Village News

Social media contests don’t usually get my attention, but the one that made its way into my Inbox today was an exception. Maybe it did so because it creates an opportunity for Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) to win a prize and get some added publicity without spending more money.

This contest has been initiated by Travel Manitoba, a provincial Crown corporation whose purpose is to promote tourism in our province. They focus on local, national and international markets, promoting fishing and hunting lodges, community and music festivals, museums, campgrounds, hotels, restaurants, and a variety of other tourist destinations and activities. They seek to inform tourists about the rich and varied activities that make visiting Manitoba worthwhile.

As one of seven provincially appointed Signature Museums, MHV has collaborated with Travel Manitoba in a variety of ways. Along with numerous other museums, MHV is currently being promoted as a “Must-See-Um.” Travel Manitoba has created this handle because they believe in the opportunities museums present to the tourism industry. Museums offer a variety of intriguing exhibits, stories and experiences that are not necessarily available elsewhere in their respective communities.

The contest Travel Manitoba has designed is a friendly competition between “Must-See-Ums” (museums) in Manitoba. Each of the thirty-two museums listed invites people to cast online votes for them. There are five rounds in this competition, and voters are allowed one vote in each round. So it’s important to check the voting site frequently to be aware of the completion of one round and the initiation of a new one.

To cast your votes for MHV, access the contest at travelmanitoba.com, or on our MHV Facebook page. Scroll down to the “Must-See-Ums Madness” post and click on the link there. This leads to a long page of information and instructions, and eventually to individual boxes for each of the thirty-two museums. Clicking on MHV’s box will make the poll available, allowing one to vote and showing the latest poll results.

We encourage readers and friends to support MHV in this online contest for two reasons. Sharing such posts on social media is an easy way for our supporters to once again remind friends of the presence and activities of MHV. This competition also puts us in a position to potentially win the grand prize, which is an opportunity to have a professional video made of some aspect of our museum. MHV is on several social media sites, and we have a YouTube channel. All of these are prime places to post a quality video which invites people to engage in the work of MHV.

So it’s really quite simple. To support MHV in a very cost-effective way, simply vote and share. Thank you for your participation.