Get Up Close Manitoba and Experience The Red River EX as a Family

In Manitoba we have numerous events, festivities and attractions that bring our province together, the Red River Ex is the grand daddy of them all.  For as long as I have remembered there has always been an aura around the Red River Ex.  It was signal to the start of summer.  It was a place you went with friends to see and experience cool rides and eat mini donuts.  Well on Saturday our family went and I got to share this experience with my 2 little girls.

From my younger days, all I could recall about ‘the Ex’ was cool rides, games and deep fried everything.  Well this latest trip did include some rides, but our discovery this year was sooooo much more than that.  I mean there is so much to do apart from rides and games.  When we first arrived we went to the Prairie Town Adventures.  We were greeted by the Prairie Town Farm where our girls learned all about farming practices with a cool interactive display where our girls earned prizes for their participation and learning about all the many types of farming practices in Manitoba and their commodities.

To follow that up we went to the Touch the Farm exhibit.  Here we learned hands on about farming and got to see the livestock close up.  And the coolest part of all was seeing a baby chicken hatch right before our eyes.  Super cool!

The girls also enjoyed the discovery place where there was a Pig Tales exhibit. The girls loved the pig ultrasound machine to check how many piglets the sow was expecting.

As for entertainment at the Ex there is tons for little people.  Prairie Town Adventures has a stage with cool entertainers cycling thought all day long.  We were privileged to experience as seen on TreeHouse, Splash n Boots.  Dancing and singing were had with top quality Juno award nominated entertainers.

There was also magical moments walking around the Ex with superheroes and storybook characters being seen all over the park.  This included Power Rangers, Iron Man, Spiderman, Jessie (from Toy Story 3) and the best of all, Elsa from Frozen.  Elsa even pulled our girls up on stage for a magical singing experience.

Back in the day food at the Ex was made up of deep fried everything.  However this year things are different.  Those of you who have been following my journey of healthy eating might be wondering how we pulled this one off.  Well Thanks to the many many MANY food options this year, I could eat at the Ex.  Winnipegers know that Broadway Ave. at lunch time is full of food trucks and this year they all gathered at the Ex.  Everything from poutine, ethnic food and yes, even delicious fresh salad, can all be enjoyed at the EX this year.

This year at the Ex we we were welcomed by a day of rain, however while the rain was at it’s worst, we took the opportunity to tour the Exhibition Place to check our the Shoppers Market with various cool gifts and wears; Lifestyle stage and even watch Chef Robs’ culinary magic.

The biggest hit with our girls was the WRHA Go4health Expo and specifically the Fit Kids Healthy Kids booth. Our girls were educated about healthy living, eating and exercise all through fun games and activities.

I have not even scratched the surface about what there is to do at the Ex.  The midway is always fun, yet there are so many other things that make the EX a popular family attraction. Check it our yourself at t the Red River Exhibition Park from June 13th to the 22nd, your family will have a great time.

A special thank-you to Travel Manitoba for inviting us to experience the Red River Ex, it is an incredible attraction for families to explore in Manitoba. All opinions expressed are my own.