Winnipeg Construction X

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by biguc

Why can't it be a dumpy and weird flea market? Winnipeg is a dumpy and weird city; it should lean into those qualities.

hahah your missed around here

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by biguc

Why can't it be a dumpy and weird flea market? Winnipeg is a dumpy and weird city; it should lean into those qualities.

I tried to sell this at an invited tourism Winnipeg consultation meeting once. I literally got booed. The head yelled. Who invited him.

I told them to stop pretending to be Toronto but cheaper or whatever. Or pretending it’s not really cold. Celebrate what you are.

They ended up doing a video with several drone shots and appearances of the Winnipeg sign.

Where are you these days?

[1ajs]

as far away from north America he can get i think

[biguc]

Originally Posted by trueviking

I tried to sell this at an invited tourism Winnipeg consultation meeting once. I literally got booed. The head yelled. Who invited him.

I told them to stop pretending to be Toronto but cheaper or whatever. Or pretending it’s not really cold. Celebrate what you are.

They ended up doing a video with several drone shots and appearances of the Winnipeg sign.

Where are you these days?

Well if you can't celebrate what you are you can always be generic as fuck.

To answer your question, I live in Berlin. It's informed my, 'make it a flea market' mentality because that's how they do things here. But Winnipeg turned around the Exchange district in the '90s just like that--with art space, antique stores, and raves. Somewhere along the way everyone forgot that the people can make things better on their own; not everything needs to be a $100million+ mega project for the insecure members Winnipeg's petit bourgeois.

Like, the Bay is sitting boarded up as if 800000 people can't figure out anything to do with it. Just rent out studio space upstairs and use the ground floor for gallery space and, I dunno, maybe a flea market. It will inject some activity into the area, restore some of the city's lost bohemian charm, and at least keep the heat on in The Bay until someone is ready to do something fancier.

I feel like this is what a lot of people who wanted to save Eatons hoped would happen, more than it ever had anything to do with the building itself.


Anyway, the thing about Winnipeg being cold--that is a selling point. Anyone here I've told about just how cold it gets is super impressed. Festival, ice fishing, skating on the river--these are things that people would travel for. February should be a huge month for Winnipeg tourism.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by biguc

Anyway, the thing about Winnipeg being cold--that is a selling point. Anyone here I've told about just how cold it gets is super impressed. Festival, ice fishing, skating on the river--these are things that people would travel for. February should be a huge month for Winnipeg tourism.

To be fair Tourism Winnipeg has been promoting Winnipeg as a winter tourism destination:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI8ZpWBxSLw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bw42taqUz0

I agree, however, that Winnipeg's "quirky" (bohemian, whatever) side hasn't been exploited. I think one reason could be that IMO Winnipeg's "quirkiness" is kind of tough to pin down and represent in a sound bite or 30-second promotion. To me it seems to be a folksy-cynically-hip-ethnicity-fusion with dark/goth overtones, but I'm probably missing something. Whatever it is, I think it's a result of Winnipeg's relative isolation from other major cities and it's traditional role as being a "borderland" between east/west, forest/plains, what have you. "Quirkiness" can also too easily be represented as an annoying pretence more than an interesting facet of life here ("look at me, I'm outrageous"-yech!).

I think the most difficult job the city has in it's marketing is pushing back against the easy/lazy representations that seem to plague the city on the occasions the spotlight reaches it. "Winnipeg is a working-class city"-what does that mean? Do we all carry lunch boxes and wear overalls? "Winnipeg is a cold, dark city"-yeah, sometimes, but the sun comes up as well. "Winnipeg has issues with crime and racism"-yeah but so does everywhere else; welcome to planet Earth.

Honestly I love this place but don't think two Winnipeggers can agree on "what Winnipeg is" to save their lives.

[biguc]

Some of the best times I had in Winnipeg were at perogy fundraisers and drinking in legions. How many people around the world know how it feels to win a meat draw? Not many.

