Broadway Journal
Manitoba first became a province almost 150 years ago in 1870. 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, celebrations include outdoor extravaganzas, events, and awards. Join in these programs and initiatives and take pride in our home province!
Illuminate 150
December 14, 2019, Manitoba 150 launched its kick off programing to begin the year long festivities that will celebrate our amazing province! At the Manitoba Legislature, MLAs welcomed guests to the annual Christmas Open House. Guests got to meet with Santa and enjoyed hot chocolate, snow tubing, and an obstacle course, with delicious food from the local food trucks on site. After the sun set, 300,000 LED lights illuminated Manitoba’s Legislature building. During the next few months, when weather permits, these lights will connect to the Manitoba 150 River Trail.
I was so happy to be at the legislature and, in my role as Speaker of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, to lead the MLAs for their annual holiday caroling on the grand staircase in the legislature.
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 that came out to celebrate. It was an exciting way to kick off the holiday season.
Mural 150
Mural 150 is an initiative that will place beautiful Manitoban-created murals in rural areas.
Up to five communities will receive a subsidy for the creation of a contemporary mural that will highlight the local community, spark conversations and inspire engagement. Communities that face barriers accessing art, especially those in Northern Manitoba and Indigenous communities, will be given priority. The applications will be curated by Synonym Art Consultation.
Apply to have your town be a mural location 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 to be located 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.
Nominees 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. Nominees are ineligible to nominate themselves, cannot be deceased, and cannot be an elected official. The deadline to nominate a community member for this honour is January 31, 2020. An independent advisory committee will present a medal to the winners 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!
Hon. Myrna Driedger is MLA for Charleswood and Speaker of the legislative assembly.