The Forks Throws Massive Canada Day Party
The Forks is throwing its biggest party ever on July 1 and bringing music, culture and community together for Canada 150.
“The Forks has been a historical meeting place for over 6,000 years, so you can bet we’re excited to host this monumental celebration,” said Paul Jordan, CEO of The Forks North Portage, in a release. “We have an exceptional line-up of locally-bred talent performing all day on five stages across our site, and a fireworks show like none you’ve ever seen here before.”
Those five stages will feature performances from over 25 Manitoba acts spanning the genres from indie pop to folk to hip hop to world music.
Canadian folk-rock band Whitehorse --- husband and wife Melissa McLelland and Winnipeg-raised Luke Doucet --- is set to headline the main stage and Festival Field. The big stage will also feature performances from soul rockers The Noble Thiefs, country crooner Kayla Luky, R&B/pop/reggae artist Mamadou, roots artist Carly Dow, Francophone rapper Alpha Toshineza, soulful folk singer/songwriter Ila Barker, blues act JC Campbell, the Winnipeg Symphony, and more. To close out this year’s festivities, teenage pop phenom Faouzia will join the WSO to set the stage for a spectacular fireworks display and site-wide pyrotechnics.
Spirit Riders will great the sunrise at Oodena Celebration Circle, which will host a Pow Wow, storytelling, and human library throughout the day.
Over at the Port Stage, Riel Gentlemen’s Choir will sing things in, followed by sets from hip hop triumverate 3Peat, The Lock Down, pop/roots singer Mitchell Schimnowski, acclaimed singer/songwriter Scott Nolan, R&B ukulele duo Bunny, prog rock meets Mexican traditional music of The Mariachi Ghost, sou/pop outfit Lanikai, fiddle players Julie + Jeremy Penner, the Aboriginal School of Dance, country singer/songwriter Jade Turner, and Red Moon Road & Friends singging the Canadian Songbook.
The Canopy will have plenty of music with the retro country/folk Slow Leaves, folk/pop songstress Sierra Noble, bilingual folk/blues troubadour Justin Lacroix, roots/blues powerhouse Sol James, and more.
Red Riding Media and SK8 will offer up skateboard demos and group skate with DJ Hunnicutt, DJ Wuki, and DJ² at Plaza Skatepark all day.
Throughout The Forks historic site, visitors can expect tons of free, family-friendly programming happening all day long. `Check out the schedule below and read more about Canada 150 at The Forks theforks.com/events/signature-events/canada-day-at-the-forks
Main Stage, Festival Field
5:00pm Mamadou
5:45pm Carly Dow
6:00pm Attica Riots
6:45pm Alpha Toshineza
7:00pm Kayla Luky
7:45pm Ila Barker
8:00pm The Noble Thiefs
9:00pm Whitehorse
9:45pm JC Campbell
10:00pm Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
10:40pm WSO and Faouzia
11:00pm Fireworks + site-wide pyrotechnics
Oodena Celebration Circle
Sunrise -– Spirit Riders
1:00 – 6:00pm Pow wow, Storytelling + Human Library
Canopy Stage
Noon JD and The Sunshine Band
1:00pm Mamadou
2:00pm Sol James
3:00pm Justin Lacroix
4:00pm Sierra Noble
5:00pm Slow Leaves
6:45pm Bunny
7:45pm Mitchell Schimnowski
8:45pm Julie & Jeremy Penner
Port Stage
1:30pm Riel Gentlemen’s Choir
2:30pm 3Peat
3:30pm Jade Turner
4:30pm Mitchell Schimnowski
6:00pm Scott Nolan
7:00pm Mariachi Ghost
8:00pm Lanikai
8:45pm Julie & Jeremy Penner
9:00pm Aboriginal School of Dance
9:20pm Jade Turner
9:30pm Riel Gentlemen's Choir on the river
10:00pm Red Moon Road & Friends Canadian Songbook
11:00pm Fireworks + site-wide pyrotechnics
Plaza Skatepark
Noon – 5:00pm Red Riding Media + SK8 Skates skateboard demos + group skate with DJ Hunnicutt, DJ Wuki + DJ²