Thursday 12 December 2013

Pop-Culture Presents from Pylon

If you have a particular teen or pop-culture buff to buy for look no further than The Forks Market.  One store in particular is as unique as it’s name.  Pylon is a pop-culture retailer that features many niche, funny, and quirky items. 

If you’re shopping for a peace loving Beatles fan, look no further. Pylon carries a variety of Beatles items sure to satisfy their John, Paul, George, or Ringo craving. Pictured here is a Beatles glass collection. 



For a music lover they sell clocks that are made out of classic record cases. They also sell mini replicas of guitars famous musicians have been known for over the years. Kurt Cobain’s guitar caught our eye. The tiny replica is just approximately 12 inches tall and features Kurt’s signature and a tiny detailed guitar case to go with it.

Pylon also has great gift ideas for the TV aficionado. If you’re shopping for someone who says, “bazinga!” at every opportunity, why not buy them a Sheldon bobble-head? Pylon has bobble heads of the whole cast of the Big Bang Theory if you want to start a collection. 



Doctor Who celebrates their 50th anniversary this year and fans are rejoicing. Pylon carries Doctor Who journals, Doctor Who coasters, and Doctor Who coffee mugs just to name a few.


Maybe the Walking Dead fan in your life is sad now that the season is over. Check out the bobble-head of our favourite character Daryl Dixon. Even as a bobble-head he’s still hardcore.


Visit Pylon on the second floor of The Forks Market for all types of pop-culture gift ideas from Elvis and Betty Boop to Mario and My Little Pony.

Friday 6 December 2013

Eaton's Fairytale Vignettes

Many Winnipeggers share a favourite Christmas memory that involves a shopping trip to Eaton’s and a visit to the 9th floor annex to gaze with wonder at the Eaton’s Fairytale Vignettes.

When Eaton’s closed its doors in 1999 a private citizen ensured the relocation of the delicate and delightful vignettes. Many non-profits were interested in the display but the Eaton’s Fairytale Vignettes were eventually donated to the Children’s Museum.

Now over 13 years later you can fall in love with the vignettes again at the Children’s Museum located at 45 Forks Market Road in Winnipeg. They are on display until January 5, 2014 and the display is free with a Children’s Museum admission.

Sleeping Beauty
Snapshots of the vignettes do not do them justice.  Walking through the displays and pushing the little button that activates their motors is a walk down memory lane.  These detailed and vibrant vignettes have been part of Winnipeggers’ hearts for over 40 years, however, the actual age of the vignettes is unknown.  

Cinderella

The Elves and the Shoemaker
Although the vignettes are old and their movements seem chunky the experience at the Children's Museum feels the same way it did when they were on display at Eaton's.

Little Red Riding Hood

Old Mother Hubbard

Rumpelstiltskin

Three Blind Mice

The Emperor and the Nightingale

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The Eaton’s Fairytale Vignettes were refurbished and restored in 2006 and again in 2010.  The vignettes might look simple but maintaining the motors, displays, and dolls is a large task. Thankfully community support has allowed the vignettes to continue, hopefully, for years to come.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The Owl and The Pussycat
Displays not pictured include: Rub-A-Dub-Dub, Humpty Dumpty, The Little Match Girl, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Hansel and Gretel.


Monday 2 December 2013

Blow their minds this season with Forks Finds

Do you have a friend or special someone who is impossible to shop for?  Generation Green at The Forks Market has amazing gift ideas to make it easier to buy for that difficult friend.

For the Guy Who Has Everything:
  • FreakR Bottle Cover
  • Dynomighty Wallet
  • T-Touques (recycled t-shirts)
  •  Mama Pacha Beard Oil


For the Frazzled Friend:
  • DiErbe Lavender Body Lotion
  • Lavender Soy Tea Lights
  • Salt Candle Holder
  • Made For Skin Arctic Bath Salts
  • Just The Goods Body Scrub
  • Sew Dandee Eye Mask
  • All Natural Bath Bomb
  • Scentuals de stress roll on
  • Lavender Essential Oil

For the Chocoholic:
  • Taza Stoneground Mexican Chocolate (Gingerbread & Rum infused Eggnog)
  • Gourmet Inspirations Chocolate Port Sauce
  • Wildly Delicious Peppermint Hot Chocolate
  • Chocolate Extract

For The Chef:
  • Lodge Cast Iron
  • Fox Run Vintage Egg Timer
  • Bambu Cutting Board
  • Freefield Organic Camelina Oil
  • Stainless Steel Mortar & Pestle
  • Bon Appetit Linen Napkins

