Sunday afternoon people got a taste of the trenches at the Manitoba World War I Museum outside of La Riviere for the 6th Annual 'A Day In The Trenches' event. This year saw record numbers with approximately 400 people making their way through.

Museum Director Bruce Tascona has been passionately studying WWI for over 40 years, and says he wants others to understand it's importance.

The event is about more than people visiting, but learning about history through demonstrations and stories.

"We've talked about the simple basic training of a soldier. How you can get a normal citizen who winds up in the army and you get him to do some unspeakable horrible things like fight in the trenches."

To get a better understanding of what this looked like they talked about things like gas warfare, snipers, and bayonet fighting.

He says, "I don't think people read as much as they used to and I think to me it's very important for them to understand."

In his teenage years Tascona started to collect artifacts and militaria. He has built that collection up for the past 50 years which he displays in the museum.

"I'm retired and I've built up an extensive collection . . . People can come out on the weekends until the middle of September and they can come and see it," he adds.

The museum is open every weekend from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. until mid-September, for those still hoping to visit.