Things got colourful this past Monday night at Folklorama.
So in case you aren’t from Winnipeg, every year at the beginning of August the city plays host to the largest and longest-running multicultural festival of its kind in the world. Travel around the world (and the city) and experience 45 different pavilions all based around a central theme country or region. The event is spread over the span of two weeks, with 23 pavilions the first week and 22 the second.
Although Folklorama officially kicked off this past Sunday, the boyfriend and I were out of town soaking up the rays in Gimli, so we started out Folklorama world tour Monday. Our first pavilion this year was the Mexican one, held at the RBC Convention Centre.
The Mexican pavilion, although not new to the festival, has made a return after an absence in past years. It’s run by the Mex Y Can Association of Manitoba and they actually brought in the entertainment straight from Mexico. The theme of pavilion zeroed in on tequila (what’s not to like with that?!), and took the audience on a journey through the region. From the cultural display to the food (the chips and salsa were so delish!), I was getting major flashbacks to our trip this past April to Cancun.
Since I love Mexican culture (and especially the food), I was inspired by the beauty of the residents in the region. I find that since Latinos are so beautiful in general, that they tend to keep it quite basic with the makeup to let the skin shine through and let the outfits do the talking. I made the skin very dewy and kept the eyes simple with some black kohl liner winged out (Make Up For Ever Aqua XL in Black, to be exact). I also lightly placed the black along my lower lash line and smudged it out for a subtle appearance. Since Mexico is so full of colour, I went with a bold pink on the lips, but a red or an orange would look fabulous with this look as well.
For my hair, I curled it using a clipless curling iron, then did a half-up ponytail. For the outfit, I paired some black jeggings with a colour beaded skull tank top and a black cardi.
After the Mexican pavilion we just had to make a stop at the Casa do Minho Portuguese Pavilion (1080 Wall Street), where we snacked on these pork on a bun sandwiches, a lemon dessert (which was amazing) and Portuguese wine. We got the full tour of their cultural display where I’m pretty sure I shocked the girl when I said I had never heard of Cristiano Ronaldo (I was kidding by the way). I also learned that the soccer superstar has his own shoe line and it’s made in Portugal.
Both the Mexican and Casa do Minho pavilions are on until August 6, when week one ends. Week two plays host to different countries and regions.
Which pavilions will you be checking out this week?
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It’s been a busy summer here in Winnipeg!
From Folk Fest to Fringe to Folklorama (which officially started yesterday), my calendar has been jammed packed with things to do. Although these festivals happen sporadically over the summer, there are also a number of events that you can sign up for here in the city that get you out and about and take pride in this prairie city of ours.
I got the chance to go on one of the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ’s tours this past Friday, which happen all summer long and into the fall, until October 28, 2016. I wined my way through the Winnipeg Wine tour, however, there’s also The Breakfast Club, where you get to nosh on food from four different breakfast restaurants downtown; Tap In, a chance to experience beers and apps from four locations; A Movable Feast, where you get to bike around and sample five restaurant menus; Patio Crawl, a chance to soak up the sun and sip bevies at four downtown patios; and Winnipeg Wine, which includes two glasses of wine and apps at four locations. There is also a free Downtown Flashback tour, which is a noon-hour guided walking tour where you get to learn about the history of Winnipeg’s downtown. Most of the tours are $30 aside from the wine one, which is $75. There is also an option to stay at a hotel for the wine one, which is priced at $285 based on double occupancy (the participating hotel varies depending on the date).
My night started at Prairie 360 at 5:30 p.m., which is Winnipeg’s revolving restaurant (located on the 28th floor of Fort Garry Place, behind the Fort Garry Hotel). We each received two glasses of wine and some appetizers before moving onto our next stop, The Loft Salon, which as the name says, is a salon that offers bar service. Although I was excited to see which wine they were serving up, I was most excited for the hair touchups that they offered (I would never say no to someone playing with my hair). From there, we headed onto Resto 12, located at the Radisson Hotel on Portage and then the tour ended at Blaze Restaurant & Lounge at The Delta Hotel.
Thank goodness it was a Friday and a long weekend, because after eight glasses of wine (two per venue) and some food pairings (gotta admit though, considering the amount of wine we consumed, we definitely needed more food on this tour), not only was I happy that I wore loose clothing and comfortable shoes, but I was more than ready for bed at 10 p.m. (when the tour ended).
Since I knew we would be doing a lot of walking, I chose to go the comfortable route (with a hint of glam of course!) for my shoes. I wore my white sequin Keds x Kate Spade sneakers with a black romper from Dynamite (last year). I accessorized the outfit with a gold plate belt and some fun jewelry. For my bag, since I had to lug around my DSLR and the fact that I like bringing a sweater when I go out at night, I wore my Louis Vuitton Speedy 30 in the Damier Ebene print.
The Downtown Winnipeg Tours have been going strong all summer, but there are still spots left over for the rest of the season. The Winnipeg Wine one has three more dates left (August 26, September 30, and October 28), and the rest of the tours also have a couple dates as well (the Breakfast Club one looks so yummy!).
What better way to get out and explore our city than sip and savour in all it has to offer. Oh, and get moving ;).
Also, don’t forget to enter my Genuine Health giveaway, I’m giving away a tub of their new fermented Greek yogurt proteins+ powder and bars!
Special thanks to the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ for letting me take this tour. All opinions are my own.
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We all have one. You know that dress that is just sitting in your closet with nowhere to go? Whether it’s a bridesmaid dress that you know you’re never going to wear again, a sequin dress that is only appropriate on New Years Eve, that fab find you got at H&M but is just too fancy to wear anywhere other than a formal event which costs $250 a ticket, or your grad dress that you literally wore for an hour before your parents left and you changed into something shorter and more revealing? Yeah, we all have that dress. The one you never thought you would get the chance to wear again.
In an event that would literally appeal to women everywhere, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is having an event later this month which will have women everywhere pulling out that item that’s full of dust, whether it be in the back of your closet or in the laundry room closet of your parent’s place.
Dust off the Dress is taking place on September 18, 2015 after the season opener at the Centennial Concert Hall as part of their Soundcheck program. I’m actually new to the program myself but it sounds totally awesome. If you are under 30 or a full-time student, you can attend the symphony at a discounted price, but attend some free events (like Dust off the Dress) that they hold throughout the season.
Photo courtesy of the WSO/Facebook.
Dust off the Dress the largest event they hold as part of the program and is free and for Soundcheck members only with the purchase of a concert ticket. Essentially it’s like a really cool afterparty for Soundcheckers, where the WSO invites them to pull out that dress (or suit) and rock it once again at the concert and the party after. There’s live music, h’ordeuvres, mingling with WSO musicians, Maestro Alexander Micklethwate, and the concert’s guest artist, Tianwa Wang. The Aveda Institute (where I get my hair done) will also be on site with a pop-up beauty bar.
Membership in the Soundcheck program is free and members can buy tickets for $17 per concert. Soundcheckers can bring one guest for $29 or buy a season pass for $85.
I’ll be there that Friday night (I’m still deciding on which dress I want to wear), and I want to gift a pair of tickets to the concert and event to a lucky Winnipeg reader. All you have to do is Tweet me, leave a comment on my Facebook page, or in the comments below what dress you would wear. Winner will be chosen on Wednesday, September 17, 2015.
What dress would you wear to Dust off the Dress?
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