Summer Fun
The Red River Exhibition finds new growth in its traditional roots
By Renee Conte
The Ex offers family-friendly fun. F
or over six decades, the Red River Exhibition has been the 10-day entertainment focus of June in Winnipeg. Now the association that runs it sees amazing opportunities for growth based on its ag-
ricultural roots and in developing the 480 acres it owns just west of Winnipeg. In the early days, back in 1952, when the Red River Ex- hibition was inaugurated by the Kinsmen Club of Win- nipeg on the old Osborne Stadium site (now Great West Life), the emphasis was very much on agricultural and community exhibits. Even after it moved to Polo Park, in 1954, and in spite of the midway, this remained the case. In 1997, the Ex moved to property it owned at 3977 Portage Ave., just west of the Perimeter, it just didn’t have the in- frastructure to support the original thrust and the midway became more prominent. Recently, the Ex has been work- ing to return to its family focus and agricultural roots, with more crafts, local displays, more animal exhibits, and by bringing horses back. Tat renewed focus has gradually been restoring the Ex’s
original purpose and setting the stage for some exciting new prospects that will benefit all of Manitoba and Win- nipeg.
Exciting expansion in the works
If you’ve driven down the Trans-Canada Highway lately, it is hard to miss the construction of a major four-lane street across from the Flying J. Te next phase of devel- opment will include a multi-million dollar, agriculturally
26 • Summer 2015
focussed, multi-acre retail and commercial development, all with little government funding. A new agricultural commodity campus is being built, and the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba offices are the first tenants. Garth Rogerson, CEO of the Red River Exhibition As- sociation is very excited. “Te commodity campus will cre- ate an opportunity for commodity groups and agricultural organizations to relocate to our facility. As a non-profit organization mandated to support agriculture, we will be working with the producers to offer them great value,” he says. Tis idea of creating a synergistic location for bringing together commodity groups in a central location will allow Red River Park to invite world-class tradeshows to Win- nipeg and open up an opportunity to become the new hub of Manitoba’s agricultural sector. Te plan is to make the space beautiful and park-like with lots of greenspace and walkways. New exhibition space
Given Winnipeg’s central location in the heart of the
continent and as the geographical east-west centre of Canada, it is an ideal location for major conventions, trade shows and exhibitions. Te expansion of the Win- nipeg Convention Centre pays respect to this advantage. Now, the Red River Ex will enhance that attraction with new space geared to the burgeoning agricultural and heavy equipment sector. It could also be a venue for touring trade shows, sporting events, and even concerts. An extension to the existing 40,000-square-foot Exhi-
The Hub
All photos courtesy of the Red River Ex.
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