Village News

As public health restrictions continue in Manitoba, we are pleased that Village Books and Gifts has been able to remain open to shoppers! Not only that, fun and exciting new products are on our shelves and folks have been popping in (of course, only 1 at a time and following the arrows) to scoop them up. So grab your mask and come in to see some of our unique books & gifts!

T-Shirts We have teamed up with the Wisecracker team at Obayo.ca for some great new T-shirts and several local ‘celebs’ are wearing them around town! Maybe you’ve seen a few on our Instagram posts every Friday. We have 7 fresh designs in 11 colours so your perfect fit and Menno sayings are easy to find. If you haven’t done your Father’s Day shopping yet, what are you waiting for? Dad will proudly wear his Mennowear for all to admire and envy ($29.50).

Books We have re-stocked a favourite book just in time for Dad’s Day – ‘The Historical Atlas of the East Reserve’ has been a run-away success for the Mennonite Historical Society with its colourful maps and fascinating articles ($50.00). Winnipeg author MaryLou Driedger’s delightful ‘Lost on the Prairie’ is instore and is not expected to stay on the shelves for long! Written for a Juvenile audience, it is a perfect summer read for all ($14.50). Interlake author Bill Massey’s memoir ‘Of Pork & Potatoes’ is a remarkable story of perseverance in the face of adversity and will appeal to all who love true stories about people who confront the odds with courage and determination ($25.99).

While we wait for our new ‘Mennonites at War’ Gallery to open, we have many books on the controversial topic to stimulate thought and conversation, including several local perspectives by authors telling their family’s wartime story. Hearing each other’s stories and examining the narratives we ourselves have been told may make us uncomfortable but is an important and valuable exercise. ‘Refugee’, ‘Hans & Suse: Our Story’, ‘Sketches from Siberia’, ‘The Constructed Mennonite’, ‘Flight’ and ‘Women without Men’ are just a few of the titles you may want to read.

Windmill Mug Most of us can relate to down time this past year resulting in garages organized, closets emptied and sorted and a variety of tasks that needed to get done forever ago coming to completion. I received a phone call from one of our suppliers who I imagine were tidying their warehouse. Did we still want some custom stock that had been ordered in 2012, been mislabelled and was sitting in their storage? We received the lovely windmill mugs last week complete with images of Steinbach’s original A.S. Friesen mill, the rebuilt mill at MHV and our windmill’s story on it. Perfect for Dad’s morning coffee ($9.00).

Crokinole Buttons So you bought the Crokinole T-shirt and you are going to sit down to play the game. Add to your good times by picking up a set of hand painted Kjnipsbrat pieces. Choose from ‘Dit Sied vs Yant Sied’, ‘Pepsi vs Revel’, Pig vs Chicken or RollKuchen vs Watermelon’ ($16.00).

So, to all those Dads, and the people who love them, stay safe, be well and we hope to see you all soon back at the museum!