The annual Montcalm Heritage Festival took place June 7th and 8th at the Musée Saint-Joseph Museum grounds. While the weather was dreary, the energy was delightful as the community gathered to celebrate its heritage.
History built by the community
The Musée Saint-Joseph Museum is home to multiple buildings with local historical significance, which makes it the ideal location for the annual Montcalm Heritage Festival. Camille Fisette-Mulaire, executive director of the museum, spoke about the importance of some of the buildings that are now part of the historical village.
“We have the Union Point school...a very important piece of history for the French people, because that is... where the rights to having French education in the schools started” Fisette-Mulaire explained. The museum also houses the Plankee Plains Ukranian Orthodox Church, saved from destruction by a group of women in the parish who knew the museum would appreciate a piece of history like the church.
The festival was born out of the community’s desire to maintain and add to their impressive museum collection and maintain their local culture, and it shows. “...50 years later, and in a community of 55 people...I am always amazed at the amount of volunteers that we have for the festival” Fisette-Mulaire shared. “There’s over 190 names on our volunteer list.”
A community effort
For Charles Parent, the actual festival days are only a fraction of the work that goes into the Heritage Festival. “The preparation alone, the upkeep of these buildings, the maintenance, the making sure that everything is in place, everything is clean and organized and certainly goes without saying that the meals take a lot of effort and a lot of time” he shared.
“...It is a very refreshing and very satisfying job to do because everybody's involved, and everybody works hard at it.”
Parent has been a volunteer here for 30 years, and attributes his passion for volunteering to the community it draws: “...if you volunteer for something I can guarantee you that the people that are there, all the other volunteers are there to work... it is a very refreshing and very satisfying job to do because everybody's involved, and everybody works hard at it.”
Connection through culture
The festival offered activities for all ages, including Indigenous games run by the union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba. Executive director Richard Turenne shared that the history between the group and the Heritage Festival runs deep: “Historically, the union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba had a lot of representation and members that are here, there, everywhere across the province... we’d have big annual picnics and people from everywhere would come.”
Mona Moquin, a board member of union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba, brought beadwork to be put on display at the festival. “Beadwork is a form of art that is expressed by many indigenous peoples, which Metis folks do a lot... at my table, I have all kinds of beadwork.” Moquin shared. “Most of it is not for sale, but I did bring some kits...just in case there’s that interest.”
Beadwork is something that Moquin notices people are becoming more and more interested in— “...folks are interested in embracing their culture, and this is a good way to start” she shared. “It’s very popular. It can be easy to try...but not always easy to do so give it a shot and then maybe you’ll love it.”
For more information about the union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba, visit their website.
The Musée Saint-Joseph Museum is open 9 am – 4:30 pm most days during the summer. For more information, visit their website.
