Recreation

How festivals heal communities

Ask a Researcher: Festival and events expert Dr. Christine Van Winkle explains how celebrations can be a place of recovery for communities.

the Winnipeg Fringe Festival site with a large crowd
Estimated Read Time:
1 minute
Courtesy of Winnipeg Folk Festival
Courtesy of Winnipeg Folk Festival
Estimated Read Time:
1 minute

In the Ask A... series,  experts from across the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management will answer your questions about sports, recreation, kinesiology, community development and more.

Q: Why are festivals important?

A: There are a lot of great festivals here in Manitoba. And people often think of festivals as a great way to mark a season, so the beginning of summer. People also just love to spend time with friends and families and then that celebratory environment as well as the entertainment.

But what we know from research is that there's lots of other reasons festivals and events matter to communities. It's a place where communities can come together, where they can build relationships, or where communities can draw visitors from away to an event.

And what we found is that even after communities have experienced disasters like last year's fires and evacuations, that coming together around something celebratory and joyous can be a really important part of building community.

Festivals bring people together to share not only in a joyous experience, but also to process some of the challenges that they've had.

Dr. Christine Van WInkle
Dr. Christine Van Winkle

Dr. Christine Van Winkle is committed to community-based research that explores festival experiences, emergency management at events and the role of festivals and events in community recovery. Her work has been published widely and appears in various tourism, leisure and event journals, books, conference proceedings and reports.

Learn more about Dr. Christine Van Winkle and her work

Boilerplate: Research

For nearly 150 years, UM has transformed lives through groundbreaking research and homegrown innovation. We push the boundaries of knowledge and do the hard work here in Manitoba to move our community and the world forward. With a spirit of determination and discovery, we are shaping a better future for our province and beyond.