{"id":136854,"date":"2026-07-20T19:05:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T19:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/136854\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T19:05:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T19:05:07","slug":"patrol-program-launched-to-boost-safety-in-winnipegs-performing-arts-district-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/136854\/","title":{"rendered":"Patrol program launched to boost safety in Winnipeg’s performing arts district"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winnipeg’s performing arts district is getting a beefed-up security presence this fall to help people get safely to and from venues.<\/p>\n

Mayor Scott Gillingham launched the Performing Arts Wayfinder Program in the Exchange District’s Old Market Square on Monday.<\/p>\n

Beginning in September 2026 and running through June 2027, it will offer enhanced safety patrols around downtown venues, as well as courtesy walks to and from vehicles before and after performances at places like the Centennial Concert Hall and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.<\/p>\n

The Downtown Community Safety Partnership patrols will also keep an eye on nearby parking lots. Police and the Downtown Business Improvement Zone will also be involved.<\/p>\n

Anyone who wants a patrol to walk them to a vehicle can request it through the safety partnership’s app<\/a> or by approaching one of the patrol members, referred to as “wayfinders,” outside participating venues.<\/p>\n

\"Patrols<\/p>\n

Patrol members from the Downtown Community Safety Partnership attend the launch of the Performing Arts Wayfinder Program on Monday. (Amine Ellatify\/Radio-Canada)<\/p>\n

“Winnipeg has a vibrant performing arts community, with world class artists and art institutions. We want people to enjoy these experiences when they come into downtown Winnipeg, and we want them to enjoy the experience with confidence,” Gillingham said.<\/p>\n

“I want to thank the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra musicians in particular, and all the artists from our performing arts groups, because this all started through a letter that was written.”<\/p>\n

Chris Fensom, principal trumpet with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and co-chair of the orchestra’s members’ committee, said there were “several safety concerns in the area” that prompted a letter to Gillingham from the committee asking for help.<\/p>\n

Musicians have had vehicles broken into “many, many” times and smashed windows, said Fensom.<\/p>\n

“We’ve had people getting into the cars with musicians, we’ve had people following them,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Obviously, people have mental health crises and drug crises that they go through. We are not equipped to deal with that. We are not trained. We’re trained musicians.”<\/p>\n

The artists met with Gillingham, “and we had a very frank discussion,” Fensom said.<\/p>\n

“With our letter, we didn’t know where it would go. Quite often we write letters and they just disappear. But your doors were opened, you listened to us, you listened to our concerns,” he said, thanking Gillingham.<\/p>\n

The $100,000 cost of the program will be covered by the mayor’s office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Winnipeg’s performing arts district is getting a beefed-up security presence this fall to help people get safely to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136855,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[17995,45499,45495,45498,45496,45497,4648,84,38494],"class_list":["post-136854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-downtown-winnipeg","tag-patrol-members","tag-performing-arts","tag-royal-manitoba-theatre-centre","tag-safety-partnership","tag-safety-patrols","tag-scott-gillingham","tag-winnipeg","tag-winnipeg-symphony-orchestra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}