City shares plans to mark Winnipeg's 150th birthday

Winnipeg is celebrating a big birthday – 150 years.

To mark the major milestone, Mayor Scott Gillingham announced a number of plans and initiatives to celebrate the big day.

"All next year we plan to celebrate and mark our 150th. We will do so by looking back, but we will also do so by looking forward as well," Gillingham said Wednesday.

To get everyone in on the festivities, the city will allow existing festivals, events, museums and other organization in Winnipeg to apply for grants up to $5,000.

All they have to do to be eligible is incorporate the Winnipeg 150 theme into their 2024 programming – "Our shared Stories. Our Shared Future."

In total, $50,000 will be handed out to organizations throughout Winnipeg.

"We're really calling upon organizations to find ways to share Winnipeg's stories and there's a lot of creative people who can capture our history and tell the stories in fascinating ways. So we invite that as part of celebration over the next year."

The funding for the grants is subject to council's approval of the 2024-2027 multi-year budget.

With the celebration, there will be the creation of a Winnipeg 150 graphic, medals and souvenirs. Councillors will get funds to help their wards mark the birthday bash, and the city will be creating a time capsule.

That capsule will include letters from dignitaries, items that showcase the 150 celebrations, as well as other records.

The capsule will be stored at the City's Archives and will be opened on the 200th anniversary in 2074.

The city will mark the start of the Winnipeg 150 celebrations on Jan. 19, 2024, which is the anniversary of the first meeting of city council.