People want unique and authentic experiences when they travel. Winnipeg could offer a lot to travellers, but the city isn't accessible or open to visitors, and Winnipeggers aren't self aware enough to make it so. They tend to shy away from--or outright destroy--exactly the parts of their city they should be embracing.

[steveosnyder]

Originally Posted by biguc

Some of the best times I had in Winnipeg were at perogy fundraisers and drinking in legions. How many people around the world know how it feels to win a meat draw? Not many.

People want unique and authentic experiences when they travel. Winnipeg could offer a lot to travellers, but the city isn't accessible or open to visitors, and Winnipeggers aren't self aware enough to make it so. They tend to shy away from--or outright destroy--exactly the parts of their city they should be embracing.

Literally every Saturday at the Club Services in my old city they would do a meat draw. The club was a little more bourgeois than a Winnipeg legion, but it brought back memories.

[drew]

Originally Posted by biguc

Some of the best times I had in Winnipeg were at perogy fundraisers and drinking in legions. How many people around the world know how it feels to win a meat draw? Not many.

People want unique and authentic experiences when they travel. Winnipeg could offer a lot to travellers, but the city isn't accessible or open to visitors, and Winnipeggers aren't self aware enough to make it so. They tend to shy away from--or outright destroy--exactly the parts of their city they should be embracing.

If only there were some ex-Winnipegger in Europe that had this personal knowledge of that real, authentic Winnipeg scene - that they could base a new targeted tourism business on...

Opportunity knocks biguc!

[Gravity Wins]

Originally Posted by biguc

People want unique and authentic experiences when they travel. Winnipeg could offer a lot to travellers, but the city isn't accessible or open to visitors, and Winnipeggers aren't self aware enough to make it so. They tend to shy away from--or outright destroy--exactly the parts of their city they should be embracing.

I agree that Winnipeg needs to do more to embrace what it is that makes the city unique. But I think the lack of self-awareness you're talking about is actually quite common. It seems that there are two sorts of travel destinations: the popular spots that get as much tourism as they can handle (or more) and the less popular spots, which are always a little surprised and even skeptical when any tourist makes it their way. I saw a great clip on YouTube recently that showcases this. A Brazilian tourist meets the President of Bulgaria without knowing who he is. When the President learns she is from Brazil he asks in surprise "What are you doing here?!" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8XxW79ze0U)

Most Winnipeggers ask tourists "What are you doing here?!" because most Winnipeggers ask that of themselves. To feel that you have a city worth visiting, you have to feel enough love for it yourself, first. Most people I've met in the 'Peg list their reasons for staying as something like: cheap housing, nice people, and not Toronto. But there are lots of places out there that have nice people and aren't Toronto. The cheap housing might be becoming a rarity, but it's not going to attract a lot of tourists.

I guess what I'm saying is, maybe you get as many tourists as you believe, deep down, that you should be getting. Disney Land is sort of an over-crowded tourist trap. But they call it "the Happiest Place on Earth" and millions of people flock there every year. Winnipeg might be a hip spot with its own cultural identity. But we tell people "Go to the zoo, we've got polar bears. And don't walk North of Portage, it gets sketchy" and we wonder why there's not an endless crowd of tourists arriving every day.

[GreyGarden]

It's funny, I have a really good friend who moved to Winnipeg for School from Toronto. He lived in Queen West. His favourite experiences in Winnipeg is when we would go to something like a pierogi fundraiser or to a dive bar. I remember him saying, it's so cool and unique to Winnipeg that you have "actual dive bars" here and not some hipster version of it like they have in TO. Whereas we'd go to a fancy or trendy restaurant and it'd be fun and enjoyable, but not unique in anyway - Toronto Lite.

[pspeid]

Forgot about this one. Winnipeg as a "quirky" city:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcJd9SkOx14

GreyGarden makes some good points. Locals often don't recognize what makes them special when they see it all the time. I have a friend in BC who goes absolutely ga-ga over pickerel whenever she visits. I love pickerel but I don't see it as awesome an experience as she does because for me, it is relatively easy for me to get.

