Winnipeg has earned a reputation as a city of festivals, with more than 130 days of annual festivals and celebrations.

St. Boniface - Winnipeg's French Quarter - is home to the largest French-speaking community in Western Canada. All of Winnipeg celebrates the French culture during the Festival du Voyageur, which will be turning 30 in February.

The Festival du Voyageur invites visitors to experience the "Joie de Vivre" of Canada's largest winter festival.

The Festival pays tribute to the history of the fur trading era, with more than a week of music by artists from Manitoba, Quebec and the United States.

Ice sculptures, dog sled racing, a snow maze and lots of pea soup and bannock increase the camaraderie.

Folklorama, a 2-week multi cultural celebration of fun, food and fabulous entertainment was voted the festival best depicting Canadian culture by the World Tourism Association.

Folklorama puts Winnipeg's cultural makeup on stage for two weeks in August, with an array of international pavilions offering sights, sounds and tastes of the world.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is held at Bird's Hill Park each July, offering concerts and workshops by world famous folk performers.

A musical banquet for the initiated as well as discovery-seekers, it presents over 250 performers on seven daytime stages and an evening mainstage.

The midway rides and shows of the Red River Ex in June are the kickoff to summer for many Winnipeggers.

Located at the Red River Exhibition Park just west of Assiniboia Downs, the Ex is the beginning of a park show season which includes the Heart of the Continent Fair and Horse Show and the Heartbeat Powwow.

The Scottish Heritage Festival features highland dancing, piping and drumming competitions, heavy games and other Gaelic entertainment during the Ex.

For information, call: 1-204-888-6990

Whole neighbourhoods get into the festive spirit in events like CHARLESWOOD IN MOTION DAYS, the WESTLAND CARNIVAL and the OSBORNE STREET SOUTH FESTIVAL.

Osborne Village is the place to be on Canada Day, when the street is closed to traffic and people can wander around listening to live music, visit the face painters with their kids, and watch the fireworks at night.

Osborne Village with its many boutiques featuring clothing, crafts, gifts, books, gourmet chocolate and designer coffees, is Winnipeg's most populated neighbourhood.

Nearby Corydon Village has a distinctly Italian flavour.

In summer, people fill the sidewalks of Corydon Avenue as they stroll among antique shops and gift boutiques. The many outdoor cafes are a terrific place to sit and people watch while sipping cappuccino.

Join in the fun of ABORIGINAL FAMILY DAY at The Forks in June, complete with art show, concerts, and fashion show.

The TEDDY BEAR'S PICNIC at Assiniboine Park is a bear fest for the young ones, who barely have a rest from all the excitement before the WINNIPEG INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL a week later at The Forks.

The WINNIPEG INTERNATIONAL AIR SHOW roars over the airport in June. It features precision flying teams and military and ground displays.

If cool jazz is your thing, the JAZZ WINNIPEG FESTIVAL is a must-hear,presenting the best of local, national and international artists.

The WINNIPEG MUSIC COMPETITION FESTIVAL is one of the world's largest music festivals with over 25,000 competitors.

World-class guest flyers come to the WINNIPEG FAMILY KITE FESTIVAL along with families learning to make and fly kites over Assiniboine Park in June.

A TASTE of MANITOBA is a culinary festival attracting over 50,000 people annually to sample morsels from Winnipeg restaurants at the Memorial Park site.

If you want to spice up your life, join other avid gardeners at the HERB FESTIVAL in July at the Assiniboine Park Conservatory.

The WINNIPEG FRINGE THEATRE FESTIVAL brings noon-to-midnight entertainment with more than 700 performances by 100 troupes, plus street performers to the Old Market Square and Exchange District in mid-July.

For a glimpse at a mythical beast, take in the DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL in August at The Forks, where 41-foot teak war canoes with dragon heads compete in races with 22 paddlers per boat.

What would the month of September be in Winnipeg without OKTOBERFEST? This festival features the finest in Bavarian delicacies, domestic and imported beverages, dance troupes and the chance to dance the beer barrel polka.

DAKOTA OJIBWAY WINTER TRIBAL DAYS will move to Winnipeg in January, 1999.