"To help all, especially the young, gain a greater understanding of peoples, places and cultures through hostelling." Sarah Albanese, Operations Manager for the new Hostelling International (HI) location on Kennedy Street, references of the HI mission statement.

And as you walk through the newly renovated downtown location you can see traces of that statement everywhere. In the common area, a giant map of Canada spans the wall and pictures of peoples from across the globe, taken by local photographer Keith Levit, line the hallways.

In fact, in celebration of the 100th year of hostelling, HI Manitoba has again teamed up with Levit to put together a photo exhibit of 25 iconic images from around the world. The exhibit is called 'People, Places, Cultures; Our World - An Exhibit' and on January 22, HI will be hosting its launch and unveiling.

The exhibit will then be on display for the public at the hostel for several weeks before it begins its north America-wide tour. When the year is over, the exhibit will return to Winnipeg to be permanently displayed at the HI Winnipeg Downtowner hostel.

And if you come for the exhibit, you should definitely stay to see all the changes that have occurred since they moved in. Albanese walked me through the 3 floors of hostel rooms and joint areas on a tour which, for anyone previously familiar with the space as the old Downtowner hotel, you would not recognize it as the same property. “Clean, secure – a safe place to enjoy. That’s the HI standard” mentions Albanese.

HI moved downtown because the old Downtowner hotel space was a much larger facility than their former location on Maryland. In the move, HI also became much closer to local downtown attractions and amenities like the Forks, the MTS Centre, the YMCA, Winnipeg Art Gallery; and more accessible via the Airport bus transport system, the Bus depo and the train station.

“[Downtown] is more lively, [has] more of a community sense and a lot of activities going on. You can walk around and come across something happening you might not see elsewhere it the city” says Albanese.

In addition to other current hot spots travelers can take advantage of in the city, HI has its very own built-in attraction in the Lo Pub. Manager Jack Jonasson has turned the place around making it a local gem for indie music and great up and coming local and international talent. The Lo Pub Facebook page boasts the locale ‘has a warm and inviting atmosphere, great staff; the finest local beer in bottles and on tap, and the best DJ and live music entertainment Winnipeg has to offer’.

Further, HI caters to the public by offering a lovely selection of fantastic diner style breakfast to late night menu items at its restaurant – the HI corner café. Unbeknown to me before my tour, the HI corner café is open to the general public and is well worth the visit; they offer a variety of homemade soups that are to die for and everyday you’ll find a menu special that the new head chef has garnered up for the day – a must eat.

Downtown is building and growing its community and HI is right there with it. Albanese says of the hostel that she would like to see it continue to grow and develop. She sees a crowd of people in the lobby on a much larger scale. She wants to hear stories about HI Winnipeg that put it on the map. She wants to show that there is much more in Winnipeg to see than meets the eye.

Albanese envisions taking groups of international travelers on various activity jaunts throughout the downtown and Winnipeg-wide – Jazz Fest, movie nights, the Museum, Fringe Fest, concerts, backstage tours of various attractions – to give them a taste of what Winnipeg can give them. “I want people to have adventures and get a good impression of what Winnipeg has to offer”. And judging by the scale of progression at the new HI location, it appears that Albanese’s hopes for the future are a very likely possibility.

Hostelling International is located at 330 Kennedy Street, operates 24 hours a day 7 days a week, offers daily and weekly rates, and is available to both members and non-members. For upcoming event listings (including the upcoming art exhibit) and hours of operation for the Lo Pub check www.hihostels.ca.

Hostelling International
Executive Director, Marcy Gibbs
Operations Manager, Sarah Albanese
330 Kennedy Street
204-943-5581
www.hihostels.ca