[GreyGarden]

Originally Posted by pspeid

I have a friend in BC who goes absolutely ga-ga over pickerel whenever she visits. I love pickerel but I don't see it as awesome an experience as she does because for me, it is relatively easy for me to get.

Haha the same friend I was referring to above had the exact same reaction to pickerel. He couldn't believe it wasn't on more restaurant menus.

[esquire]

Don't get me wrong, I like pickerel as much as anyone... but surely other places must have similar types of whitefish available?! I didn't think it was that unique.

[BAKGUY]

Originally Posted by GreyGarden

Haha the same friend I was referring to above had the exact same reaction to pickerel. He couldn't believe it wasn't on more restaurant menus.

Same with Smoked Goldeye.
It should be on more menu offerings since it is unique.
I find most visitors claim our pickerel tastes better than what they usually get where they are from. Especially European visitors

[Hecate]

A former chef I used to work for was trained in the Czech military. He had phenomenal skills. Best green beans almondine I’ve ever had, and his coquille st. Jaques was to die for. He was blown away by smoked gold eye, he always referred to it as a delicacy and that Manitobans should cherish the wonderful fish. Same with pickerel, he loved it. Soft delicate flavourful. Lightly breaded, pan fried in lots if butter, a little salt and pepper, fresh dill on top to finish it off. So good.

[H2man]

Originally Posted by CoryB

I could swear there was a proposal to turn Maws Garage into some sort of music revenue but the residents of the area killed the idea before it got too far along.

:o

That never happens!!

[roccerfeller]

Originally Posted by GreyGarden

It's funny, I have a really good friend who moved to Winnipeg for School from Toronto. He lived in Queen West. His favourite experiences in Winnipeg is when we would go to something like a pierogi fundraiser or to a dive bar. I remember him saying, it's so cool and unique to Winnipeg that you have "actual dive bars" here and not some hipster version of it like they have in TO. Whereas we'd go to a fancy or trendy restaurant and it'd be fun and enjoyable, but not unique in anyway - Toronto Lite.

Winnipeg also has some of the absolute best food in the country

The restaurant scene there truly is something that never gets enough praise.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by esquire

I remember thinking 20 years ago that the Maws Garage was ripe for some kind of development, especially given its location. I'm a little surprised that no one gave it a shot.

Is Maws Garage a protected heritage building?

[Hecate]

Originally Posted by roccerfeller

Winnipeg also has some of the absolute best food in the country

The restaurant scene there truly is something that never gets enough praise.

Agree 100% Winnipeg has the best food in Canada hands down. You can pretty much get it all in this city. I remember being in Vancouver during the olympics, and we were eating at a Mongolian stir fry buffet that had just opened up, the owner saw we were enjoying ourselves and came over and talked to us about how we enjoyed his concept, a buffet, choosing fresh vegetables and raw noodles and meats, seasoning it yourself and getting to watch having it cooked in a big wok, I explained I loved it, and it reminded me of a little restaurant in Winnipeg we went to as kids, in transcona called shabusen. He was surprised that Winnipeg had Mongolian stir fry buffets, because he thought he had this revolutionary new concept. I told him we had a chain of them called mongos, his jaw dropped. We have great food in this city.

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by Hecate

Agree 100% Winnipeg has the best food in Canada hands down. You can pretty much get it all in this city. I remember being in Vancouver during the olympics, and we were eating at a Mongolian stir fry buffet that had just opened up, the owner saw we were enjoying ourselves and came over and talked to us about how we enjoyed his concept, a buffet, choosing fresh vegetables and raw noodles and meats, seasoning it yourself and getting to watch having it cooked in a big wok, I explained I loved it, and it reminded me of a little restaurant in Winnipeg we went to as kids, in transcona called shabusen. He was surprised that Winnipeg had Mongolian stir fry buffets, because he thought he had this revolutionary new concept. I told him we had a chain of them called mongos, his jaw dropped. We have great food in this city.

yea untill you travel around the world you have no idea what we have here.


wait mongos is a wpg chain?