Selkirk’s shoulder season festival shortlisted in three categories at the Tourism Awards
It doesn’t feel like Holiday Alley has only been in our community for nine years, as it’s quickly become a staple event for the region. Recently, the festival that has brought us the soup cook-off, pooch parade, sheep poetry and many more fun events was recognized outside of our region when it was shortlisted in three categories at the Tourism Awards Winnipeg| Manitoba held at the RBC Winnipeg Convention Centre before 470 people in the tourism industry.
Past-president of Red River Tourism (RRNT) Lois Wales, who spent ten years at the helm of RRNT as president, was a finalist for Volunteer of the Year 2025, the Red River Co-op Soup Cook Off, organized by Inclusion Selkirk was a finalized for Culinary Tourism Award, and the Straw Sculpture Symposium: Fire on the Red led by Anvil Tree and the students and teachers of the SPARK program of the Lord Selkirk School Division made the shortlist for Innovator of the Year 2025.
“While we didn’t win in those categories, it was a great honour to be shortlisted and recognized for all the hard work our volunteers, partners and friends did to create some of the best tourism in Manitoba,” said Belle Lourenco, Holiday Alley’s event coordinator.
Last year, Holiday Alley brought 7,800 visitors to Selkirk during shoulder season, some for more than one day of the festival, meaning there were more than 10,000 visits during the event.
“If you’re from Selkirk, St. Andrews and St. Clements, you may think this is a local festival, but we know that over 35 percent of the attendees are not from our region and that over 60 percent of the Soup Cook-Off tickets are bought by people outside of Selkirk, and that makes Holiday Alley a tourism draw that benefits local businesses,” said Lourenco.
This means that Holiday Alley has become the busiest weekend of the year for Selkirk’s downtown businesses. The statistics show a between 200 and 500 per cent increase in traffic and transactions.
Travel Manitoba says nearly 100 nominations poured in from events, culinary experiences, accommodations and tourism attractions across Manitoba for the annual awards. Twenty finalists were celebrated, typically one from Winnipeg and one from Manitoba in each category. The only finalist in the area was Gimli’s Islendingadagurinn – Icelandic Festival of Manitoba for Event of the Year 2025.
“The award for Event of the Year 2026 is what we have our eye on for next year,” said Holiday Alley Founder Shirly Muir. “It’s Holiday Alley’s 10th Birthday this year and we want to make it the best. It costs about $125,000 a year to put the event on and volunteers are fundraising right now, writing grants, looking for corporate sponsors. If you’re reading this and you know that families, youth, older adults all need a place to play, create and enjoy art and a diverse culture and get off our devices together, then join us in making 2026 our best year yet,” said Muir.
Sponsors, performers, or donors are asked to contact Event Coordinator Belle Lourenco at holidayalleymb@gmail.com. To volunteer, go to holidayalley.ca under the TAKE PART tab.
