Indigenous flair adds to Canada Day celebrations at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park

Canada Day celebrations with an Indigenous flavour, minus the fireworks, are planned at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg on Friday.

The goal is to create a welcoming space for allto come together and celebratewhile also taking time to reflect on the past and to work together and make Canada a better place for all, Assiniboine Park Conservancy spokesperson Laura Cabak said in a news release.

The day will start at 11 a.m. with an Indigenous blessing from knowledge keeper Vern Dano at the Lyric Theatre.

The rest of the day's activities and performances, which take place until 5 p.m., include:

• Entertainment at the Lyric Theatre featuring: The Small Glories, Sierra Noble, Jrmie and the Delicious Hounds, Fubuki Daiko, African drumming and dancing by Drum Cafe, SPK Iskry, Walking Wolf Dancers & Singers.
• Entertainment at The Leaf performance garden featuring: Raine Hamilton, Winnipeg Steel Orchestra Duo, Duo Cochi.
• Sacred fire and tobacco offerings with Cree Crowchild at the fire node inthe Indigenous Peoples Garden.
• Local makers market in the Lyric field.
• Bouncy house and slide for kids at the Lyric field.
• Pop-up activities by Manitoba Blue Cross, CPAWS Manitoba, Recycle Everywhere, WPS Community Caravan and more.
• Food trucks at the Lyric field and the Leaf gardens.

There will be no fireworks the Assiniboine Park Conservancy hasn't had Canada Day fireworks since 2017.

Picnic sites cannot be booked on Canada Day. Theywill only be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

A free park-and-ride service will be provided from Canadian Mennonite University, 500 Shaftesbury Blvd., from 11a.m. until 6p.m.