This urban oasis of Portage la Prairie is 30 minutes west of Winnipeg Surrounded by fertile farmland, the city of 20,000 is equally at ease with modern trends and long-standing tradition. There's an 18-hole golf course, a secluded campground and Mayfair Farm, where visitors fill their baskets from acres of strawberry patches or cruise a garden market that also supplies local restaurants with seasonal fare. A venue for outdoor concerts, the park is also the home of the annual Potato Festival, a celebration that always includes free French fries. Directly opposite from the park, a scenic 5.2 km paved walking path hugs the lakeshore. At its eastern end, it's just blocks from shops, motels, the local arts centre and Fort la Reine Museum, a living archive for area families whose forebears contributed artifacts, farm equipment and even some of the buildings in its pioneer village. Lake Manitoba beaches are just 24 kilometres north of town, near the internationally famous waterfowl migration wetlands at Delta Marsh.