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The summer has flown by, and September long weekend is already here.
Many will be busy camping or getting ready to go back to school, and if you are looking for something to do, stop by the Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV).
Robert Goertzen, Interim Executive Director and Program Manager at MHV says both their Canada Day and Pioneer Days events had very good attendance and he looks forward to their event coming up on Monday.
“Fall on the Farm is a long tradition. It's the last weekend before people say it's time to get back to work or time to get back to school or wherever your family is at, and it's a great time to come to the museum because we do all the pioneer demonstrations in one day. But since the pandemic, we've been partnering with the Summer in the City and with Eastman Immigrant Services. So, this year again we're having a cultural showcase and working together with Eastman Immigrant Services to bring a wonderful lineup of nine different cultural entertainers. Some of them are dancers, some of them are musicians, and it's going to be a wonderful day of music and performance. We've got six cultural vendors who are coming in as well. You'll get to taste some of those foods from around the world.”
He shares that they are excited to educate about the Mennonite culture but also to learn more about other cultures.
“We do celebrate the Mennonites who came here in the 1870s. This is the 150th year of that celebration, of commemorating it. And we have the exhibit that opened up during Pioneer Days. If you haven't seen it yet, it's fabulous. And if you have seen it, you know that you haven't seen it all, so it's time to come back. It's another way that we do remember those early years in the 1870s when the Mennonites made their decision to come to Manitoba and make it their home. We are also a community organization, and we want to make sure that we welcome all of Steinbach and the surrounding area, all of southern Manitoba and Manitoba. We think harvest time is wonderful to celebrate the cultures of all our neighbors and friends.”
Goertzen shares what else attendees can expect.
“If anyone's driven past our place, you can see that this week our oat field was harvested. The stooks are sitting on the field and although they're not quite ready to be picked up yet, they will be ready by Fall on the Farm, and they'll be part of the threshing demonstration. That also means that the field will be available for some field demonstrations. If we're lucky, the steam engine will go out there and do some plowing which is always a fascinating thing to see a large unit like that and the work that it does there.”
He continues, “We're doing a few things on the grounds that are different. We have corn on the cob. We've got hog butchering which is something that's always a fan favorite that people love to see the process of how you get an animal to become the meat in your freezer kind of thing.”
Along with the cultural celebrations, food, and demonstrations, there will also be kid’s activities including a petting zoo, pony rides, wagon and barrel train rides, scavenger hunts, face painting, games, and races.
The museum will be open from 9 am to 5 pm on Monday, September 2 for Fall on the Farm with regular admission prices:
Adults - $15.00
Seniors (65+) - $12.00
Students (13-22) - $12.00
Children (6-13) - $8.00
5 and under – Free
Head over to MHV and enjoy a day full of fun activities and learn more about different cultures.
With files from Michelle Sawatzky