Delegate & Companion Tours

Delegate Tours

Please note: All Tours Leave from TCU Place at the scheduled start time and return to TCU Place, except for Saturday Tours which will end at the Mendal Art Gallery / Lunch in the Park site.

Thursday, June 24: Delegate Tour #1

One hundred years ago this year, the University of Saskatchewan began construction of its Saskatoon campus, now widely regarded as one of Canada's most beautiful.   It's earliest buildings, including the recently renovated College Building, form what the Canadian Register of Historic Places refers to as "the finest grouping of Collegiate Gothic university buildings in Canada."  Since that time, a tradition of architectural quality has been assiduously maintained. The campus now boasts a varied collection of collegiate gothic, modernist, brutalist, post-modern and contemporary architecture, each building reflecting its time, but unified by common scale, sympathetic massing and an adherance to the use of local fieldstone as a primary element.  Walking around this lovely campus, participants will cover a representative sample of the University's century-old tradition of architectural quality.

The tour will demonstrate by example the creation of a varied yet architecturally harmonious campus.

Friday, June 25: Delegate Tour #2

In the late 19th Century the Governments of England and Canada determined that Western Canada should be sub-divided into half mile by half mile plots of land to prepare them for
homesteaders. Unfortunately this landscape was not uninhabited. Metis settlements along the Saskatchewan River had been settled for generations. These "River Lots" carefully followed the landscape allowing each family to have access to water, fertile soil and wood. When the Government of Canada refused to allow people to keep their land the way they had settled it and refused to respond to numerous requests for consideration their anger and frustration boiled over into the 1885 Rebellion.

Conference participants will be taken on a day long bus tour of the places central to the 1885 Northwest Rebellion. Historical sites of Duck Lake, Fort Carleton, and Batoche will be visited with an evolution of the story told. This tour will not only reveal the history, but will also engage the deeper discussion of landscape, the division of landscape, and our understanding of the relationship between landscape and inhabitation. Participants will experience the prairie first hand and be challenged to consider the implications of the North American Grid on contemporary Western Canada.

Saturday, June 26: Delegate Tour #3

In 1978 the City of Saskatoon commissioned Raymond Moriyama to produce a one hundred year conceptual master plan for the Meewasin River Valley and the South Saskatchewan River as it tracks its way through the core of Saskatoon. Today, more than thirty years later, many of Mr. Moriyama's ideas and aspirations have been implemented, others are hotly debated, and still others remain dreams for the future. Mr. Moriyama and tour participants will review the history ideas and future from a boat on the river in the middle of the Meewasin Valley. Along with Meewasin Valley Staff and Mr. Moriyama tour participants will experience first hand the integration of one of Canada's great rivers at the heart of one of Canada's beautiful cities. They will understand the role that master planning can take in the success of the integration of landscape within a city.

Saturday, June 26: Delegate Tour #4

Meewasin Valley Authority provides the opportunity for the novice canoeist to learn about the beautiful South Saskatchewan River from the river in Meewasin's ten passenger voyageur clipper canoe. No canoeing experience is needed. Tour is limited to 20 people.

Tour will depart TCU Place at 8:45am and depart to Beaver Creek to board the canoes. Groups will return to the shoreline at 11:45am and will be transported to Kinsmen Park for the Picnic at the Park.

Saturday, June 26: Delegate Tour #5

River Landing is a new development on a former brownfield site in Saskatoon's downtown. This project was first conceived two decades ago as a way to better connect the city to the riverfront, and to improve connections between the east and west sides of the city. Construction of the public realm started in 2005 and continues into 2010.

This tour will be guided by Jeanna South, and Genevieve Russell of City of Saskatoon Urban Design, and Rob Crosby, of Crosby Hanna Landscape and Planning. The session will cover the broader planning framework of the site, principles of landscape and streetscape design, architectural development principles, public art, and innovations and challenges involved in bringing together this large-scaled project with multiple pieces led by different consultants.

The River Landing Riverfront Masterplan has won the National Urban Design Award of Merit, 2008; the CSLA Prairie Region Merit Award, 2008; and the Design Council of Saskatchewan Premier's Award of Excellence, 2007. River Landing Streetscape has been awarded the Design Council of Saskatchewan Premier's Award of Merit in 2009, and in 2007 furniture elements for the site won the Award of Excellence in 2007.

