That’s a wrap on our second annual mobility fair. Thank you to all of our guests, partners, vendors, and to the Winnipeg Foundation for making our event possible.

Wednesday, September 11th

Our first event started at 9am, one hour earlier than the previous year to accommodate for more early risers. This event was hosted at the Cindy Klassen Recreation Centre in the West End neighbourhood, a location with accessible bus routes, parking, and building access. Including Green Action Centre, Manitoba League for Persons with Disabilities and Transportation Options Network for Seniors, nineteen vendors were providing support at the event.

Half of our vendors were stationed outside with demonstrative mobility gear, including electric trikes, adaptive bicycles, wheelchairs, and a full size transit bus. While the weather was a little windy and smoky, it did not stop our patrons from enjoying our programming! Our indoor vendors provided resources for seniors and people with disabilities in Manitoba, a unique opportunity for guests to learn a lot of information in one place, and for vendors to connect with each others’ work. This event was catered by the delicious Frenchway bakery, including refreshments for our visitors. Global TV news interviewed Green Action Centre’s Sustainable Transportation programming team lead, Sharee Hochman.

The first mobility fair wrapped up at 2pm. We had a total of 130 drop-ins attend our event.

Pictured: In a parking lot, a Winnipeg Transit Van and Bus are stationed with open doors next to each other. People with high-vis gear, a bus driver, and community members stand in a circle and talk with each other.

Saturday, September 21st

Our second event kicked off at the same time as our first, 9am, to accommodate for our senior population. Green Action Centre and our partners set up at Dakota Community Centre in the St. Vital neighbourhood, a location chosen for its non-central reach and for its bus route location and building access. Including our flagship vendors, we had a total of sixteen vendors at this event, with new vendors including The WRENCH and the Independent Living Resource Centre.

Due to the unpredictable weather, all of our vendors were stationed inside, though the central location of the gymnasium made it possible for our vendors to have even more demonstrations, including mini golf and shuffle board! Winnipeg Transit and Winnipeg WAV was stationed at the front of the building for demonstrations available to all guests of the community centre, informing the larger community about transit features. This event was catered by the local and indigenous-owned Feast bakery, which included refreshments for visitors. An exciting additional visit was made by Patty Boge, the bike mayor of Winnipeg, who filmed a demonstration video of how to load a bicycle onto a Winnipeg transit bus.

The second mobility fair wrapped up at 2pm. We had a total of 180 drop-ins attend our event.

Pictured: Inside a gymnasium, multiple adaptive bikes can be seen at the forefront of the photo. Twopeople are standing around a wheelchair user having a conversation. In the background, additional vendors are speaking one on one with different guests. A sign for “VIRN” can be seen at the back next to a representative for the organization.

Both of our events were covered by Simon Fuller with the Winnipeg Free Press. We were so thrilled to be able to reinstate our newest staple event, broaden the scope of our work, and connect with more community members in Winnipeg. We received meaningful feedback from our guests on what they loved about this event, and what they hoped to see for future events. See you all next year!

Pictured: A group photo of the Green Action Centre supporting team, from left to right, Jordan, Mel, Kirsten, Ariel, Lily, and Sharee