Culture Days is a nationwide celebration of arts, culture and heritage, and Manitoba's version of it shows up everywhere: pop-up installations in Winnipeg's Exchange District, a bike tour past forest performances in Dauphin, or an evening art walk on the shore of Lake Winnipeg in Gimli.

Tips for Planning Your Culture Days Adventure

• Culture Days runs across Manitoba from September 18 to October 4, 2026, with hundreds of free events in cities, towns and rural communities.
• Communities including Gimli, Dauphin, Flin Flon and Morden-Winkler each organize a rural hub, which is a concentrated day or weekend of free, locally led programming.
• Nuit Blanche Winnipeg, the festival's official launch, brings free art installations and performances to the Exchange District, The Forks, St. Boniface and downtown neighbourhoods on September 26, from 6 pm to midnight.
• Programming for smaller communities is often confirmed closer to September, so check culturedays.ca before you plan a visit.

Rural Hubs Bring Culture Days to Small-Town Manitoba

In many Manitoba communities, Culture Days runs on a hub model. One local arts, culture or heritage organization takes the lead, and a single day or weekend brings a host of free events all one place. It's an easy way to catch a small town at its liveliest and perfect for a road trip from Winnipeg or one end of the province to another.

Gimli

Gimli's Culture Days hub runs September 26–28, with Nuit Blanche Gimli lighting up the downtown on the Friday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. Join a guided tour or wander on your own past interactive art stations, live music and performances, all within walking distance of Lake Winnipeg.

Dauphin

Dauphin's signature Culture Days event is Yardfringe, a cycling tour that runs on the last weekend of September. Riders pedal a route through town, stopping at yards and green spaces along the way to catch short theatre performances, readers' theatre and sing-alongs. The exact route is usually announced closer to the date, which is part of the fun.

Meanwhile, over at the Northgate Trails, cycle through the forest for pop-up performances among the trees known as Forest Fringe. Four short plays are staged throughout the grounds of Meadowlark Park, and there are two opportunities to join the cavalcade circuit on October 3. There will also be music and art activities throughout the afternoon.

Flin Flon & Area

The Flin Flon Arts Council runs one of the province's largest hub programs, with more than 30 events planned across the full Culture Days run from September 18 to October 4. The lineup mixes the everyday with the offbeat: a pancake breakfast from the Flin Flon Lions Club, the two-day Wild Things Market, a Magic: The Gathering tournament, a Dance Down Main, a Book Tasting at the Flin Flon Public Library, plus gallery nights and exhibitions at the NorVA Centre and a Wild Rice Cabaret closing out the first weekend.

Morden-Winkler

In Morden, the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre opens as a Culture Days hub on Friday, October 2, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The centre holds Canada's largest collection of fossil marine reptiles, and its self-guided exhibits reconstruct what life looked like in Manitoba during the Late Cretaceous period, alongside the story of the people who found the fossils over nearly a century of digging.

In Winkler, Winkler Arts and Culture is hosting Edna Nabess & Friends, an exhibit featuring work by Cree artisan Edna Nabess alongside other Indigenous artists, on display throughout Culture Days during the gallery's regular drop-in hours.

Nuit Blanche Winnipeg Kicks Off the Season

Nuit Blanche Winnipeg is the festival's official Manitoba launch and it's the event most visitors picture when they think of Culture Days: thousands of people wandering the city's downtown neighbourhoods after dark for a free night of art installations, performances and pop-up experiences. This year's Nuit Blanche runs September 26, from 6 p.m. to midnight. The event is typically spread across downtown neighbourhoods including the Exchange District, the Forks and St. Boniface. Bring a good pair of walking shoes or take advantage of the free Winnipeg Transit shuttle and free water buses with Winnipeg Watereways to make the most of your night.

Illuminate the Night in the Exchange District

The Exchange District's contribution to Nuit Blanche is Illuminate the Night, a collection of outdoor, light-based art installations from local artists. The pieces are arranged along a walking route that links the east and west sides of the neighbourhood, with Old Market Square serving as the hub.

More Planned Downtown and in St. Boniface

New this year, Nuit Blanche brings a large-scale projection to the facade of St. Boniface Cathedral. Le loup et l'agneau reimagines Jean de la Fontaine's classic fable. It's bilingual, free to attend and runs alongside the rest of Nuit Blanche from 6 p.m. to nearly midnight on September 26.

St. Boniface is also getting a quirkier addition this year: a mini golf tour hosted by Théâtre Cercle Molière. Four venues across the neighbourhood—the Saint-Boniface Library, La Maison des artistes visuels francophones, Théâtre Cercle Molière and the Fédération des parents de la francophonie manitobaine—each set up a mini golf hole paired with its own arts and culture activity, from a collage station to an exhibition. It runs the same evening as Nuit Blanche, from 7 to 11 p.m. (one stop wraps up earlier, at 9:30 p.m.), and it's a fun, walkable way to hit several St. Boniface cultural spots in one night.

Plan Your Culture Days Trip

Culture Days runs across Manitoba from September 18–October 4, 2026, and the vast majority of events are free. Browse events by community on the Culture Days website, then bookmark the ones you want. You can even email your list to yourself to help plan your day, whether that's a night out in Winnipeg or a day trip to a rural hub.

However you spend it, Culture Days is one of the easiest ways to see a different side of Manitoba this fall. Plan your Culture Days trip today at culturedays.ca.