A Place to Celebrate and Build

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Photo Credit: Assiniboine Park Conservancy

Assiniboine Park is a place known to all ages as a place to connect. Its stunning landscape, wide open green spaces, and winding trails make it an ideal escape from the hectic day-to-day of modern life.

Founded in 2008, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy (APC) is a not-for-profit organization responsible for the operation of Winnipeg’s historic Assiniboine Park. APC is also responsible for establishing the future vision for the Park and Zoo and carrying out this transformation while protecting the Park’s cherished character as a beloved community gathering space.

The Park is home to popular attractions like the English Garden, The Pavilion, Leo Mol Sculpture Garden, and Assiniboine Park Zoo. Educational programs, free outdoor entertainment at the Lyric Theatre, public art galleries, unique event venues, and a great variety of events and activities provide amazing opportunities for year-round learning, celebration, and recreation.

Since 2009, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy has taken bold steps to breathe new life into Assiniboine Park and Zoo. In the final major phase of the redevelopment, the focus has shifted to the life-sustaining world of plants with an iconic new horticultural attraction: The Leaf – Canada’s Diversity Gardens.

Creating experiences is one of the reasons why the partnership with Assiniboine Park Conservancy and Folklorama is the perfect fit.

“Folklorama has been a wonderful partner for APC over the years”, states Margaret Redmond, President & CEO, Assiniboine Park Conservancy. “Not only are they a wonderfully unique event and organization, but they have amazing relationships with grassroots cultural organizations and connections to the communities they serve. In the early stages of planning for The Leaf – Canada’s Diversity Gardens, we reached out to Folklorama to help find people who would be willing to share their unique and personal stories exploring the connections between culture and nature. These stories will be shared in interpretive displays throughout the indoor biomes and outdoor gardens.”

“Since 2016 Folklorama has been proud to provide ethno-cultural programming at the Lyric and throughout the different areas of APC”, states Christian Hidalgo-Mazzei, Director, Ethno-Cultural Arts, Folklorama. “Whether it be a themed event like their Zoo Lights Festival, providing background music for their fundraisers in the English Garden, or working together on The Leaf – Canada’s Diversity Gardens, working with APC to promote the incredible talent our artists have to showcase is always a pleasure.”

With inspiring venues provided by APC, and programming lead by Folklorama, Redmond sums it up perfect.

“My favourite moment during the weekend celebration at the Gardens at The Leaf was when I stood on the main pathway in the gardens and saw a Fijian dance troupe on the performance garden stage, with a lovely group of young Korean dancers watching them, waiting for their own performance”, states Redmond. “I had just enjoyed an Ethiopian coffee prepared in the Kitchen Garden and as the Fijian dance troupe paused between numbers, I heard Indigenous drumming coming from the Indigenous Peoples Garden. It was an amazing sense of diversity and celebration, and I felt the true potential of this project for our community in that moment. To see all these artists and performers connecting with each other and sharing their stories, told me that we can build bridges here.”

We couldn’t agree more. Thank you, APC for the continued partnership. We look forward to working together for many more years to come.

Have Folklorama create your perfect at Home, at School, at Work, or at Play experience today. Contact Christian Hidalgo-Mazzei, Director, Ethno-Cultural Arts, at [email protected].