The competition helping to turn Winnipeg into a winter wonderland

A new competition is encouraging Winnipeggers to get outside, use their creativity and turn the city into a winter wonderland.

As part of the Winterpeg programming, Winnipeg Trails and Storefront Manitoba have teamed up to offer ‘Cool Digs’ – a new snow fort competition that’s getting people to reimagine what a snow fort is.

“We’re really trying to find ways to animate our winter city. Winnipeggers are really good at doing that,” said Jaya Beange, executive director of Storefront Manitoba.

“We have a unique energy around Winnipeg.”

The competition offers two streams, one for design-oriented individuals and another for community members.

For the design stream, designers are asked to propose an alternative to the traditional winter fort. The six selected proposals will receive a $1,000 honorarium and will be featured on a map for the Winter Cities Conference.

Designers must submit their proposals before Jan. 20, with the winners announced on Jan. 23.

“[The proposal] can be as easy as a sketch on a napkin or a sculpture of what they’re imagining,” Beange said.

“Those will be at six sites across Winnipeg, paired up with the Winterpeg programming.”

The community stream is open to anyone, including school groups, families and sports teams. With this stream, participants can choose a site across Winnipeg, and post photos of their fort on social media for the jury’s consideration from Feb. 1 to March 31.

The community stream participants, who will have the chance to win prizes, need to register their team and site by March 31.

“We’re just encouraging everyone and anyone across Winnipeg to build forts in public spaces,” Beange said.

You can learn more about the Cool Digs completion online.