Lake Winnipeg Visitors Centre

03/11/2025

If you came out to the Ice Festival headquarters this weekend, you were standing in the same place as these men at work!

This photo gives us a closer look at the construction process at the visitors' centre. This is the space between the lighthouse and the old ice house, where you’ll now find our front desk and 500-gallon hexagonal freshwater aquarium.

This was long before we had the stage at the harbour, and around the same time that the Gimli Art Club began painting their seawall gallery. Our little beach town has come a long way since the late ‘90s, and it just keeps getting better.

I love the geometry of this photo; someone was clearly delegated to document the renovation process on film, and they really knew their rules of composition! Can anyone tell us who shot these? They’re so great.

This is the seventh post in a series of fifty, to celebrate our museum’s 50th anniversary. If you know something we don’t, please comment below!

03/07/2025

Our main account will be sharing old photos from the renovation era all next week!

Visit us this Saturday and Sunday while we're serving as headquarters for Gimli Ice Festival - come by to get your snacks and swag!

We have an abundance of old film photos from the renovation of the Visitors’ Centre, so the next few posts will be connected with that event. Here is a photo from near the beginning of the construction period - my, how things have changed!

The building visible behind the lighthouse was originally an ice house for Gimli Fisheries, which operated at this site between 1919 and 1969. Gimli Fisheries was the hub of a large industry that mostly served the American markets, and the plant employed as many as forty people at the peak of its success.

Our museum was set up in the renovated ice house between 1975 and 1995, and following our move to the Waterfront Centre and this second round of construction, the location became a seasonal visitors’ centre with a spotlight on the ecosystem, wildlife, and industries of Lake Winnipeg.

This weekend, you can drop by the visitors' centre for a hot chocolate, a popcorn, and some Ice Festival swag! We'll see you out there 😎

This is the sixth post in a series of fifty, to celebrate our museum’s 50th anniversary. If you've got something to say about it, please comment below!

02/14/2025

No matter the conditions, the fishies gotta eat! 🐟

Our permanent staff often risks perilous booters to maintain our freshwater aquarium through the off-season.

We look forward to welcoming guests at the Visitors Centre again in May!

11/11/2024

The 25 Largest Lakes in the World, Side by Side

10/04/2024

Check out these dapper New Iceland fishermen in New York City May 1950!

Thanks to a recent donor for this new artifact!

09/25/2024

Yesterday marked the 59th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the Suzanne E on Lake Winnipeg. Out of the 10 crew members on board, only one survived, making it one of the most devastating disasters in Lake Winnipeg’s history. The Marine Museum wishes to take a moment to honor the Suzanne E and her brave crew on that fateful, stormy day.

TEN SOULS ABOARD THE SUZANNE-E
THIS DAY, ABOUT 9:00 pm, SEPTEMBER 24th,1965.

Only survivor:
CLIFFORD EVERETTT, Mate from Berens River, age 24
Nine Drowned:
1. CAPTAIN RICHARD CHARLES JOHNSON (1933-1965) of Stonewall. He left a wife and 3 children
2. MRS. CHRISTINE SETTEE: The cook from Riverton, age 58, mother of 2 sons and 1 daughter
3. WILLIAM PETOSKI, age 24, the First Engineer from Hnausa
4. RICHARD ZILLMAN, age 65, the Second Engineer from Hodgson
5. BJORGVIN AUGUST HOLM, Crewman from Arborg, age 58
6. PETER GOOSEHEAD, passenger from Jackhead Harbor, age 25
7. TACHE EVERETT, Crewman from Berens River, cousin of Clifford, age 23
8. ALLAN CLEMONS, Crewman from Selkirk, age 20
9. CHARLES DONOVAN COOK, Deckhand from Selkirk, age 19

09/03/2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lost and Found ⭐️⭐️⭐️

These are all items turned into the visitor centre this summer… if any of these are yours - they can be picked up at the New Iceland Heritage Museum …

09/03/2024

☀️Thanks everyone for a great summer ☀️

The Lake Winnipeg Visitor Centre is now closed for the season. See you next May!

08/06/2024

Zebra mussels are an invasive species, occupying over 800 lakes in North America. So what threat do they pose to our aquatic ecosystem in Manitoba? Let's find out!

06/18/2024

‼️Check out our new interactive exhibit at the Lake Winnipeg Visitor Centre‼️

This family below were working on the quiz for the health of Lake Winnipeg 🌊

06/03/2024

If your like me and need help with Excel - These are all FREE courses offered in Gimli ..

Email in the photos below to sign up!

03/11/2024

There are different ways each of us "get away from it all." Whether it's traveling to a stunning stay with friends, having a family cookout, learning about our

03/07/2024

Come into the Lake Winnipeg Visitor Centre after it opens in May, to see the beautiful mural
That Heather created to illustrate some of the factors that affect Lake Winnipeg.

A lot of people live in the Lake Winnipeg Watershed. Just the marked communities on this map I made are home to over 3.9 million people (note: the actual number of people living in the watershed is more than 7 million). All of us living in this region need to think about how we impact our waterways, because the ripples can be felt a long way away. (Map created by Heather Hinam, Data source: Lake Winnipeg Foundation, Manitoba Conservation).

02/23/2024

The 13th annual Gimli Ice Festival is quickly approaching so get ready for some fun! Here is the schedule of events to help you plan your visit! See you there!

01/20/2024

Here you can see ice saws and ice plows at work .. we have many of these on display, here at the Lake Winnipeg Visitor Centre !

Open May long weekend - Sept long weekend.