Nightlife

The Performing Arts

The Manitoba Centennial Centre, 555 Main St. (tel. 204/956-1360), is a complex that includes the Centennial Concert Hall (home to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Winnipeg Symphony, and the Manitoba Opera). Nearby are the Manitoba Theatre Centre, the Warehouse Theatre, and Pantages Playhouse Theatre.

Other spaces offering frequent concerts and performances include the Winnipeg Art Gallery (tel. 204/786-6641; www.wag.mb.ca), with blues/jazz, chamber music, and contemporary music groups; and the Pantages Playhouse Theatre, 180 Market Ave. E. (tel. 204/989-2889; www.pantagesplayhouse.com).

The world-renowned Royal Winnipeg Ballet, 380 Graham Ave., at Edmonton Street (tel. 204/956-2792 for the box office; www.rwb.org), was founded in 1939 by two British immigrant ballet teachers, making it North America's second-oldest ballet company (after San Francisco's). By 1949, it was a professional troupe, and in 1953, it was granted a royal charter. Today, its repertoire includes both contemporary and classical works, such as Ashton's Thais, Giselle, and Sleeping Beauty. The company performs at the Centennial Concert Hall, usually for a week in October, November, December, March, and May. Tickets are C$26 to C$68 (US$21-US$54), with discounts for students, seniors, and children.

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, 555 Main St. (tel. 204/949-3950, or 204/949-3999 for the box office; www.wso.mb.ca), was established in 1947. The orchestra's prestige has attracted guest artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, Tracey Dahl, and Maureen Forrester. The season usually runs September to mid-May, and tickets are C$25 to C$49 (US$20-US$39).

The Manitoba Opera, 380 Graham Ave. (tel. 204/942-7479, or 204/957-7842 for the box office; www.manitobaopera.mb.ca), features a season of two or three operas each year at the Centennial Concert Hall, with performances in February and April, and possibly November. English subtitles are used. Tickets range from C$29 to C$84 (US$23-US$67).

Theater

You can enjoy theater in the park at the Rainbow Stage, in Kildonan Park at 2021 Main St. (tel. 204/989-5261 or 204/989-0888 for tickets; www.rainbowstage.net), Canada's largest and oldest continuously operating outdoor theater. The theater group actually presents two musical classics, running about 3 weeks each, one in the summer at Kildonan and one in mid-winter at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre . On the banks of the Red River, the outdoor Rainbow Stage is easily accessible by bus or car.

The MTC Warehouse, at 140 Rupert Ave. at Lily (tel. 204/943-4849, or 204/942-6537 for the box office; www.mtc.mb.ca), presents more cutting-edge, controversial plays in an intimate 300-seat theater. Its four-play season generally runs mid-October to mid-May, and tickets are C$16 to C$53 (US$13-US$42). Recent seasons' offerings have included Hamlet starring Keanu Reeves.

The Prairie Theatre Exchange, 3rd level, Portage Place, 393 Portage Ave. (tel. 204/942-7291, or 204/942-5483 for the box office; www.pte.mb.ca), also offers about six productions from October to April, and provides the most serious alternative to MTC shows. A recent season featured The Glass Menagerie and Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own. Standard ticket prices are about C$32 (US$26) for adults, C$22 (US$18) for seniors and students. Some less expensive shows run at the end of the season.

Casinos

The tropical-themed Club Regent, 1425 Regent Ave. (tel. 888/957-4652 or 204/957-2700; www.clubregent.com), offers slots, electronic blackjack, bingo, poker, keno, and breakopen games, plus traditional bingo and the Fountain of Fortune, a series of progressive slot machines. Huge, walk-through aquariums and two live music stages add to the diversions. The club is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 3am and Sunday noon to 3am.

The Grand Railway Hotel-themed McPhillips Station, 484 McPhillips St. (tel. 204/957-3900; www.clubregent.com) is your other major casino option in town, featuring many of the same gaming choices as at the Club Regent (both are operated and regulated by the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation). The side show here is the Millennium Express multimedia theater presentation, a quasi-time-travel ride and show taking you back into Manitoba's past. McPhillips Station operates during the same hours as its sister casino, and both have restaurants and gift shops.

Dance Clubs

Country-western dance bars used to be a large part of the nightlife in Winnipeg, but the scene is rapidly changing. If you're looking for a hoe-down, though, the best place to sample line dancing is the Palomino Club, 1133 Portage Ave. (tel. 204/722-0454). Classic rock is also featured. Silverado's, 2100 McPhillips St., in the Canad Inn Garden City (tel. 204/633-0024), has three floors of dancing to country bands and rock acts, plus DJ-spun dance-floor hits.

The dance club scene has really exploded in Winnipeg with the opening of several new upscale clubs in the past few years; a small sampling follows. The Empire, at 436 Main St., near Portage Ave. (tel. 204/943-3979), features a Roman-themed dance floor in a historic bank building. Au Bar, 65 Rorie St. (tel. 503/989-8080), is a first for Winnipeg: Instead of tables and chairs, this hip nightclub is furnished with beds and cushions. In the Exchange District, & (Ampersand), 114 Market Ave. (tel. 204/942-MASH), features hip-hop and Top-40 tunes. As dance clubs can be ephemeral, you may want to check out the latest news when you visit town; see Uptown Magazine's website at www.uptownmag.com to search the latest club information and listings.