Visit La Compagnie at an event this season!

Our 2019-2020 Season Schedule

Look for us at historic sites, holiday celebrations and summer festivals across Minnesota. We’ll be the ones wearing colorful historic clothing. Our camp will be filled with a huge display of authentic trade goods and piles of real furs. We’ll most likely have one of our replica canoes along, including our newest 18-foot real birch bark Ojibwe ricing style canoe. Click on the dates below for more details. We’re looking forward to meeting you. Be sure to stop by and say “boozhoo”!!

June 1: North West Company & the War of 1812, Snake River Fur Post, Pine City MN

It’s the War of 1812, and the Americans are attacking British territories. War has come to fur trade! The North West Company is enlisting all able-bodied voyageurs to help defend the business of the fur trade. La Compagnie members will report to Snake River trading post and river landing to assist in the endeavor. Show your bravery as a loyal voyageur! Set aside your paddles and join in musket drills and learn to march in formation in joint maneuvers with re enactors of Western Lakes Station. (10:00am-4:00pm, fee: included with $6-10 site admission/MNHS members free, family-friendly event) For more information: War of 1812 Family Day

June 6-11: MEMBERS ONLY Canoe Trip, Crow Wing River State Water Trail, Akeley MN to Pilager MN

While this event is designed for “Members Only,” we’re always happy to welcome newcomers . . . if you want to join us for this exciting immersive event, simply contact the clerk and they’ll get you signed up for the event and as a new member all at the same time!

The Crow Wing River starts at Akeley and joins the Mississippi near Little Falls. Check out this water trail guide with maps on the DNR website. Much interesting history to uncover; Old Wadena, etc.  Lots of primitive camping opportunities in county parks. More information coming soon!

June 15: Faribault Heritage Celebration, Faribault, MN

Named for Alexander Faribault, who built a trading post there in 1826, the city of Faribault is regarded as one of the most historic communities in Minnesota. On Saturday, we’ll be right there in Central Park — next to the midway rides and the band shell — with a 20-foot long replica “north” canoe, a wide array of trade goods and furs, plus some colorful characters. Come and learn more about how the fur trade and the entire Faribault family encouraged settlement and commercial activity in the decades before Minnesota’s establishment as a US Territory. (9:00am-4:00pm, FREE, family-friendly event) 

June 23: Fête de St. Jean Baptiste, Sibley Historic Site, Mendota, MN

Join in a midsummer evening celebration of St. Jean Baptiste, patron saint of French Canadians, with a rendezvous of music, games, a bonfire, and more! The Fête de la St. Jean Baptiste is Quebec’s national holiday, always celebrated near the summer solstice on June 24. Celebrate a day early with family friendly activities that include live music, children’s games, an evening fire with marshmallow roasting, and guides who will lead discussions and answer questions about Minnesota’s French-Canadian heritage. La Compagnie will be there as well with our unique blend of fun hands-on activities and fur trade interpretation. (Sunday 5pm – 7pm, family-friendly event, FREE!  For more information: Fête de St. Jean Baptiste Rendezvous

July 21-21: Fur Trade Weekend, Sibley Historic Site, Mendota, MN

Experience the Sibley Historic Site in the 1830s when Mendota was a center of the fur trade.Take tours of the historic site, explore our voyageur encampment filled with colorful trade goods and luxurious fur pelts, and enjoy live music and presentations. Throughout the day, La Compagnie members will demonstrate some of the tricks of the fur trade, including how to portage a 90-pound pack. And we’ll bring along one of our replica birch bark canoes, demonstrate how to paddle, and maybe even teach you to sing a voyageur paddling song. (Saturday 10am – 5pm; Sunday noon to 5:00pm, family-friendly event, event Included with $7-9 site admission (MNHS, DCHS, and Friends of Sibley members free)  For more information: Sibley Site Fur Trade Weekend

August 10-12 : Grant Portage Rendezvous Days, Grand Portage National Monument, Grand Portage, MN

This is one celebration you do not want to miss! Music, dancing, games, demonstrations and hands-on workshops ensure an exciting weekend! Just outside the main gate, La Compagnie’s winterers camp is filled with dozens of La Compagnie members and all the hustle and bustle of rendezvous activity. Inside the kitchen, La Compagnie cooks demonstrate how the partners of the North West Company ate well in the latest fashion for rich and sophisticated meals. Learn for yourself how voyageurs, clerks, agents, partners, and American Indians lived in the late 18th century at Grand Portage. Come and experience the fur trade brought to life! (Second full weekend in August, Friday through Sunday, 9:00am to 5:00pm daily, FREE, family-friendly event) For more information: Grand Portage Rendezvous Days

September 21-22: Festival of the Voyageur, Snake River Fur Post, Pine City, MN

This annual gathering is not only one of the biggest and most grand celebrations of the fur trade year, it’s one of La Compagnie’s favorites. Visit our bustling camp along the historic Snake River. Explore our colorful trade goods display, identify the furs that were traded, maybe start a camp fire with flint-and-steel. Join us for a paddle on the river in in our huge replica Montreal canoe, or maybe kick up your heels in a lively paddle dance on Saturday night. Cheer for our voyageurs as they demonstrate the reliability of their muskets, vie for the title of the best all-around voyageur, or demonstrate their cooking expertise in the wild rice cooking contest. (Third full weekend in September; Saturday 10:00am-9:00pm, Sunday 10:00-4:00pm; Cost: $12.50 adults, $10 seniors and college students, $8 ages 5-17, MNHS members save 20%) For more information: Festival of the Voyageur, Snake River Fur Post

error: This content is protected. Contact us for permission to download or copy.