For the Yoga Lover:
  • Dusky Leaf Yoga Mat
  • Cork Block
  • All Natural Yoga Strap
  • Zen Yoga - All Natural Body/Room & Mat Spray
  • Half Moon Fingerless Gloves
  • Sweat Towel

For the Expectant/New Mom:
  • Earth Mama/Angel Baby Gift Set
  • Sew Dandee Organic Cotton Baby Onesie
  • Begin Again Teething Ring
  • Peas In A Pod Baby Wash/Shampoo
  • Sling Sisters Sherpa Wash Cloths
  • Sew Dandee Wee Pee Tee Pees

 Stylish gifts For Her:
  • Voila Bamboo fleece lined Infinity Scarf with matching Headband
  • Pure Anada Cosmetics & Nail Polishes
  • Skate Betty recycled skateboard Jewelry
  • Mixed Media Lockets filled with Mama Pacha perfume balm


For the Nature Lover:
  • Charlotte's Hanging Birdseed
  • Braecrest Ladybug or Butterfly house
  • Virgina Soap - Hubba Hubba Oatmeal Spice
  • Ecojot Notepad
  • Botanical Paperwork Seed Bombs

 For the Pizza Lover:
  • Pizza Stone
  • Roasted Garlic or Spicy Chili Drizzling Oil
  • Wildly Delicious Compote's
  • Truffle Oil
  • Garlic Bread Seasoning


For the Manitoba Foodie:
  • Gourmet Inspirations Finishing Sauces
  • Canadian Birch Syrup
  • John Boy Farms Apple Syrup & Jelly
  • Pia's Pesto
  • Freefield Farms Organic Camelina Oil



 For the Naturalist:
  • The Perfect Pickler
  • Prairie Fruit Cookbook
  • Infused Canadian Sea Salt
  • Cuppow Mason Jar adapters
  • Edible Alchemy Fermentation Zine

 Secret Santa/Stocking Stuffers:
  • Gorp Bars
  • RealSalt Mini Shakers
  • Gravelbourg Mini Mustards
  • Ice Chips
  • Potty Mouth Natural Breath Freshener
  • Made For Skin - Mini's


 
Don't stress about gift giving this holiday season.  Generation Green and the rest of the shops at The Forks Market have you covered for one-of-a-kind gift ideas. 


Tuesday 26 November 2013

Warming Huts v.2014: An Art + Architecture Competition on Ice


Once again the Warming Huts v.2014: An Art + Architecture Competition on Ice has been a huge success.  This competition, endorsed by the Manitoba Association of Architects, invited architects from all over the world to submit proposals for warming huts online at www.warminghuts.com. 

After receiving over 190 entries the jury blindly chose three submissions that best “push the envelope of design, craft and art.” This year the three winners are Canadian, with two of the winning entries coming from Toronto and one from Vancouver.  In addition to the three winning open submissions, there will also be one hut from a separate University of Manitoba competition, one from the local invited architect Étienne Gaboury, and one hut from Kelvin High School’s drafting program.

Every year the architects push the boundaries in terms of inspiration, design, and materials used.  There was no theme for this year's competition which produced a diverse set of winning warming huts.

  1. NUZZLES - RAW DESIGN INC.- Toronto
Imagine a series of glowing mounds on the frozen river landscape, each creating immersive layers of light, warmth and interaction. Inspired by the insulating properties of fur, NUZZLES brings a unique, engaging experience to the visitors of the Assiniboine River. Moving away from the introverted enclosure, NUZZLES exhibits a heated, lit core, encompassed by a multitude of insulated appendages which allow users to nestle into the structure. Constructed from a geodesic lattice of hollow aluminum tubing, and an outer layer of foam bristles (pool noodles), NUZZLES provides an inner layer of still air in order to increase heat capacity. Occupants are encouraged to playfully interact with bristles in order to sculpt informal seating or standing space as well change the lighting dispersions of the glowing structure.

