Festival du Voyageur caps off final night with 2nd sellout crowd, LGBTQ event

Winnipeggers came out in droves Saturday night to take in the party at Festival du Voyageur's final night of 2018.

It was the second Saturday to sell out this year, said festival executive director Darrel Nadeau.

"Today has been a very, very busy day and it's going to be a very, very busy night," Nadeau said as he raced around getting things ready for Festival's first-ever LGBTQ event, Voyageur Pride, which got underway at 8 p.m.

"It's been a good year, but last year was an unbeatable year attendance-wise because it was above zero, so it's definitely not on par with last year but it's on par with normal weather years."

While last year's unseasonably warm weather was good for ticket sales, Nadeau says the early spring wasn't great for the winter festival experience.

As snow melted last year — including the the white stuff used for the snow sculptures — large puddles formed on the festival grounds and a few festival-goers were injured after slipping on ice.

But with about average seasonal temperatures throughout the 2018 festival, which kicked off Feb. 16 and wraps up Sunday, organizers couldn't have been more pleased with Mother Nature, said Nadeau.

"This is much better in terms of the cleanliness of the park," he said.

And those taking in the last night of Festival du Voyageur seemed to agree.

Jason Dueck experienced the festival for the first time this weekend and said he was enjoying everything the 49th-edition of the event had to offer when CBC News caught up with him and his friends Saturday night.

"It's been lucky that we've had good weather," he said. "But we walked through the fort and heard some great stories from the folks working in their, spent some time in the tents and had some poutine, it's been a great time.

"I've been living in this area for a long time and it's part of the culture of this area that I'm not that familiar with, so it's been really cool to see it being celebrated in this way."

A few changes this year

As well as Voyageur Pride, this year's festival also saw the first-ever cheese sculpting competition held last weekend — where sculptors carved designs in giant chunks of cheddar.

This year's festival also saw the amount of children's programming offered doubled, said Nadeau.

"There were lots of new things this year and people are responding very well."

Festival du Voyageur put a cap on the number of people it let into the grounds at Whittier Park this year to make sure everyone that got into the park could then access everything that's going on.

Nadeau said organizers also hoped the move would cut down the lineups that famously form at beer and music tents, but admitted it didn't make much of a difference on busy nights.

The lines didn't seem to bother many of the people waiting in them Saturday night.

"I don't mind it because you get to talk to the people in line and you get to meet some really great people — it's been fun," said Rhonda Lanouette as she came into one of Festival's tents to enjoy some music and a beverage.

Saturday marked the first time Lanouette had taken in the festival since she was a kid.

"This is my first time as an adult … which is great, because you get to have some caribou," she laughed, referring to the warming drink usually composed of things like sherry, port, whisky, sugar or maple syrup.

Nadeau says organizers don't have final attendance numbers for the 2018 Festival du Voyageur yet, but he expects to release the numbers after the festival is over.

Things get going again Sunday at noon with a performance by the Asham Stompers and wrap up with closing ceremonies starting at 4:30 p.m.