'It's a big attraction': Giant turkey draws tourists to small Manitoba community
His name is Tom, Tom the turkey that is.
The nine-foot-tall statue is La Riviere's most famous landmark, and impossible to miss as you drive by.
"It's a big attraction and it looks very nice in the summer,” said Charlene Currie, La Riviere LUD Representative.
The turkey was put on its pedestal nearly 40 years ago to commemorate the La Riviere's centennial in 1986.
Residents designed and built the turkey themselves after a professional told them it would cost $35,000 to do it, or nearly $100,000 today.
"We decided, well look, there's no way this little community is going to raise $35,000 for that," said Ken Maloney, who helped build the turkey.
It was a high point for the small rural community, but while the turkey is still looking great, things aren't looking quite as good for the community itself.
"Now we only have four farmers. It's hard to make a living on four families instead of a dozen or 20,” said Kim Wiklund, a La Riviere resident.
Today there are only about 200 people living in La Riviere, and several businesses have flown the coop.
"This used to be a general store here,” said Maloney, pointing at an old building. “If you couldn't find what you needed in there you didn't need it! And then we had the credit union down there. That closed a couple of years ago. And at one time there were about six garages here. Things just dwindled out."
But while fewer people may be living here full-time - there's no shortage of people passing by.
Tom the turkey still pulls people in like it's time for Thanksgiving dinner.
"It's the tourism, people that are passing through want to get their picture taken with it,” said Currie.
When they do, Currie said they see all the things La Riviere has to offer, such as its trails for walking, biking, and hiking.
So as long as the statue stands tall, so too does La Riviere, always ready to welcome the next visitor to this wonderful community.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Slovakia's prime minister injured in shooting
Media reports say Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital.
B.C. mom whose son died from wildfire smoke trying to make this year safer
As wildfires rage in British Columbia, the family of a nine-year-old who died last summer is trying to protect people from poor air quality due to smoke this year.
'Not a scarient': New COVID-19 subvariant dominant in Canada
A new COVID-19 subvariant is dominant in Canada, representing just over 30 per cent of cases in the country, but infectious disease experts say there’s no sign it’ll evolve into a summer 'scarient.'
DEVELOPING Massive manhunt in France for prison-break gang that gunned down officers
A massive manhunt was underway in France on Wednesday for an armed gang that killed two prison officers and seriously injured three others to spring an inmate they were escorting.
Home sales in April up 10% compared with year ago, but monthly sales slow
The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of home sales in April rose 10.1 per cent compared with a year ago, but attributed the gain primarily to the early Easter long weekend.
Growing wildfires across Western Canada are forcing thousands from their homes
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
Sun shoots out biggest solar flare in almost 2 decades, but Earth should be out of the way this time
The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummelled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places.
Wildfire smoke forecast: Poor air quality in Western Canada, haze in Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires continue to impact air quality across Western Canada, with conditions expected to worsen on Wednesday before improving.
Victim loses $2M in online romance scam
A Malahide Township resident is out more than $2 million following a romance scam.