There are a handful of words or turns of phrase that are unofficially banned from our lexicon at The Uniter. One of those – which tends most often to pop up in descriptions of festivals that aim to cater to various demographics – is the classic “something for everyone.”

It’s a catch-all phrase that lacks detail. What is a something? It’s an overly bold claim. Really, for everyone - EVERYONE? This is the kind of phrase that’s just waiting to be disrupted or disproved.

Yet while thinking about how to introduce this issue, guess which long-banned phrase kept ringing through my head? But I’m not going to go there - I’ll try to follow another writer’s adage, and show, rather than tell.

Our summer festival guide is both the most specific issue we publish in a year, while it’s also incredibly broad and comprehensive (which it has to be - this
is the last paper we’re sending out into the city until September!).

We’re sharing stories about summer in Winnipeg - about ice cream, barriers to summer employment, the danger of ticks - and about festivals, which is a pretty specific subsection of arts writing.

But when it comes to festivals, well, we’ve got a cornucopia of genres here. Of course there are music festivals on small and large scales, but there’s so much more. Check out the comprehensive listing section on page 11 for over 100 festivals across Manitoba.

We’ve got a short wrap-up of 11 classic and beloved summer festivals, and slightly longer previews of a few incredibly specific, smaller or lesser-known events.

Every year, as we’re putting this issue together, I get so excited, so inspired, I start filling my calendar with intentions to discover all these new gems. I’m astounded by how our city and province comes alive in the warmer months, and by the dedication and passion of so many event organizers whose hard work makes these gatherings possible.

And I wonder if this might be the one exception to the rule, if these summer festival offerings might just have something ... but no, I’ll leave that rule unbroken. However, I do hope that at some point in this issue (and in this summer) you might discover at least one new story, one new person, one new place, that inspires you to break into a huge summertime grin.

- Anastasia Chipelski

Published in Volume 72, Number 25 of The Uniter (May 31, 2018)