WINNIPEG – The Government of Manitoba is providing a one-time grant of $50,000 to support Festival du Voyageur’s safe occupancy of the Fort Gibraltar project to ensure the annual festival can proceed.
Fort Gibraltar was founded in 1809 by Alexander Macdonell of Greenfield of the North West Company, located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers near the area now known as The Forks in Winnipeg. A wooden walkway collapsed at the fort in May resulting in the injury of 18 people during a school field trip.
As part of the project, Simard said the existing wooden walls surrounding the fort will be replaced with temporary fencing to serve as a backdrop to art installations and cultural displays while necessary work continues on the site in response to the structural failure in May.
“Festival du Voyageur has been providing a unique cultural experience to Manitobans for over 50 years. The grant received from the Province of Manitoba will help to ensure the festival’s continuity and provides support towards a safe and secure site for festival 2024. From Feb. 16 to 25, we look forward to welcoming festivalgoers in our warm tents filled with joie de vivre and our signature maple taffy,” Festival du Voyageur executive director Breanne Lavallée-Heckert said in a press release.
Work at Fort Gibraltar will continue into spring 2024 after the festival concludes, Simard said.
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