A local museum is celebrating the Christmas season with a unique exhibit.
From now until January, the Winnipeg River Heritage Museum is hosting Festival Des Crèches, a celebration of over 300 Nativity scenes from around the globe.
“We started in 2009 in a different location, and we have grown from a collection of 39 to over 400 today,” said Diane Dube, director and curator of the Festival Des Crèche. “Some are very tiny, and some are larger, of course, but they vary.”
The collection features pieces from over 40 countries, including those by local artists such as Krista Gibson, who resides in Victoria Beach.
“Her piece is a combination of fused and stained glass,” said Dube. “It’s very unique in that she, with her fused glass, does use antique glass plates, and in this particular instance, you can either hang it or use it on a holder. It’s very, very unique and different.”
Each crèche tells a story, and together Dube says they create a vibrant mosaic of creativity, history, and community spirit.
She says the passion and heart behind this exhibit started after a visit to Father Andre’s Basilica in Montreal. In the basement was a museum filled with a variety of crèches.
“I was basically blown away by the number and just how they were represented in that museum,” said Dube. “There was the idea that maybe we could do something on a smaller scale. We started at the library because the museum at that time was very small, and it didn’t have a gallery space. And that’s how we started.”
Dube says this festival allows people to see what others have and celebrates the true meaning of the season.
“I think it also brings joy to a lot of people, and many it brings them back to a different time when life was not so hectic and how Christmas was celebrated, and its true meaning.”
The exhibit features a variety of art mediums, including stained glass, wood, metal and textile.
“One in a textile is felted wool,” said Dube. “The artist is Nancy Kovachuk, and she has a gallery and gift shop in Nova Scotia now. She was the art teacher at Park View School and was offering a felting class to make mitts. I contacted her and asked her if she would consider making a crèche.”
Another one of the crèches, out of Zimbabwe, is made out of recycled Coca-Cola cans.
“So it can be out of porcelain, it can be out of glass,” said Dube. “They’re all very, very different.”
Festival Des Crèche runs until Jan. 12, 2026, at the Winnipeg River Heritage Museum in St. Georges, Manitoba.
