Winnipeg was the first Canadian host of the Pan American Games. It is home to several professional sports franchises, including the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Canadian football), the Winnipeg Jets (ice hockey), Manitoba Moose (ice hockey) and the Winnipeg Goldeyes (baseball). Winnipeg lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine and the Red River of the North, a location now known as "The Forks". This point was at the crossroads of canoe routes travelled by First Nations before European contact. Winnipeg is named after nearby Lake Winnipeg; the name is a transcription of the Western Cree words for muddy or brackish water. Evidence
The Winnipeg Singers Concert of Podium 2004, the national biennial convention of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors, held in Winnipeg. The Winnipeg Singers traveled to Taiwan and Japan in July 2005 where the choir was honoured to represent Canada at the 6th Taipei International Choral Festival and the 7th World Symposium on Choral Music in Kyoto. While in Japan, the choir performed in Setagaya, a sister-city of Winnipeg, in Tokyo at the Canadian Embassy and in Kobe for a Symposium sponsored satellite concert. The Winnipeg Singers The Winnipeg Singers are a 24 voice chamber choir from Canada led by director Yuri Klaz.