A musical feast: a three-course meal on air this Saturday morning This Saturday at 9 a.m., we’re setting the table for something delicious on air: a musical three-course meal complete with hors d’oeuvres, wine, main course, coffee, and dessert. It’s our way of celebrating the return of A Taste of Manitoba, the food and drink festival happening all long weekend at Fort Gibraltar in St. Boniface. After a nearly two-decade hiatus, A Taste of Manitoba is back and bigger than ever. Running through Monday, the festival brings more than 20 local restaurants and a wide variety of beverages into a truly historic setting. Think of it as a giant picnic inside the walls of Fort Gibraltar, complete with live bands, family fun, vendor markets, and, of course, incredible food and drink. Admission is free, with tickets available for dishes priced affordably to keep the focus on sharing local flavours. With themed days ranging from 80s Day to Family Day, plus a firm commitment to serving only Manitoba-made beverages, this festival is as much a celebration of community pride as it is of food. Festival organizers, led by Shaun Jeffrey of the Manitoba Restaurant and Food Services Association, have worked nearly a decade to bring it back. Their aim? To create a food festival that shines a spotlight on Manitoba’s diverse culinary scene, its hospitality industry, and the people who make it all possible. Whether you’re craving a trout skewer, a sip of local wine, or just some time with family in a one-of-a-kind historic setting, A Taste of Manitoba is serving it all. And while the festival feeds your taste buds, our playlist this Saturday morning will do the same for your ears. Here’s the full musical menu: 9:00 – “Food Glorious Food” (Cantus) We open with this playful choral number celebrating the joy of eating itself — the perfect appetizer to set the table. Hors d’oeuvres: a fruit plate 🍓🍒🍍🍊🍐 9:02 – “Strawberry Fair” (The Rodolfus Choir, Ralph Allwood) A traditional English folk song, full of rustic charm, reminding us that fresh strawberries are always in season for the imagination. 9:06 – Frank Bridge: “Cherry Ripe” (English Northern Philharmonia, David Lloyd-Jones) Bridge’s lush orchestral setting of the 17th-century pastoral text, bursting with ripe sweetness. 9:10 – Scott Joplin: “Pineapple Rag” (Roy Eaton) One of Joplin’s sparkling ragtime gems, bright and tangy as the tropical fruit in its title. 9:14 – Prokofiev: “March” from The Love of Three Oranges (Gil Shaham & Orli Shaham) Zesty and witty, this satirical opera’s most famous number is pure vitamin C for the ears. 9:15 – Erik Satie: “Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear” (Eric Lesage and Alexandre Tharaud pianos) Leave it to Satie to serve pears with a wink: his whimsical piano suite pokes fun at musical “seriousness.” Wine pairing 🍷🥂 9:23 – Verdi: La Traviata, “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” (Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Richard Bonynge) One of opera’s most famous drinking songs, where voices clink together like fine glasses of red. Main course: trout or chicken 🐓🐟🍴 9:26 – Haydn: Symphony No. 83, “The Hen” (Sinfonietta de Montréal) Nicknamed for its clucking theme, this symphony is full of wit and warmth — chicken served with Haydn’s humour. 9:33 – Schubert: Trout Quintet, 4th Movement – Theme and Variations on Die Forelle (Ax, Frank, Young, Ma, Meyer) A sparkling chamber work built around Schubert’s own song about a lively trout. This is music that swims gracefully on the plate. Coffee ☕🎼 9:46 – J.S. Bach: Coffee Cantata, opening four sections Bach’s tongue-in-cheek secular cantata tells of a young woman’s love for her daily cup — proof that caffeine devotion goes back centuries. Dessert 🍰🎂🍮 9:54 – Saint-Saëns: “Wedding Cake” Valse Caprice (Joel Fan, Northwest Sinfonietta) A frothy and virtuosic piano-and-orchestra showpiece, as sweet and celebratory as a slice of cake to end the meal. So, while you’re making plans to head to Fort Gibraltar for A Taste of Manitoba this weekend, join us on Saturday morning for this musical feast at 9 a.m. — a menu that’s as rich, varied, and flavourful as the festival itself.