Published in Lifestyles 55 January, 2020 edition
Manitoba first became a province almost 150 years ago in 1870. This province has changed so much since its inception. Manitoba has weathered many storms and has been the home of many great accomplishments, leaving us with much to celebrate. The Manitoba 150 celebrations are great opportunities to come together and celebrate our province. Thanks to the hard work of the Manitoba 150 committee, there are a variety of celebrations happening over this upcoming year. Some of these celebrations include outdoor extravaganzas, while others are events, and others are awards. Join in these programs and initiatives and take pride in our home province!
Illuminate 150
Recently, on December 14, 2019, Manitoba 150 launched its kick off programming to begin the year long festivities that will celebrate our amazing province! It began at the Manitoba Legislature where MLAs welcomed guests to the annual Christmas Open House. Guests enjoyed hot chocolate, snow tubing, an obstacle course, and got to meet with Santa. Delicious food trucks were on site. After the sun set the holiday lights at the Legislature were switched on- 300,000 LED lights illuminated Manitoba’s Legislature building. I was so happy to be at the legislature and, in my role as Speaker of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, lead the MLAs for their annual holiday caroling on the grand staircase in the legislature. During the next few months, when weather permits, these lights will connect to the Manitoba 150 River Trail. Another exciting highlight of the night was an aerial acrobatic snowmobile performance featuring X Games athletes on the Manitoba Legislature grounds. These performers did aerial flips and impressive jumps in front of the large crowd who came out to celebrate. It was an exciting way to kick off the holiday season with our Manitoba Legislative Building lit up brightly to celebrate 150 years of our province.
Mural 150
Mural 150 is an initiative that will place beautiful Manitoba created murals in rural areas with a special emphasis on art in indigenous communities. This piece of the 150 celebrations will place 5 murals across Manitoba with a focus on indigenous and Northern communities. Apply to have your town be one of these recipients today! Applications are open until January 31st, 2020 and can be sent in directly through the Manitoba 150 website at Manitoba150.com. The recipients will each receive up to $10,000 for a mural placed where it is accessible to the public.
Learn 150
Starting in January of 2020, Learn 150 will have online learning resources for Manitoban students from kindergarten to grade 12. These learning resources focus on different topics such as diversity, reconciliation, and healthy living. Manitoba educators will be able to download full lesson plans to guide their students on these important Manitoba topics.
Celebrate 150
The Celebrate 150 initiative is an opportunity to showcase Manitoba culture. The chosen initiatives will be announced in February of 2020 and programming will focus around four distinct Manitoba themes. These themes are:
Discover our Beauty, a way to highlight the natural beauty of the province of Manitoba.
Meet our People, will promote bringing Manitobans together to celebrate with old friends and making new ones.
Experience our Culture, the theme behind this programming is about celebrating Manitoba’s diversity.
Explore our History, the programming supporting this theme will reflect on the history of our people and stories in Manitoba.
Build 150
The Build 150 initiative is to celebrate community foundations throughout the province. This project will provide funds through grant matching to 55 Manitoba community foundations.
Honour 150
The Honour 150 initiative is an opportunity for us all to honour the contributions of the amazing Manitobans who weave our community fabric. The Honour 150 initiative will recognize Manitobans who work so tirelessly and contribute to our communities through their volunteerism. This recognition might even inspire the future generations of community volunteers. In order to nominate a Manitoban for this award, the nominee must be a resident of Manitoba, must have volunteered or contributed to the community in a significant way and cannot have been formally recognized with a major award in the past such as an Order of Canada Award, an Order of Manitoba Award, or a Governor General’s Award. In addition to these restrictions, a person is unable to nominate themselves, a person who is deceased, or an elected official. The deadline to nominate a community member for this honour is January 31, 2020. Those who are chosen by an independent advisory committee will be presented with a medal at a special ceremony followed by participation in the Santa Claus parade and a gala dinner in November of 2020.
We have so much to celebrate here in Manitoba on our 150th anniversary. We are a province with a rich history and cultural fabric. I hope you will join in any of the Manitoba 150 celebrations to show your Manitoba pride!