Upper Fort Garry, Winnipeg – The day has finally arrived and the construction fence around Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park is being taken down, welcoming visitors to enter the site. 

“It’s been a long time coming, and we are thrilled to see the fence removed so Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park can welcome visitors inside,” says Jerry Gray, Chair, and Friends of Upper Fort Garry. “A lot of hard work went into getting us here and we look forward to this space being use as a gathering place once again.”

Since 2006, the Friends of Upper Fort Garry (FUFG) have worked toward revitalizing Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park by creating a unique space for visitors to interact with its history. Once a neglected and forgotten piece of land, FUFG approached the City with a proposal to reclaim and transform Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park into a heritage park. Through hard work and donor support, the site was saved and plans as well as archeological work began.  In 2010, renderings of the site were shown for the new Heritage Park and Interpretive Centre. Underground and site preparations soon started, and in 2014, ground work on the park commenced. The site officially became Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park on July 15, 2014 with an unveiling of the Park that October.

Over the past year, extensive work has gone into making the site ready for public use along with development of site technology. With the creation of a mobile app, visitors are now able to interact and experience with the Park’s history in a modern and interactive way.

“Upper Fort Garry is the birthplace of Manitoba, and with the use of technology, including a mobile app, we will bring that story to life,” says Jimm Simon, Executive Director, Friends of Upper Fort Garry. “A key component to the site is the ability to interact with it digitally and we now have that capability.”

On August 14, a launch of the mobile app and all of its features will happen at Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park at 10:30 a.m.

Media Launch of App
August 14, 2015
10:30 a.m.
Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park

For more information, please contact:
Jimm Simon
Executive Director, Friends of Upper Fort Garry
204-794-6311
executive.director@upperfortgarry.com

 

About Upper Fort Garry
The Fort, built between 1834 and 1837, was the centre of trade for an area that was larger than Eastern Europe and was the administrative and judicial body of the Red River Settlement, which was governed by the Hudson’s Bay Company.  It was also the place where Louis Riel formed the Provisional Government which led to Manitoba entering Confederation as a province. Upper Fort Garry was demolished between 1881 and 1889.