Manitoba Esports Presents - Activate Series X

On the weekend of June 24 to June 26, the largest Esports convention in Manitoba history will be held downtown at the Radisson Hotel. Manitoba Esports Association will present Activate Series X across the entire 11th floor of the hotel. This will be the first time the organization has been able to hold any in-person events since 2019. Throughout the pandemic, online tournaments were the only way to continue operation via Twitch broadcasting.

The Canadian Championship Series will feature two teams in the finals for Valorant. It will be broadcast on Twitch and later show on Shaw Spotlight. Online media sponsorship is from Access Winnipeg so be sure to check out their contest tickets.

There will be a gaming lounge as well as a table top game area. Red Bull has a featured lounge for those wanting a drink and to watch the championship.

As always with Manitoba's big cultural festivals such as Comic Con and Aikon, the volunteers make it possible. Manitoba Esports Association is a non-profit and a lot of time and effort went into prepping for this after pandemic cancellations. Many festivals have reduced their size this year such as Folklorama because organizations are still recovering. In the case of Manitoba Esports Activate Series X, it will be the largest event they've ever done. 

Kids under the age of 12 are free with a guardian so the hope is this will be a family friendly environment. Artists, collectible and toy vendors and charities will be among the many vendors selling in the marketplace.

Parking is free on the streets after 5:30 PM and all day Sunday. On major bus routes along Portage Avenue and loading zone out front for drop offs for Activate Series X.

Access Winnipeg, proud online media sponsor will having a draw for contest tickets. Ticket' can also be bought online at manitobaesports.com as well as at the door for one day or three day passes.

Keycon 36 May 17 to 19

There are a number of long running pop cultural festivals in Manitoba but there are likely none that are closing in on near four decades of continuous operation. Science fiction and fantasy are among the biggest sellers in the multimedia world from books to television to movies to games. Keycon has always been the more literate of the festivals but just as fun loving. This year they have guests of honour representing both writers and authors. Carrie Vaughn, Tanya Huff and Lee Moyer will be present to discuss their work.

Traditionally the May long weekend has been marked by Manitobans heading to the cottage or camping for the first time of the new year. Some nip down to the States for a last shopping weekend before summer. However, the Victoria Day weekend in the city was often marked by a sleepy whole lot of nothing. 

No sci-fi festival wold be complete without costume masquerades and competitions, panels and discussions, gaming and fights as well as dinner and dancing with friends. The venue is the Radisson Hotel on Portage Avenue in the downtown area and is spread out through most of their ballrooms and guest suites. 

Attendance has ranged as high as 600 for a weekend pass but day passes are also available for those who have only a day to spare. There are lots of celebrations for sci-fi culture that Keycon will be tipping the hat to including vampire stories, Mad Max, Monty Python as well as Wizard of Oz.

Tickets in advance are the best course of action and reviewing the schedule and times for programming. Costumes are always welcome but check to see when cosplay and masquerades are happening. There are vendors selling a variety of goods and art so be sure to check that out as well.

Keycon is a more intimate look at sci-fi and fantasy than some of the biggest shows out there but then it is all about forming close relationships with the people and groups that share interests. And once again, not everyone goes out of town on the May long weekend.

http://www.keycon.org/36/

Portage Avenue 1970

In 1970 Portage Avenue was still a going concern commercially. The Bay and Eaton's were still packing them in. There were several 20 storey towers that went up all over downtown bit the most iconic was the over 30 story Richardson Building seen here all lit up in more or less its first year. The Northstar Inn (Radisson) on the right was up at near the same time built by the owner of Famous Players. It contained the city's newest and swanky movie theatres as well as highest parking lot in Winnipeg.

It was still possible to find a gas station downtown. A Gulf station is seem on the south side of Portage Avenue.

The north side of Portage was always a little less glamourous. By 1980 it was in full decline as the city plunged to the hardest economic times since the Depression.

Radisson Hotel Downtown

Two views of the Radisson Hotel Downtown Winnipeg

In the last year, under the new ownership of the Canad Inns, the Radisson Hotel Downtown has undergone a $5 million renovation of its rooms. Reviews have improved in the last year of the hotel itself.

One Man Committee wrote about the downtown hotels as well as some of the newer airport hotels going up on October 25.

I wrote about some of the new hotels back in July. They are still under construction and I will try and get some pictures soon of them.

I agree with him that construction of hotels downtown has hit a slow patch.

Winnipeg, unlike many places in North America, has never really had a hotel district. They are spread out all over the place.

We have been seeing a little more of a congregation of hotels in the airport/Polo Park area. That is not surprising given that this is the main retail area of the city and one of the place that would attract out of town guests.

I remember when the Northstar Inn (now the Radisson) was built in 1971.

Here is a commercial for it from 1980.



Of interest to note, parking was free back then. Today for guests, I hear it is $10.

I used to go the Northstar Cinema in the basement of the hotel through much of the 1970s and 1980s. For a time, it was the most modern theatres in the city and it is where I saw Star Wars in 1977. I can remember line-ups out the door and around the corner.

There were times during the summer when you could see lines for the Northstar, the Capitol, the Garrick and the Metropolitan all on the same night.

The Polo Park Cinema in the basement paled in comparison. I hardly went there in all the years it was open.

The North Star had great screens, great seats and the best sound in those years.

I would park in the parkade that towered over Portage Avenue. I knew several people who were terrified of that parking lot but that is where I would park my Plymouth Suburban station wagon that was the length of what the Cineplex Odeon used to be in Eaton Place.

The building was under construction starting in 1968 but fell way behind schedule. There was a flurry of building in that period with hotels and offices going up all over the downtown, albeit spread out from one another. Th hotel opened in 1971 officially but the theater and parking lot were up and running before that if I recall correctly.

The proximity to the MTS Centre is a plus for the Radisson. My personal view is that Canad Inns owner would do well to promote that fact in its other center of business operations, namely Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Our tourism promotion in North Dakota and Minnesota is negligent. Tourism info should run weekly in the Fargo Forum and Grand Forks Herald. Instead of going to concerts in Minneapolis, students and other folks from our southern neighbours should look to their friend to the north.

We have to put on our best face, gussy up our hotels and deliver a message that we are open for visitors.

The idea of an arts and entertainment area around the MTS Centre is not a bad idea. It is what the area used to be like when the movie theatres were on north and south Portage.

I think that if the focus is on enhancing that idea, we might see additional hotels and boutique hotels at that.

Till then, I hope the Radisson Hotel continues to spruce up its little corner of Portage Avenue.