My Town Monday - Assiniboine Park

Every city must have its green space. New York City has its Central Park (that I got to explore this past May!), and Winnipeg has its pride and joy, Assiniboine Park. Last night, Buddy (the dog) and me, pretended we were tourists and meandered through the 1100 acre park. Of course, we couldn't explore the whole place, and we were thoroughly wiped by the time we found the car again. Even Buddy was happy to rest.

Assiniboine Park was established back in 1904. On the north edge there's the Assiniboine River and on the south edge, there's the Assiniboine Forest. The park is home to a Conservatory - filled with tropical plants and flowers all year long, and a great restaurant (which we can go to if you're ever in town); a Zoo - which is seriously underfunded and a source of debate; a cricket field; an eye-catching pavillion with an art gallery, a duck pond, a sculpture garden, an English flower garden, and an outdoor stage which last night was playing some great jazz. The dog, however, was mostly interested in the other dogs playing frisbee on the vast green spaces and the forest trails, although he did peer over the foot bridge to check out the Assiniboine River. Later, he got to taste that river, too.

But a city isn't a noun, so much as it's a verb. And everything I see (or don't see - like the dandelions and mosquitoes) is a much discussed issue in our city. Beautiful green spaces like Assiniboine Park don't just happen. It takes a lot of money, political will, and planning to provide the public with a free place of beauty like a park. (No we don't need condos in the park!) Let's hope that all cities will continue to give its citizens (their families and

their pets) such pieces of Paradise to enjoy. And may we never take them for granted.

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