Festival goers lead a procession with the Metis flag to Fort Gibraltar in St. Boniface’s Whittier Park to mark Louis Riel Day during Festival du Voyageur, Monday, February 17, 2020 in St. Boniface. (COLIN CORNEAU / CHRISD.CA FILE)
WINNIPEG — Festival du Voyageur is receiving $107,500 from the federal government to help grow the largest Francophone event in Western Canada.
The funding, announced Thursday to coincide with the Month of La Francophonie, will build on the festival’s vision to share and celebrate the culture and historical significance of the Métis in Manitoba.
Festival du Voyageur received similar funding in 2019, when Canadian Heritage provided $94,750 over two years for the first phase of a project that included establishing partnerships with First Nations and Métis individuals and groups to seek recommendations on developing appropriate heritage and cultural programming.
“The Festival du Voyageur is very proud to work with the Union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba and other community partners to promote Métis traditions, heritage and culture in French,” said Darrel Nadeau, executive director.
“Our winter festival and Fort Gibraltar create a year-round space for projects promoting Métis and First Nations, such as our ‘Minut Michif’ video capsules, our new gathering place called the ‘feu d’infinité,’ programming by Métis artists, our traditional ‘Fayt a la min’ workshops, beading circles, training for our staff, historical interpretation from a Métis perspective, and many others.”
The latest round of funding will be spread out over two years and comes from the Development of Official Language Communities Program.