  1. Red Blanket - Workshop Architecture Inc.- Toronto
Red Blanket will be a visual marker against the surrounding white winter palette. It will be seen by skaters far in the distance. First as a red speck, then, as you skate closer, you will see the dense fabric panels swaying under heavy winds. The wall of thick felt will be angled to protect skaters from the prevailing wind and provide a sunny spot. Each of the ten panels is sized to be the width and length of a single roll of bright red felted wool. A rod will be affixed at each panel’s top end and hung in two parallel lines from the underside of one of the bridges crossing the Assiniboine or Red River. The bottom ends of these monumental- scaled panels will act as a warm blanket for people to wrap themselves in, one or two at a time. Simple wooden benches will be slid into place by skaters as required to create different groupings from a single person lacing up their skates to a small group gathering to share hot cocoa.
  1. Windshield - Kate Busby & Bella Totino – Vancouver
“And all about him was the wind now, a pervasive sighing through great emptiness, as though the prairie itself was breathing...” W.O. Mitchell

WINDSHIELD is a five-metre tall wind vane that counters prevailing winds to protect its occupants. The vertical shelter is supported on a circular rotating steel base. Its modern aluminum frame and fabric skin are based on the tectonics of the early birch-bark canoes that would travel down the Assiniboine in the summer months. The light frame allows the shelter to adapt to changing wind pattern by rotating to protect its users from exposure to the elements. Fixed to the centre of the circular base a modified outdoor heat column serves both as hand- hold and a source of heat and light. The shelter stands proud as a landmark feature along the frozen river, inviting new visitors to test its wind breaking abilities and warm their mittened hands.

  1. SKYBOX – University of Manitoba – Winnipeg
SKYBOX creates the visual immersion of people against a background not normally considered, the sky. Winnipeg’s trademark aspect is its winter weather, and SKYBOX aims to create a mesh between the transforming weather conditions and the community. Purposefully placed reflective material covers the interior space to procure an illusion of the visitors sitting amongst the changing winter skies.

SKYBOX embraces the current generation’s fascination with social media by creating a photographic opportunity amongst the changing skies. Through the process of uploading images with the tagline #SKYBOX, Winnipeg’s community can interact with and promote The Fork’s Red River Mutual Trail on an international scale.
  1. Voyageur Hut  - Étienne Gaboury  - Winnipeg  
This warming hut celebrates the 45th season of the Festival du Voyageur; it is a mirthful evocation of the ‘courreurs de bois’. They relied primarily on clothes to warm themselves, wearing probably one or two pairs of pants, ‘long johns’, sweaters, toques, woolen socks, moccasins, and sashes wrapped around their waists. Recalling these habits and traditions are the inverted pants and sash. These are suspended by two helium-filled balloons; the lower one, a voyageur carrying a canoe, and the upper one, a floral form, all meant to create a festive setting visible from afar.


  1. To Be Named – Kelvin High School – Winnipeg

Working with Red River Mutual, the sixth warming hut will become a class project for Kelvin High School Students to be unveiled during build week in January.

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Many Worlds Festival continues at The Forks Market


The Forks Market has always been a cornucopia of cultures.  A simple task of choosing which place to grab a quick lunch can have you deciding between Chilean empanadas, Indian curries, or Mongolian stirfry.  The shops upstairs are just as diverse.  Shop owners come from Czech Republic, China, Africa and Ireland to name a few. 

At the beginning of November The Forks Market kicked off its first annual Many Worlds Festival.  Celebrating the distinctive cultures you’ll find at The Forks Market, the first weekend included a unique fashion show showcasing fashions found in The Market, and around the world. 

This past weekend kicked off the entertainment portion of the month long festival appropriately titled, Entertainment of the World. 

Provided by Folklorama Talent the incredible list of performers this weekend included Winnipeg Steel Orchestra, Chile Lucha y Canta, Buena Clave Latin Duo, providing a little  Joie de vivre’ was L’ensemble folklorique de la Riviere-Rouge, Viva Brasil and closing out this weekends performers was Duo Trans Andino. (photo credit: Rhayne Moore, brass-petals.com)

This coming Saturday and Sunday features perfomances from McConnell School of Dance, Ena Sutton Highland Dancers, Sol de España – Spanish Folk Dancers, Zoloto Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, Ariya Afrika and Bola Oriyami,  Evans Coffie’s Coffieman and Jay Stoller of Bafana




In addition to the great line up of entrainment, food will play a large role in the festivities.  November 23 and 24 visitors can sample worldly delights found in The Forks Market with their own tasting passport.  Or take in one of the themed wine and cheese evenings featuring French or Italian wines.

We've even got some fun crafts planned for the kids.  Each weekend Crafting with Cheryl has paired a fun and unique craft to compliment the entertainment found in The Market.  Last weekend  was festive maracas, this weekend’s craft features a hanging castle room decoration and a Star of David.



Many Worlds Festival runs in The Forks Market through to December 1, a complete listing of events can be found on our web site theforks.com.