travel in the way of the prairie ancestors by snowshoeing in winter and voyageur canoeing in the spring and summer months. Learn why Winnipeg’s culture continues to be shaped by history and our close contact with nature.

Bring your group to Assiniboine Park and savour lunch at Park Cafe overlooking the duck pond.

Experience the Assiniboine Park Zoo and the International Polar Bear conservation Centre (IPBCC). Visitors to the zoo can experience the IPBCC in the multimedia rich interpretive gallery. Through interviews, touchable objects, and interpretive signage, you’ll learn about the conservation of polar bears and climate change. Book a zoologist to speak with your group and share knowledge with about polar bears and the fragile Arctic ecosystem.

Canada’s oldest public art gallery, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, is home to the world’s largest collection of Inuit art, some of which is always on display. Enjoy a guided tour on the displayed Inuit art and learn about its northern roots in connection with your trip to Churchill. Next, move along to the studio for a hands-on art-making workshop in painting, drawing or clay as part of the gallery’s “Double Take” group programming.

Let your group experience the world-class calibre of Winnipeg’s performing arts scene. Watch the graceful steps of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, take in a performance of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, or watch drama unfold at Prairie Theatre Exchange, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre or Le Cercle Moliere—Canada’s oldest theatre company that performs plays exclusively in French.