Annual Pilgrimage To The Forks

FTLComm - Winnipeg - August 5, 2000

Rituals are best when repeated and a visit to Winnipeg is automatically a visit to the Forks. The charm and ambiance of the collection of little market booths and shops is an ever changing mosaic both from what is to see, smell and taste but the other visitors like ourselves, lend to their visit, their own interests and the things that attract them. Sonia Marie is performing with the confusing building soaking up her voice leaving only her image. Folkfest begins today as Winnipeg is treated to a week of folk music concerts and performances building on a tradition that goes back more than four decades of music intended not to be consumed but to be participated in at a personal level.

The setting of the forks is without a doubt the main thing that draws visitors to this spot and that merchants are there is but a secondary and resulting consideration. The draw bridge spans a busy waterway that joins with another busy waterway both now and in the past. The trees and park, the place is a natural meeting place and every visit reveals yet another reason to come back once again.

This picture is looking North from the dock area toward the traditional area of the warehouses that are today the charming market shown above and in earlier visits to this site. As you can see there is an observation deck six stories above the ground and it was from this location that the area from the North East to West was panned to create the composite QuickTime VR (240 degree) image below. If you do not see an image then you might want to download the free software that makes it possible to tour the site with your mouse.

This picture is for those who may not be able, or do not have QuickTime loaded as we look from the tower down upon the dock with the terraced area leading down to the river's edge which is savoured by Winnipeg residents as they can run, walk, cycle along the river for miles. Though one's eyes are drawn to the river and the cool setting where people come to enjoy the spot lift your eyes to check out the sky line and the essence of the Great Central Plains is impressed upon you. These gentle often overflowing rivers the edge their way to Lake Winnipeg and hence to the sea are travelling across some of the world's flattest land. The horizontal scenery of America's West is what so many of us cherish but it also what many find some what out of control. Spirits and imagination spread out like the sky in a land like this. Thirty-five miles of vista in any direction is the normal view of a prairie person. Seventy miles wide is each of our worlds. Even a major city like Winnipeg is insignificant in comparison. When you fly into Winnipeg at night the simple tiny confines of the city reduce the grandeur to a few lights. The picture below is a composite shot that gives a view to the North from the railway yard, lower left to St. Boniface in the North East. Another time we will fine more to show you as this little spot is the core of Winnipeg, what it was, what it is and yes, most likely what it will be.