Saturday, June 26: Delegate Tour #6 (Companion Tour #3)

Designated as a National Heritage Site, the 760 acre Wanuskewin Heritage Park is a flagship of Northern Plains First Nations culture and history. Home to the longest running active Archeology project in Canada, the Park hugs the west bank of the South Saskatchewan River just five kilometres north of Saskatoon, with nineteen pre-contact sites including camps, bison kill sites, tipi rings and a medicine wheel, all found within one kilometer of each other.

Guided by interpreters you will begin to understand why this site was a place of worship, celebration, and renewal with the natural world. Learn how plants were used as food and traditional medicine, how the Northern plains people viewed the world, and why this site has been a gathering place for over 6000 years. Explore the Gallery & Exhibits which will be hosting an Allan Sapp “Through the eyes of the Cree” and the beautiful Portraits of the North exhibition. Walking in their footsteps, you will understand why Wanuskewin has been, and will continue to be, a place to seek peace of mind, a place of living in harmony.

The Trail walk will start with the Bison & Statue Interpretation and lead into the trail walk which will include information regarding traditional Plant use knowledge, historical & archaeology, information and First Nations world view of the land.

Companion Tours

Thursday, June 24: Companion Tour #1

Join us for a guided tour of Saskatchewan’s period of economic growth, innovation, and hardship. Life sized displays of blacksmiths, the general store, buggies, and steam trains are an integral part of the visit. Created to celebrate Saskatchewan’s centennial in 2005, Winning the Prairie Gamble is an award winning exhibit that pays homage to the hardships and successes of Saskatchewan’s pioneers. From sod houses to modern architecture, this 100 year journey depicts a farmer’s family life in Saskatchewan’s harsh climate and living skies. Your trip to the Western Development Museum will be sure to excite the imagination, and take you on a living trip through time! Followed by a home cooked meal overlooking 1910 Saskatchewan!

At 2 p.m. we will visit the studio of internationally recognized painter Hugo Alvarado.  You will have a private tour of his gallery and studio and the opportunity to meet and speak with the artist.  You will also have the opportunity to purchase a piece from his collection.  

We will then return to the hotel.

Friday, June 25: Companion Tour #2

10:00 a.m. we will  explore some of the historic sites of early Saskatoon.  We will start at the Marr Residence, built in 1884 it is the oldest home in Saskatoon that is on its original site.  You will tour this historic home that has been lovingly restored and will hear stories about the Marr family and how their home became a Field Hospital during the Riel Rebellion in 1885. 

We will then take a walking tour of the original site of the city of Saskatoon, now commonly referred to as the Broadway area. This area was the hustle and bustle centre in Saskatoon's early history and has recently become a thriving area once again.

We will complete our outing by having a catered lunch at Calories, a local restaurant located on Broadway. Your lunch will be prepared by a nationally recognized chef and topped off with one of Calories signature desserts, an absolute must!

If you wish there will be an opportunity to do some shopping on Broadway after lunch. We will then return to the hotel.

Saturday, June 26: Companion Tour #3 (Delegate Tour #6)

Designated as a National Heritage Site, the 760 acre Wanuskewin Heritage Park is a flagship of Northern Plains First Nations culture and history. Home to the longest running active Archeology project in Canada, the Park hugs the west bank of the South Saskatchewan River just five kilometres north of Saskatoon, with nineteen pre-contact sites including camps, bison kill sites, tipi rings and a medicine wheel, all found within one kilometer of each other.

Guided by interpreters you will begin to understand why this site was a place of worship, celebration, and renewal with the natural world. Learn how plants were used as food and traditional medicine, how the Northern plains people viewed the world, and why this site has been a gathering place for over 6000 years. Explore the Gallery & Exhibits which will be hosting an Allan Sapp “Through the eyes of the Cree” and the beautiful Portraits of the North exhibition. Walking in their footsteps, you will understand why Wanuskewin has been, and will continue to be, a place to seek peace of mind, a place of living in harmony.

The Trail walk will start with the Bison & Statue Interpretation and lead into the trail walk which will include information regarding traditional Plant use knowledge, historical & archaeology, information and First Nations world view of the land.