The Best Things To Do in Neepawa, Manitoba

It's hard to believe that just a 2-hour drive west of Winnipeg and 45 minutes from Brandon is one of Manitoba's best-kept secrets—the town of Neepawa.

Neepawa has long been regarded as Manitoba's most scenic town, but this place offers more than just a few historic houses and beautiful hills. Here are the best five things you can do in Neepawa to start your trip planning.

1. Visit and enroll in a Class at ArtsForward

Art lovers enjoy going to museums. How much more so when you get to create art on your own. The cultural and artistic experiences offered by ArtsForward enhance the lives of Neepawa's diverse community.

It has two art galleries: the Community Gallery, which features the work of up-and-coming artists, and the Manawaka Gallery, which rotates shows from across the province and the nation every month. They also provide year-round workshops and classes, with options for everyone from young children to older people.

ArtsForward offers programs in the visual, performing, musical, and literary arts. Among the performances and events, ArtsForward organizes and supports community-attended activities for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, concerts, recitals, author readings, book launches, Trivia Nights, beer and wine tastings, and its yearly Christmas Craft Sale.

Additionally, it runs a monthly Karaoke night during the fall and winter and a weekly Farmers Market during the summer.

Hike the Great Trail

The Great Trail is an excellent pick for anyone who wants to spend more time in nature and enjoys hiking. The Great Trail spans 13 Canadian provinces and territories and is 24,000 kilometres long! The longest recreational trail in the entire world is here!

The Great Trail is a vast, cross-country skiing, walking/hiking, biking, horseback riding, paddling, and snowmobiling-friendly national network made up of distinctive portions on land and water.

Neepawa has a 10-kilometre-long winding track that will take you to various well-known locations, including the downtown, the Canada 150 commemorative loop, and Stoney Creek School No. 133.

The trailhead sign in Riverbend Park is a great place to get started for adventure seekers or those looking for a little local thrill. But you can also look for The Great Trail wayfinding signage across the city.

Watch a Movie at The Roxy Theater

One of Manitoba's oldest continuously running theatres is located in Neepawa. The Roxy Theater was constructed in 1906 and restored into the current Art Deco design in 1936. The Roxy Theater is now a neighbourhood-owned and volunteer-run institution. It is most known in the neighbourhood for its digitally captured 3D movies.

Despite being a municipally recognized historic landmark, the theatre still hosts performances and screenings. It includes weekly affordable movies, a performing arts center, community activities, birthday celebrations, Christmas celebrations, special sporting events, video game parties, and all-ages general entertainment.

Additionally, it is well-known as the location of the Amityville Playhouse film. Keep an eye on the Roxy Theater's Facebook page for forthcoming performances you can see in Neepawa if you're going there.

Visit the Home of Margaret Laurence

The Margaret Laurence Home is a must-visit for history buffs and bookworms! The turn-of-the-century home is now a Provincial Heritage Site, Level 2 Museum, and one of Manitoba's Top Attractions, serving as Margaret Laurence's childhood home and a living monument.

The Home is now a cultural hub for activities, including writing workshops, book releases, and Elderhostel education initiatives.

You might be familiar with Laurence from her well-known book, The Stone Angel, which was set in Manawaka, a made-up community inspired by Neepawa. The town has welcomed Laurence wholeheartedly, turning her childhood house into a museum where visitors can view her typewriter, doctoral robes, and other items.

The museum in Neepawa is open from Victoria Day to Labor Day. So tourists can only tour the house at other times of the year by appointment. You will also want to visit the scenic Riverside Cemetery to see Laurence's gravestone and the Stone Angel, a memorial built in 1903 to honour one of the town's founders, Hon. John Andrew Davidson.

See Blooming Lilies at Lily Nook

The world's lily capital may very well be Neepawa. When you are there, you can travel a short distance south of the city during July to The Lily Nook. It is a 6-acre area where 1500 kinds of lilies bloom yearly. Choose some flowers for your garden, or stroll through the lovely growing field to admire the lilies and snap pictures.

Barrie Strohmans' pastime for more than 30 years was growing and creating hybrid lilies. But it was Nigel Strohman, Barrie's son, who founded The Lily Nook in 1995 and opened a retail location not far from Neepawa. They also published their first catalogue the same year.

Annual catalogues feature 136 colour images of 150 different species. Both in the spring and the fall, lilies are sent worldwide. Over 1500 identified species representing all nine divisions of the genus Lilium are produced on the beautiful six-acre site.

The Royal Horticultural Society in England has named and certified many of Barrie Strohman's hybrid lilies, and several more are being considered for distribution. The endless pursuit of The Lily Nook is to provide many more exotic blooms to people who have experienced the thrill and pleasure their beauty can bring.

Conclusion

If you're ever in the Neepawa area, check out one of these places for a great time. You won't regret it! Something you won't regret as well is using Remitbee. If you need to send money from Canada, check us out. We'll ensure your money gets where it needs to go - without any headaches.