New Year's Eve festivities at The Forks now a free online show

Even with COVID-19 restrictions, The Forks will still be ending 2020 with a bang virtually, that is.

Don Amero, a country-folk singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, will be hosting a free virtual New Year's Eve show that will stream on The Forks' Facebook page and YouTube channel.

"In a year wherewe haven't been able to host celebrations like normal, we actually decided to do a virtual version of New Year's Eve because everybody loves some fireworks," said Clare MacKay, vice president of strategic initiatives for The Forks.

"You can order dinner in, you can Zoom with friends and you can watch the show whenever you'd likewhich is great if you've got a family and you have little kids," she said, adding that it is a family-friendly show.

The 30-minute program will be available to stream from 5 p.m. Dec. 31 until1 a.m. Jan. 1, 2021. The show was recorded over a 10-day period and is currently being edited, said MacKay, so it is not live.

The virtual showwill feature some of Manitoba's best performers, including Sebastian Gaskinand Boogey The Beat. It will also include BMX bikers riding through the market anda blessing from Elder Barb NepinakofPine Creek First Nation. Afireworks display will cap off the program.

Arctic Glacier Winter Park is open

People can also walk or skate through the winter wonderland that The Forks has set up for the coming months.

The Arctic Glacier Winter Park is open to the public day or night, and lights and music from local artists will greet visitors along the 1.2-kilometre-long path. The path connects the rink at the CN Stage to the rink under the canopy just outside the market.

Due to red level COVID-19 restrictions, there is no seating inside The Forks, nor are there indoor skate change areas, skate rentals or restrooms. Physical distancing must also be adhered to at all times.

There are benches available, andporta potties located outdoors, next to the canopy rink. MacKay said the rules around being inside the market area could change, but that depends on which public health restrictions are in place.

As for the river trail, MacKay says the conditions are not quite there yet.

"We'll make an announcement as soon as we're able to open," she said."Generally, we don't open before New Year's Eve anyway, so this is not late. We open portions of the trail as we can, and we don't often reach our full length until about the third week of January.

"Right now, we still don't know exactly where we'll be going or how long it will be. A lot of that is Mother Nature."

If and when the river trail opens, it will be called the Centennial River Trail, in honour of the Winnipeg Foundation's upcoming 100thanniversary, MacKay said.

Skating conditionscan be found on The Forks' website.

The river trail did not open last winter due to high river levels in fall 2019 and the formation offrazilicea slushy mix of crystals that clings to things like logs, branches and larger blocks of ice.

Annual huts contest still a go

Each year, The Forks hosts a warming hut contest, that displays funky yet practical architecture that will allow people in the park to warm up.

The contest is still going ahead this year, MacKay said, but it will be focused more on the art.

"Any that, right now, would encourage people to gather inside of them will likely belooking at current health restrictions and making sure that everything is up to whatever those restrictions are at the time," she said.

"Sothey're there to be enjoyed more as art and architecture."

In the year ahead, The Forks hopes to install more public art and to break ground on a mixed-use development called Railsideat The Forks, which will feature some housing units, said MacKay.