Real’s PIF Day: celebrating Francophone culture in the prairies

Prairie pride can mean a lot of different things, depending on who you ask… but one of the most common elements is a fierce determination to make the best of winter – no matter how low the temperature goes!

In Winnipeg, Festival du Voyageur has served for over 50 years as a popular celebration of “traditions, music, Francophone culture, and joie de vivre” and is now Western Canada’s largest winter festival.

While “Festival” – as it’s called locally – is known for its seasonal treats (if you’ve never tried rolling maple taffy on fresh snow, may we recommend it?), diverse concert lineup and late-night parties, one of the most-anticipated parts of the event is the chance to explore the collection of massive snow sculptures dotting the festival grounds and surrounding streets!

This year, Payworks was proud to sponsor Festival’s Snow Sculpture Symposium, which brought together artists from all across the world to showcase their incredible creative skills. And as always, we kept the good growing by inviting our own team to Pay it Forward and lend their time and talents to this long-running tradition.

How Real paid it forward

Real Comeault, a Small Business Client Service Representative who joined the team in late 2025, leapt at the chance to spend his first-ever Pay it Forward (PIF) Day volunteering at Festival to set up the snow sculptors for success.

“As someone who often came to Festival as a kid, one of the biggest things was seeing the snow sculptures,” said Real. “As soon as I saw that there was a PIF Day for Festival, I had to jump on it. I had to make my ancestors proud!”

Photo: Payworks Small Business Client Service Representative Real Comeault getting a behind-the-scenes look at – and contributing to the success of! – the 2026 Festival du Voyageur Snow Sculpture Symposium.

Real spent his day moving shovelful after shovelful of snow, as well as connecting with the sculptors themselves to learn more about their designs and creative process. As the day drew to a close, he reflected on what the opportunity to pay it forward meant to him.

“This is the first company I’ve been part of that gives you two paid days off each year to volunteer, and I’ll definitely continue doing so and showing the community that this is what Payworks is all about,” Real said. “We’re encouraged to get out and lend a hand, and I think that’s really special.”

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Looking to join a team where giving back is a given? When it comes to great people, there’s always room for one more. Explore current career opportunities and get to know Payworks as an employer here: https://www.payworks.ca/about-us/careers.