So many things to do at Manyfest!

As a proud downtown Winnipeg supporter, I was absolutely ecstatic to hit up Manyfest for the first time last weekend.

Manyfest is a street festival organized by the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ. It celebrates the arts, entertainment, health and most importantly, community in the heart of our city. Downtown Winnipeg's largest street festival anticipated 30,000 people in attendance this year, and stretched all the way from the Manitoba Legislative Building almost all the way to The Forks!

The festival was constantly bustling with vendors selling goodies like crafts, baked treats, vintage clothing and fresh produce. One wing branched off into food trucks offering delicious eats including my favourite indulgence in the world, mini donuts.

At night, the medians of Broadway hosted space for a wide array of performers such as fire dancers, Bollywood talent and local bands.

Although I loved every aspect of the street festival, I would have to say my personal highlight was the outdoor wine tasting event. You could purchase taste tickets for $1 each, which gave you a small sample of their huge selection of wines or you could redeem it for a tasty treat, like a kebob of cheese of a few slices of bread with bruschetta.

At the end of Saturday night, volunteers passed around candles for Lights on Broadway. Those who cycled to the event also had the opportunity to light their bikes up at a designated station. It was beautiful to see lights flickering as far down as the eyes could see.

All in all, the festival was a great experience and shone light on local business owners, performers and most importantly, the spirit of togetherness in downtown Winnipeg.

Meditate at Memorial Park

Winnipeg summers are short and sweet - so why bothering exercising indoors when we can enjoy stretching in the sunlight?

Photo courtesy of winnipegdowntownplaces.blogspot.com

Yoga in the Park is the perfect solution for the season, providing fun outdoor fitness in a beautiful green space. This year, they've added an exciting new class for hip-swingers of all ages - the latin-inspired Zumba dance class!

Zumba and Yoga in the Park are held in Memorial Park, at the corner of Broadway and Memorial, from now until August 30. The classes are free to attend, but donations are kindly accepted and will help fund Guardian Angels Cancer Care.

Photo courtesy of semperviva.com

Yoga in the Park happens every Thursday from 12:00 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. Participants must bring their own yoga mat.

You can catch Zumba in the Park on Tuesdays from 12:00 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.

For more information on Yoga and Zumba in the Park, visit the Downtown Winnipeg Biz's website here.

Wednesday is no longer Hump Day!

Because there aren't enough reasons to come taste the diverse delicacies downtown already, how about we chalk another one to your list.

Photo courtesy of http://www.downtownwinnipegbiz.com

For the next three months, Air Canada Park (355 Portage Ave.) will feature some of Winnipeg's richest musical talent every Wednesday afternoon from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. The Out to Lunch free concert series will bring people together in the already flourishing streets of downtown Winnipeg to listen to the harmonic sounds of local artists including Lindsey White, Luke and Murray, Leanne Pearsno and Steele.

And the best part about these events? They're free!

Photo courtesy of http://www.downtownwinnipegbiz.com

So pull up a chair, sit back and relax as you enjoy your lunch and free entertainment in the heart of our sweet city.

Here's a list of Out to Lunch's upcoming performers:

June 13 Lindsey White
June 20 Two Dollar Pistol
June 27 Luke and Murray
July 4 Leanne Pearson
July 11 Salinas Band
July 18 The Dead Stringers
July 25 Kyla Cederwall
August 1 Steele
August 8 Troy Westwood ft. LittleHawk

The series will be followed up the the Edmonton Street Festivals on Wednesday afternoons from August 15 to 29. Performers are yet to be announced.

For more information on the Out to Lunch events, visit the Downtown Winnipeg Biz.

Thida's special sauce

With so many different Asian restaurants popping up all over Winnipeg, how does one stand out from the rest? In the case of Thida’s Thai Restaurant, it’s their homemade peanut sauce.

Donn Eccles, restaurant manager and son-in-law of owner Sunee Inthon, plans on patenting their widely popular peanut sauce and selling it on supermarket shelves. “Who knows, it might be the next Frank’s Red Hot Sauce!” he jokes.

Thida’s is located at the corner of Donald and Broadway, tucked behind the The Fyxx Espresso Bar. Inthon decided to take on the business in 2006, shortly after her family immigrated from Thailand. They moved the restaurant from its previous location on Fife Street, but decided to keep the name Thida meaning “daughters” in Thai – a fitting title, considering her daughters and son help her run the business.

All walks of downtown patrons come flooding into the restaurant during the lunch hour rush. The deceptively small entrance leads into a beautifully decorated space with traditional Thai trimmings, numerous tables and booths, as well as a large flat-panel television mounted on the soothing red walls.

“It’s nice downtown. A few of our regulars work at nearby hotels. When people come from out of town and ask where to eat, they tell them if they want great food to come here,” says Eccles. “The people are great, and everyone that comes down here loves the food. I know half of the clientele by their first name.”

Thida’s prides themselves in using the freshest ingredients and cooking dishes that taste just how they would back in Thailand. Customer favourites include their garlic pork, mango salad with shrimp and basa fish.

“There’s a lot of Thai restaurants, but out of 10, maybe only three are owned and operated by Thai people,” says Eccles. “The customer can really taste the difference in the cooking.”


- Business profile written for the Downtown BIZ