Interlake: a Rich Mix of Cultural Diversity

While the entire Interlake region has a population of around 80,000 people, it has at least fifteen giant statue collections, some not even located within ten kilometers of a community.

Some, like the Komarno giant mosquito, remind us of our unlimited supply of mosquitoes in the summer. Or visit the Inwood garter snake statue that boasts of the world’s largest dens of harmless red sided garter snakes.

Interlake Monuments With Flora or Fauna Theme

Then there is the Meleb mushroom statue, paying homage to the bounty of edible mushrooms in the Interlake. Like almost everything in our province, we have very few poisonous or harmful mushrooms (and no venomous snakes).

Poplarfield, with fewer than thirty homes, has the largest King Buck white tailed deer statue in Canada. To the west, in Lundar we find a giant Canada goose or a giant sharp-tailed grouse slightly north of that in Ashern. Both represent the prevalence of each bird in the area.

Not to be outdone on the bird front, Petersfield on Netley Creek has its own giant mallard, while Moosehorn (where you would expect to find moose) has a field of concrete fantasy statues erected decades ago by a local farmer.

Selkirk, a city of roughly 10,000, erected a giant catfish. perhaps exagegrating, some locals say that the nearly twenty-five foot statue isn’t an exaggeration of the size of catfish caught locally in the Red River.

Continuing with the wildlife theme, Riverton has a giant moose.

Interlake Statues Celebrating Culture

Winnipeg Beach pays tribute to the local First Nations and Anishinaabe people with something ratehr unique away from the BC coast, a totem pole, but a pole featuring only a First Nations chief rather than wildlife.

Gimli reaches into folklore and fantasy with a statue of a Viking, replete with horns (which, apparently, the Norse did not wear), but it is an acknowledgment of the region’s large Icelandic population.

Arborg decided it wanted to brag about its curling prowess by building a very large curling rock.

Fisher Branch opts to remind people of its early history, with a giant wagon wheel.

That leaves Stonewall, remaining true to its roots as a quarry that produced high quality limestone that was shipped across the country. Its Quarry Park has two kilns to greet people who enter the park.

While the Interlake may have the most roadside statues per capita than any other part of the province, it is likely that there are more that will sprout up in coming years. After all, the Interlake is a farming region!

Visit Interlake Tourism for a map of these wacky attractions. https://interlaketourism.com/larger_than_life/full-map-of-our-larger-than-life-statues-roadside-attractions/

Interlake Towns, Cities & Villages