Community members engaged in a week full of camping and activities, as seen in this aerial view

Residents of Red Sucker Lake, MB, and nearby communities gathered for an entire week filled with traditional style camping and cultural activities this summer.

The annual Red Sucker Lake Wapi-See River Days involved a variety of events centered on camping and preparing traditional food, from August 16 to 22.

Residents camped at the mouth of the Wapi-See River, which is located about 1.5 kilometers south west of Red Sucker Lake and is only accessible via boat. This gathering place has historical significance: it has been used for generations as a waypoint before dispersing to each family’s hunting grounds. Each clan would wait there for other clans and then travel together to the Hudson’s Bay outpost in Island Lake to engage in fur trade.

Every single day of the weeklong celebration presented its own form of exciting events, games and activities hosted by different community offices and organizations, including fishing derbies, traditional dancing, karaoke, live music, a rowing race and an airplane envelope drop.

The Red Sucker Lake Northern store donated an ATV to be used as the fishing derby prize! Additionally, the store was also happy to add value to the event by donating 400 hot dogs and hamburgers to serve all participants on August 18.

“Event organizers were very thankful for the donation and organized the cooking and distribution,” said Nathan Harper, Red Sucker Lake Northern Grocery Manager. 

The Wapi-See River Days event has been successfully bringing the community together since 1990.