Made in 1969 by the Manitoba Department of Tourism, this colorful film takes viewers on a tour through Manitoba, Canada. The province sits between Ontario and Saskatchewan and is known as the “Polar Bear Capitol of the World”. It is also known for its world-renowned museums and unique festivals. Due to their Viking history, Icelanders named the first settlement of Manitoba after the home of the Gods in Norse mythology; Gimli (1:52). A view of the harbor with yachts and bikini clad women (2:24). The first festival shown is the Manitoba Festival in Gimli which is uniquely Canadian, though it features recipes from Iceland and Manitoba’s early heritage (3:09). There are so many lakes in the area that tabulators gave up the task of counting them after hitting 100,000 (3:51). Families and young couples are seen splashing in the waters and playing in the sands of Manitoba Beach (4:00). Next, the town of Flin Flon (4:32). The copper and gold of this area drew in prospectors (4:39). The traditional toe tapping Flin Flon dances are shown at the Trout Festival (4:41). Long boats race (5:38) and a triage is seen in a pyramid formation on water skis (6:20). Another Manitoba festival is the Sunflower Festival during which three women with sunflower hats compete in a sunflower seed eating contest (8:05). This festival also features a low German play specifically created for the festival (8:40), motorbike races, a parade and a pie throwing contest (8:47). The Sunflower Queen has a delicate crown placed atop her head (8:55). A young couple riding a motorbike down one of Manitoba’s highways (9:25) takes the film to the Holiday Festival of Arts in Neepawa. Visitors to the event enjoy drama plays, music, dancing as well as art instruction classes (9:41). A folky tune buzzes from a band at the event while a woman sketches (10:24). On the grounds outside, a young woman receives art instruction from a notable artist (11:07). As sponsored by the University of Manitoba, the dancers, actors and painters practice extensively for the event (11:18). The Manitoba Stampede Agricultural Exhibition is hosted in Morris, located in the Pembina Valley (11:40). Events here include a chariot race, a man wrestling a bear, and bronco riders (11:44). A cowboy tosses a lasso towards a calf (12:00) and a dismounted bull rider rolls out of the way of the animal’s dangerous horns (12:26). The Northern Manitoba’s Trappers’ Festival is an annual festival held in the winter in The Pas, Manitoba (12:56). Dog sled races open the event (12:59). Inside of the event, a band provides musical entertainment and a wrestling match is held (13:31). The festival specifically tests the skills of outdoorsmen (13:35) as a man is heard bird calling (13:39). The largest concentration of French speaking inhabitants outside of the province of Quebec, reside in St. Boniface (14:20). A choir performs at the Centennial Center (15:01) which also houses a planetarium, a museum of man and nature, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the world-renowned Royal Winnipeg Ballet (15:13). Scottish bag pipes and ceremonial gunfire are heard and seen at the Selkirk-Interlake Festival (15:30). The festival is held near lower Fort Gary which includes trees which had been planted by the first Highland settlers (15:39). Children dressed in traditional Scottish attire dance on stage (16:00). This is one of the largest annual Highland’s gatherings (16:18). The Threshermen’s Reunion carries on for four days and nights with parades daily and rodeos nightly in Austin (16:55). A women’s contest for goat tying (19:15), and men racing for a wild cow milking contest (20:12). Children are seen riding a miniature railway around the area (20:58). The film turns to Dauphin and Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival (21:21). Colorful floats drift down the streets here (21:45) and each depicts Ukrainian folklore (21:51). A woman delicately paints intricately designed eggs, a tradition dating back to pagan times (22:09). It requires even the skilled craftsmen 8-10 hours to complete the eggs (22:14) and during Easter they are traditionally given as tokens of friendship (22:18). After the parade, guests flock to the Grand Stand Variety Show (22:37). Dressed in colorful Ukrainian costumes, a play is performed (23:34). The End. Produced by Chetwynd Films (26:56) for the Department of Tourism and Recreation (27:05).

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com