Pioneer Days was a booming success this weekend with over 4,500 visitors over three days at Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach.
They had nearly 1,800 people on both Saturday and Monday, and nearly 1,000 people came out on Sunday.
Robert Goertzen, Interim Executive Director and Program Manager at MHV, says they had great crowds.
“We had good participation in all of the activities, the demonstrations, and events. The food kiosks were all busy, the restaurant was busy.”
He says it’s the many volunteers that made this all possible.
“We have hundreds of volunteer shifts, so it's hard to count how many people are helping. And without them, we wouldn't be able to put on a festival like this. We're really appreciative of their expertise, but just their willingness to serve.”
A big highlight for Pioneer Days this year was celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Mennonites coming to Manitoba.
On Friday evening, they began a series of film premieres for the film, Where the Cottonwoods Grow, by Dale Hildebrand.
The film is about the Mennonites' arrival 150 years ago.
“We've had really good attendance, our auditorium has been almost full each showing, and it's only chapter one. It's only a taste of the final film, but everyone's been really impressed.”
Mennonite Heritage Village will be hosting and sponsoring the final film in October.
He says another highlight of Pioneer Days was the reenactment of the Red River Cart journey.
“When the Mennonites landed at the banks of the Red River, they needed help. And who was there to help? It was the Red River Metis. So it's an acknowledgment that they were our neighbors and they helped us when they saw a need.”
On Sunday, they had Saengerfest, which is a choir-led hymn singing.
Goertzen says the room was packed.
“Nothing sounds better than a room full of people singing a hymn.”
Also on Sunday, the Southeast Draft Horse Association hosted their horse show.
“For about an hour and a half, they demonstrated various skills of the drivers and the teams, and they had an overall winner of the day. It was a really neat little competition.”
Goertzen notes people always love to see things from another era.
“We had all the big things that people love to see, like the steamer and the sawmill and the threshing machine and the horses plowing the field.”
He says overall it was an enjoyable weekend for the community.
“Several people commented that even though there were a lot of people on the grounds, it seemed like a peaceful environment and just a nice place to spend time with the family.”
With files from Judy Peters and Kenton Dyck