Welcoming nearly 1,000 participants each year, the Vision Quest Conference has taken place in May every year in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada since 1997 with great success.
Vision Quest celebrates its 23rd Conference & Tradeshow by bringing together innovators, entrepreneurs, business leaders and youth to discuss and promote Indigenous business, community and economic development.
From May 14 – 16, 2019, Vision Quest will provide opportunities for learning, networking, information sharing, partnership building, as well as cultural awareness and entertainment. Over the three-day event Vision Quest will welcome many inspiring work-shop facilitators and speakers, including keynote speakers Jordin Tootoo (day two) and Lorne Cardinal (day three).
JORDIN TOOTOO – NHL’s First Inuk Player and Author of All the Way: My Life on Ice
Raised in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut (Canada), Jordin Tootoo played for the Brandon Wheat Kings before being chosen by the
Nashville Predators to become the first Inuk player to join the National Hockey League (NHL). He went on to play with the Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks, banking 161 points in 723 games. An Indigenous athletic trailblazer and leader, Tootoo has long understood his responsibility as a role model. His memoir All the Way: My Life on Ice brings an uplifting message, and he is committed to his work through the Team Tootoo Foundation, founded in honour of his late brother Terence. Tootoo was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal for promoting healthy living in Nunavut, and for encouraging conversations about difficult topics like addiction and suicide. At the age of 35, and after 15 incredible years in the NHL, Tootoo announced his retirement from the NHL in October 2018.
LORNE CARDINAL – Award-Winning Film and TV Actor, and Stage and Screen Director
A classically trained Canadian actor, Lorne Cardinal is best known for his work on CTV’s Corner Gas, playing Sgt. Davis Quinton. Previous stage credits include The Last Wife (ATP), G.G Award-winning Where the Blood Mixes, and Thunderstick (Theatre Network, Persephone Theatre, Western Canada Theatre). Recent television and film credits include When Calls the Heart, Bad Seed, Trouble with Christmas, and Tin Star. His voice work can also be heard on Corner Gas Animated (Comedy Network), and Molly of Denali (PBS). Cardinal is also a director of the stage and screen.
Event highlights to look forward to:
Trade Show: The Vision Quest Trade Show is FREE and open to the public on Wednesday, May 15, and Thursday, May 16, during the conference and will be held in the City View Ballroom, Hall C, South Building in the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg.
Gala Banquet: The Gala Banquet includes a three-course dinner to presentation of awards for the Dragon’s Quest Business Plan Competition and the Steve Prince Memorial Bursary, music, cultural presentations, visual artistry and the brilliance of comedic hypnotist and mentalist, Scott Ward as the featured entertainer. (Visit http://www.vqconference.com/conference/register/for cost information)
Dragon’s Quest Business Plan Competition: The Indigenous Business Development Services (IBDS) in partnership with Vision Quest holds the Dragon’s Quest Business Plan Competition. Dragon’s Quest finalists make a live pitch to a panel of business professionals, and the winners are announced at the Gala banquet.
The 23rd Vision Quest Conference & Trade Show takes place May 14 to 16 at the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg. Registration is available online now at www.vqconference.com.
