Downtown Peggy

It’s Doors Open Winnipeg this weekend! If you’ve never been before, this is one weekend a year when building all around the city, particularly the downtown and Exchange, open their doors to the general public to let you get a peek inside spaces you might otherwise walk by your whole life without getting to see.

For me one of the biggest draws is the amazing heritage buildings the city has to offer – I always wonder when I look at elaborate facades, just how much of the decor they’ve preserved inside. Now’s my chance to snoop and find out! There are dozens and dozens of buildings open on the list (you can find them all here), but I’ve made a shortlist for myself of must-sees and must-dos this year:

1) The Telpay building on Garry Street. It’s from 1909, I love the red sandstone on the outside of this building, and I’ve never even come across a picture of the inside! Apparently it’s just as spectacular, with columns, marble rotunda, and a functioning original elevator!

2) Bridgman Collaborative Architecture on Main. I remember watching this building be redone and being in awe of the transformation – not surprising, since it’s an architecture firm!

3) Via Rail Station – I’ve visited this one before, but I always love the soaring lobby, and it’s celebrating its 100th birthday this year! I’ll bring a cupcake to eat there in celebration.

4) The Variety Heritage Adventure Park! This is the brand-new park that’s just opening up at the Forks. I’ve been keeping an eye on the construction and I’m a little jealous of the kids who are going to be playing here – wish I’d had a mini-log cabin as a child, too cute!

5) The Avenue/Hample building – I think the whole city was waiting to see how the renovations of this went, and from the grand opening photos a few weeks ago, the inside looks spectacular. Can’t wait to do more exploring myself!

6) The trolley! Now this isn’t so much a building as an experience, but it’s definitely historical and a really fun idea. There’s a brand-new business in town, the Winnipeg Trolley Company. As the name suggests, they have an old-style trolley, the same kind that used to run along Winnipeg’s streets, and they’ve restored it to give tours and rent to events this summer! It’s making its big debut at Doors Open on Sunday.

If you want a full list of what’s going on this weekend, the Doors Open site is here!

(Oh and did I mention all the tours and venues are free? Happy exploring!)

To me, really great fashion is art you can wear. So it seems like the perfect fit (pun intended!) that the WAG is hosting a fashion show tomorrow night, May 23, called “The Collection”- and I’ve got some tickets to give away!

The Collection is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen at the WAG before – the gallery becoming a catwalk for the night! They’ll be taking fashion from local boutique shops, pairing it with jewelery from the WAG’s Gallery Shop, and sending models out to strut their stuff among centuries of artwork! And of course, it wouldn’t be a fashion show without champagne and h’or d’oeuvres to nibble on while you watch.

So how do you get to play Anna Wintour for the night and get tickets to The Collection? Well…

I’m a big fan of trying out new trends and styles and experimenting with fashion. Sometimes new styles work for me, and sometimes they really, really don’t. But that’s OK – half the fun of it is experimenting and finding out what makes you feel gorgeous when you wear it, right? Of course, trying new styles has left me with a few dark moments in my fashion history – some really unflattering hairstyles, colours that were oh-so-hot that year but made me look kind of green. And I don’t think I’m alone in this.

So, to enter to win tickets to The Collection, you need to share your favourite fashion fail in the comments! Your OWN, that is – no celebrities. No pictures necessary, just share one fashion regret and you could be on your way to seeing some high style!

Want to buy tickets to The Collection? Call the WAG at 789-1769 – they’re $40 for members or $50 for non-members. Doors open at 6, and the show starts at 7. More info here!

I know, that sounded a little risque for a blog post title for me! It’s actually the name of a brand-new frozen yogurt place that just opened in Winnipeg Square. With the weather warming up, it was perfect timing to try it out!

Their standard plain yogurt is yummy enough on its own, but there are flavours that change daily too – when I was there, they had green tea, which I completely adore. There’s a whole pile of toppings to choose from too – the usual like strawberries and blueberries, and some that just made me smile, like fruity pebbles. I didn’t know they still made those! Next time, I’m going for what I call my ‘funky monkey’ combo – banana & coco puffs. Although the coco puffs might defeat the purpose of their yogurt being fat-free….hmm. Oh well – it’s a treat!

