he coat that Pasch is wearing was made by Benoit approximately 25 years ago, and is designed similarly to the coats that Manitoba police used to wear from before the turn of the 20th century through to the 1950s, approximately. Buffalo coats of this type are now extremely rare in the Prairies and Pasch described the attention that this coat received during the festival as “extraordinary”.
Daniel Leclair, festival president, while praising the hardy spirits of those who attended, said that this year’s event was the secondcoldest overall in its 46year history, with temperatures that dipped to 31 C with the wind chill. As they say at the Festival: “Hé Ho!”
For more information related to the Festival du Voyageur, Louis Riel and the Métis Communities of Manitoba, along with the historical francophone district of Saint Boniface, please see the attached activity workbook, and the following websites:
http://festivalvoyageur.mb.ca/en/
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/stboniface/