‘Cheesy’ programming, free admission for kids: Festival du Voyageur 2018

The 49^th annual Festival du Voyageur will feature double the children’s programming and free admission for kids 12 and under.

Organizers of  western Canada’s largest winter festival announced the event schedule and entertainment lineup for the 2018 season Tuesday.

Centering largely on families, the focus this year will be carving out time for fun: snow sculpting, wood carving, ice carving and cheese carving, which is a new activity.

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Nicolas Audette, festival communications manager, said the 2018 event will see a renewed focus on family.

“On this 49th year of Festival du Voyageur, we are focusing on bringing generations together to celebrate joie de vivre and create lifelong memories,” Audette said.

“In order to encourage parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and others with children in their lives to attend the Festival as a family, we are thrilled to offer the tremendous value of free admission to those that are 12 years of age and under. We are also excited to be doubling our programming for children, providing families with countless hours of activities and entertainment.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "In order to encourage parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and others with children in their lives to attend the Festival as a family, we are thrilled to offer the tremendous value of free admission to those that are 12 years of age and under. We are also excited to be doubling our programming for children, providing families with countless hours of activities and entertainment."

Around 94,000 visitors took in the festival in 2017. That was lower than their usual attendance of between 100,000 to 105,000. Organizers said closing the Rendez-vous on Ice attraction due to warm weather and melting ice was likely the reason.

READ MORE: Unseasonably warm temperatures in Winnipeg creating a melt at Festival du Voyageur

Festival 2018 will run for 10 days, from Feb. 16 to Feb 25.

Event organizers said they will be limiting sales of day passes this year, in an effort to provide the best possible experience for visitors.

Passes and the full event program can be found on the festival website.