I’d be missing out if I didn’t mention all the fun merch they have there – they have a lot of fun with the “Spoon Me” name! I picked up this bumper sticker:

I wonder if it’ll fit on my bike for commuter week?

Spoon Me
Winnipeg Square

A surprise prize has just fallen into my lap!

I wrote a few weeks ago about the Young Associates Black & White Gala – this year’s it’s being held at the downtown Bay with a fabulous Roaring 20s theme. Being the downtown-loving girl I am, I’m all jazzed up about the location this year (pun intended), so I’ve had my tickets bought and sitting in my theme-appropriate beaded clutch for a while now. But the too-kind committee behind Black & White has just given me the OK to share another pair of VIP tickets to the gala with one lucky blog reader! The gala’s tomorrow night, so I’m going to make the contest nice and easy for my lucky winner. All you have to do to enter to win is email me at mail@downtownpeggy.com with one other downtown location that Black & White Gala has been held in (there are a few correct answers to this one!) I’ll take entries until 5:00 today – good luck!

Is it just me, or does this feel like the most indulgent time of year? Chocolatefest just ended, and it’s time for the Wine Festival to start up!

There’s a whole list of side events to go to that are underway already, like tastings at local restaurants. But the big events that most people remember are the public tastings.

The biggest space in the Convention Centre filled with rows and rows of wine to be sampled…I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this festival comes close to my idea of heaven. There are hundreds of wines from all over the world, but this year the theme is wines of BC and Ontario. I’m extra-excited about this, because if there’s one kind of wine I love best of all, it’s ice wine – and Canada is fantastic at making that! If you’ve never tried it or don’t get to drink it often, make sure you make time for it this year. It’s more concentrated than other wines, and very sweet – the perfect dessert drink.

Fun fact – did you know that there’s such a thing as sparkling ice wine, and it was created accidentally in 1988 by a Canadian wine writer? It’s true, and I’m hoping some is on the tables this year!

I’ve checked out the wineries that are coming and there are one from Uruguay and two from Washington State – both totally new wine regions to me, so they’re going straight to the top of my must-taste list beside ice wine!

A final tip – if you find something you really, REALLY love, ask the staff at the booth if it’s usually carried in Manitoba. There are some really awesome wines that you can only purchase at the wine show, so if you think “I’ll buy it some other time” you might end up missing out!

Public tastings happen this Friday and Saturday. You can buy tickets at MLCC locations (there’s one in cityplace) or online at Ticketmaster

We’ve now entered the dark days after Easter, when the on-sale leftover chocolate has all been picked off the shelves and we’re all starting to go into sugar withdrawal. But don’t worry, it’s Chocolatefest to the rescue!

Chocolatefest actually goes on for all of April, but the big event happens this weekend at the Forks. There’ll be demos of cooking with chocolate, chocolate crafts for the kids (free!), a chance to taste chocolate goodies from different vendors, and a chocolate fountain…drool.

If you don’t make it out, there are still two more weeks of chocolatey delights to try at a bunch of downtown restaurants – there’s even a deep-fried Mars bar at Fergie’s Fish & Chips in Portage Place. (I highly recommend it, but you may want to have someone with you to hold you up in case you go into sugar-shock)

Some of my other picks:

The Beachcomber: Chocolate Brownie Quesadilla
Chocolate brownies and rich chocolate sauce sandwiched between a flour tortilla, dusted with cocoa and finished with chocolate whipped cream.

Brooklyn’s Bistro: Trio of Chocolate Truffles
One dark chocolate and cayenne pepper truffle, one white chocolate truffle infused with lemon and lime, and one milk chocolate truffle infused with Frangelico.

The Current: Tangerine Dream
Belgian dark chocolate and tangerine pot de crème with a chocolate coated shortbread biscuit.

Dessert Sinsations: Chocolate Chip Cookie Latte
Hot espresso with cookie dough syrup, steamed milk and chocolate chips.

Rudy’s: Smores
Housemade marshmallow, graham crackers and Callebaut chocolate (warning – this one can get messy, but it’s totally worth it!).

All of the desserts are $7 each, and there’s a full list of the restaurants participating and the delectable goodies they’re offering right here