Village News

The title for this two part series comes from the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes tagline ‘Taste them again for the first time.’ Instead of adding marshmallows, colour or a new flavor they just asked the consumer to reconsider enjoying their taste.

So here is the second part of my list on how to enjoy the Mennonite Heritage Village (or other museums) in a variety of ways. We do offer a fantastic membership deal that includes: free admission to another six museums in Manitoba, two complimentary day passes to share with friends, 50% off admission for guests accompanying the member, a free guided tour when deemed possible and 10% off at our Livery Barn Restaurant and Gift Shop! Besides these great benefits, here are some other ways to ‘visit MHV again for the first time’:

• Do a grand tour of all our annual events. We have quite a variety of events throughout the year, not just Pioneer Days. We host the Heritage Classic Car Show, the Winter Carnival, Fall on the Farm, Manitoba Day, Canada Day celebrations, the Tractor Trek, plus numerous wonderful buffets, concerts and book launches. With your membership benefit of ‘50% off admission for friends’ you could chose a different friend to bring with you for each event. A friend who appreciates cars, a recent immigrant for Canada Day, or a child who needs some winter fun.
• Focus on an event within our events. Sometimes our major events have so much going on that you actually need to make a plan what you want to do. I’ve heard people say ‘last year my husband got to do such and such, this year it is my turn’. Maybe this is the year to finally visit our family history room and connect with the genealogy experts. Learn something about your direct descendants and pass it on to your kids.
• Stroll the galleries. The exhibit in our Gerhard Ens gallery changes every year as well as our community exhibit. Besides these two exhibits, our main gallery contains a lot of artefacts and history. You’ve probably never quite taken in all the information they provide. In order to avoid information-overload I recommend doing a digestible amount each time that you can truly savour and learn from. Currently we also have an exhibit about windmills from around the world in our auditorium. That makes four exhibits within a minute walk from each other!
• Join our ‘behind the scenes’ events as they happen. On Facebook we are starting to post distinctive spontaneous events as they unfold. Recent ones include when the chicks were hatched, when our horse was getting it’s hooves re-shoed. In the near future we will be announcing when our rebuilt heritage sawmill is being used again for the first time. These intimate experiences with a master craftsperson are gold. Join us on Facebook, then joins us again for the first time at MHV.

Thanks for those that participated in the Heritage Classic Car Show. The last time I went to one was when it was just in a asphalt parking lot. The setting of MHV was much better. It was great talking to the car owners under the shade of a tree or next to a heritage building. Every one of those drivers has a vehicle that changes everything about them. My thanks to the participants for your help in bringing extra funds to the museum!