Turning the calendar page to October seems to bring an official end to summer.  For the Riverbank Discovery Centre in Brandon, many are enjoying the changing colors of the fall season on the Assiniboine River with the use of one of the newest additions to the grounds, the canoe and kayak launch.

"It's been a really great summer," says General Manager, James Montgomery.  "The canoe/kayak dock was very successful.  A lot of people brought their own canoes and kayaks to use it to get in and out of the river easily.  We had a lot of rentals for the months that we had it open.  So, that's going to continue next year!" 

"It's just been a fantastic summer starting out with Westman Dreams for Kids Children's Fair," shares Montgomery.  "The Grand Opening finally took place after all the delays of their playground that the Westman Dreams for Kids donated to the Riverbank here. That was followed by the National Indigenous Peoples' Day, and our Canada Day here was spectacular and the weather was perfect! People had a great time with their families!"

"We've had concerts and all sorts of things all summer," notes Montgomery, "and we've been enjoying this long end to the summer here!" 

The number of visitors to the Discovery Centre was a definite increase from the two previous years. "Numbers are way up from 2020 and 2021 due to Covid, and nobody was really travelling.  We've had a lot of people from across Canada but still not too many international travelers. But with the Covid restrictions being lifted we've really seen an increase in our American visitors coming up!"

Having had a recent trip to Minnesota, Montgomery says his American friends were looking forward to the lifting of the ArriveCAN App at the border on October 1st.  "They were all asking about the ArriveCAN App because they have been waiting for it to be dropped to come back. They were excited to come back once it was dropped!"

Fall and Winter programming slows down at the Discovery Centre, however the facility will continue to be open every day of the year, except on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, with some winter programming taking place over the next number of months.

"We're looking forward to what the future holds for the Riverbank!" adds Montgomery.