Cool Gardens is a public exhibition of contemporary garden and art installations that offer a shift of sensation for the summer—cooling—as a general theme for public projects in the downtown. The exhibit aims to bring architects, designers, landscape architects, and artists together to celebrate contemporary garden culture and the local landscape. The presentation of the cutting-edge garden designs places design culture at the centre of summer activities in Winnipeg, while offering a pleasant relief from the summer exasperations.

The exhibit intends to mirror the internationally acclaimed Winnipeg Warming Huts Program. Cool Gardens takes place annually from July until the end of September. The exhibition sites run from The Forks to Provencher Boulevard, and Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park, calling attention to the amazing but generally unrecognized pedestrian linkages.

Cool Gardens presents an alternative attraction for tourist participation in the downtown by increasing the visitation of locals and guests around the celebration and exchange between nature and art. Cool Gardens 2014 included a visiting garden by Claude Cormier et Associés from the International Garden Festival - Les Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens from Quebec, ranked among the leading garden festivals in the world.