Winnipeggers say goodbye to 2022 with big hopes for the New Year

Children donned plastic top hats at the Forks, people warmed up for a night of Latin dance and an all-star lineup of Indigenous musicians took to the Convention Centre, as part of New Year's Eve celebrations across Winnipeg.

On the last day of 2022, many Winnipeggers elected to gather together to celebrate after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled two years' worth of events.

In Linden Woods, blue feathers and balloons decorated centrepieces at the Hilton Garden Inn where Winnipeg's Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) prepared to host its Caribbean-themed event. 

"This year is our first year back and people are excited," said Rodney Sankar, president of the Indo Caribbean organization.

"Our phone is ringing like crazy to get last-minute tickets to come to the event." 

Sankar says the goal was to create a New Year's Eve celebration that would be safe and fun for the whole family.

Last year the group chose not to hold a party to avoid spreading the coronavirus. Sankar says he's expecting 130 to 150 people tonight. 

"At midnight, there may not be as much hugging and kissing as there are high fives," Sankar said.

"But it's a start to getting back out and being around people again." 

As for resolutions, Sankar says personally, working on his health is at the top of his list for 2023. And he hopes the year holds better things for everyone. 

"Life's been tough for everybody, I think, the last couple of years," he said. "So I just want things to get easier." 

Kids at The Forks got the party started early

Celebrations at The Forks got underway in the morning with the Top Hats and Tiaras party at the Manitoba Children's Museum. 

Young partygoers and their chaperones were treated to live music, balloon animals and a pizza feast. At the stroke of 12-noon, balloons dropped on the crowd, and the bon vivants sipped on ginger ale. 

Teko Bailey attended the daytime party with his young sons.

"It's just a great way to ring in the new year having fun with the kids," he said.

The gathering was also in line with his family's resolution of finding more time together in the new year. 

More time with friends and family was also on eight-year-old Sienna Hughes' agenda for 2023, but her hope for the rest of the world is peace.

"I'm hoping that there could stop being wars," she said.  

The 24-hour New Year's extravaganza 

At Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata, kids were arriving for a 24-hour party.

Every year, the Indigenous-led non-profit organization in Winnipeg welcomes kids from the community. 

"We know that New Year's Eve can oftentimes be an unsafe time for children," said Executive Director Diane Redsky.

"So, we wanted to create a safe place for kids to come for 24 hours and have the time of their lives while they're here so that we're ringing in the new year as an entire community."

Redsky says 150 kids were expected tonight. 

Some were scheduled to attend a Moose game, some were going rollerskating and others would be going swimming at the YMCA-YWCA. 

She says it's not unusual for kids to stay up the whole night and go home ready for bed the next day when their parents pick them up. 

"This is our way at the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre to give back to the community and to make sure that we are keeping these 150 kids safe for one night," she said. 

Ringing in the New Year with dance

Dance is on the menu for Deseo's Latin New Years party at the Radisson Hotel downtown: salsa, merengue, cumbia, reggaeton and bachata.

Coordinator Marcela Navas says it's the first time the entertainment group has hosted a New Year's Eve party, and it's the first big Latin gala in Winnipeg in more than a decade.

"It's definitely a big deal this year." 

Navas says it's rare to find an event that features a mix of Latin music for New Year's Eve, and she expects to see a wide range of dancers turn out. 

"We'll certainly see 18-year-olds dancing to the old-school music that my parents listened to," she said.

"It's a great combination of ages and generations." 

She hopes 2023 will be a year where people lead with kindness and appreciate the return to in-person interactions. 

Indigenous artists take the stage at the Convention Centre

At the Convention Centre, organizers were setting up for the first-ever Manitoba Indigenous New Year's Eve Gala and Social.

Berens River First Nation organized the semi-formal event with a musical lineup featuring Charlie Major, The C-Weed Band, Keith Secola and Tracy Bone with the Tribal Road Band.

Organizer Pamela Valiquette says they're expecting more than one thousand people.

Proceeds from the event will go toward bringing more programs to Berens River and help bring artists to the community for its Treaty Day celebrations. 

"The whole reason behind it is to kind of bring all the people together to celebrate life in general. It's been so long since we've been able to get together," Valiquette said.