The Leo Mol Sculpture Garden at Assiniboine Park is one of the cultural treasures in this city, an elaborate maze of blooms leading a walker through an outdoor gallery of sculptures by the incomparable Leo Mol.

Born Leonid Molodozhanyn in 1915 in present-day Ukraine, Mol studied sculpture in Leningrad, was deported to Germany during the Second World War, and in 1948 emigrated to Winnipeg where he pursued his twin passions: sculpture and stained glass. The Leo Mol Sculpture Garden was unveiled in 1992, and includes over 300 sculptures, 200 of which were donated by Mol himself.

The elegance of the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden is enhanced on summer Sunday afternoons with intimate jazz concerts by some of our city’s most appealing performers. The season opens with singers: Lianne Fournier leads on July 9, followed by Rosemarie Todaschuk on July 16. Bassist Dave McCrea, who moonlights as a spinal cord researcher, is on deck for July 23, and Indigenous trumpet player Chuck Copenace closes out the month on July 30.

August opens with singer Helen White on August 6, with Marco Castillo’s Brazilian jazz following on August 13. Singer Heitha Forsyth—in her alter ego Sol James—warms things up on August 20, and crowd favourites Erin Propp and Larry Roy close out the season on August 27.

Bring your lawn chair, or come early to find a shady bench. Leave yourself a leisurely hour before or after the concert to wander through the gardens—the sculptures, fountains, and blossoms are an intoxicating mix!