Janis Gudrun Johnson presents an award.
pop. of around 1,600 permanent residents which doubles during the summer, has chalked up a number of claims to fame. Older people will think of the Canadian Armed Forces base which closed back in 1972. Others will remember the famous Gimli Glider, a nickname given to the Air Canada Boeing 767-233 wide-bodied plane that ran out of fuel halfway through its trip from Montreal to Edmon- ton and made an emergency safe landing with no injuries on the old air force base airstrip on July 23, 1983. Or perhaps Gimli will conjure up visions of fishing boats in the harbour and the old B.C. Packers fish pack- ing plant that closed in 1969. A new possibility is again on the horizon as two companies, Schafer Fisheries Inc. and Northern Walleye Inc., are actively examining the town as the site of a new operation in light of legislation in the wings that will allow competition with the Freshwater Fish Marketing Board. Others will think fondly of Gimli’s Crown Royal distill-
ery and the fame it accorded the town last year. Northern Harvest Rye Crown Royal whisky brought home the cov- eted World Whisky of the Year award in 2016. Gimli is the only place on the planet where Crown Royal whisky is made. Te plant, now owned by Diageo, was originally established in 1969 by Seagram. Crown Royal is the num- ber one selling Canadian whisky in the United States. Gimli has a widespread reputation as a Viking town, noted for its annual Icelandic festival complete with Vi- king horns, Islendingadagurinn, which attracts 30,000- plus visitors, being held this year August 4 to 7. A gigantic Viking statue adds to the beautiful beach and active har- bour giving Gimli a touch of je ne sais quoi that is totally in keeping with the appeal of the Gimli Film Festival. Now in its 17th year, the Gimli Film Festival has be-
come a major tourist destination and a draw to top film makers around the world. Janis Johnson remains chair of the board and the chief sparkplug behind the festival’s continued success. “It’s a magical time in Gimli during the film festival,”
says Janis, who knew when she first planned the event, that the lake would be an integral part of the festival. “We call the lake our prairie ocean,” she says, adding that in the first year, “A large canvas screen was placed on scaffold- ing and set offshore in Lake Winnipeg on Gimli beach, installed on that perfect sandbar by the incredible Don Steinmetz and his crew.”
thehubwinnipeg.com
Watching movies on the beach is such a wonderful experience.
Screening on Gimli beach after dark. Summer 2017 • 21
Photo by McKnight.
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