The 47th annual Festival du Voyageur will feature 12 portraits of women who have fought for their rights hung on the outside of one wall of Fort Gibralter.

It marks the Canadian Museum for Human Rights' first outdoor exhibit, which will coincide with a similar one along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa.

"We're thrilled to have this because it celebrates this great milestone of the 100th anniversary of women getting the vote here in Manitoba," John Young, the museum's CEO, said at the exhibit's official unveiling on a frigid Thursday morning.

The exhibit's name, "Let Them Howl!", is borrowed from a quote by Nellie McClung, whose portrait is included.

"The Canadian Museum for Human Rights reached out to us, looking for a site where they could install this exhibit," said Festival executive director Ginette Lavack Walters. "We were thrilled to partner with them. It's an important exhibit. Festival has always celebrated our ancestors ... It's important to understand where we come from. This exhibit allows us to do that but on a whole other level."

The museum did check the logistics of putting the portraits up on the rivertrail at The Forks but it wasn't possible.

The largest winter festival in Western Canada, which kicks off Friday at 5 p.m., will introduce new themed nights in the Portage Tent, including a singles night.

On Louis Riel Day, the festival will unveil a mosaic of Manitoba's founding father.

"What I love about the Festival du Voyageur is that it shows an incredible pride in our people, and it doesn't matter if you're Franco-Manitoban or Metis," said Mayor Brian Bowman. "We can celebrate our shared culture together. I mean, this is very much part our history and what makes us stronger is our diversity."

The 10-day event attracted about 91,000 visitors last winter, which was down from the norm.

"Last year, it was quite cold every single day, so our participation during the day was down about 10%," said Lavack Walters, who is anticipating more than 100,000 this year.