History comes alive on Aug. 2-3
Heritage Village will come alive with old time activities and demonstrations during their annual Heritage Days on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 2 and 3.
All the activities at the Heritage Village will take people back in time, while they tour homes and businesses that defined the community of Weyburn during the turn of the century.
Heritage Village will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, and then 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Special events include children's games and activities, fire truck rides, entertainment at the stage, and a variety of demonstrations throughout the day.
All the events during Heritage Days are offered free. A silver collection will be taken, with all proceeds supporting the ongoing needs at the Heritage Village.
The biggest need right now is for volunteers who would be willing to sit in one of the homes at the Heritage Village. "Finding people for the houses is really hard," said Charlotte Jones summer student.
Each of the homes and businesses that are toured during Heritage Days have their own unique history. There are 20 houses that need volunteers to sit in them. Interested residents can contact the Heritage Village for more information.
There will be a special silent auction and bake sale sold at the Griffin RM office building, which is also the tourist information building. Also, there will be a barbecue and concession, homemade pie and ice cream at the McGugan teahouse.
"There will be tons of stuff for the silent auction, there are lots and lots of items. We even have left over stuff from last year," said Jones. Some of the items included an autographed pictures from the Blue Jays, speakers and coffee makers.
The entertainment stage will be located near the St. Boniface Anglican Church. Performers include well-known locals, as well as out-of-town favourites.The schedule for Friday includes the opening ceremonies at 1 p.m., followed by performers De Tricky Feet dance studio, Tenille Arts and live square dancing.
Entertainment on Saturday will include the STARS Show choir, the Happy Wanderers and Chelsea Woodard.
There will be a number of demonstrations throughout the day, including blacksmithing at the Charles Powell blacksmith shed, baking bread at the outdoor oven, butter and ice cream making, rope making, and rides on the fire engine.
There will be special planned events, including sheep herding at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday, and a spinning demonstration at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Rug making demonstrations occur only on Friday.
The Heritage Village board are working hard to continue make improvements, and bring in new buildings to the village.
One of the buildings that the Heritage Village is working on moving is a 12-by-16 foot building at the Golf Course that the board wants as an office.
There is also another building in Forget that the Heritage Village board are arranging to move to their location. The board are planning to use this building as a storage facility.
There will be costs to both buildings, and the Heritage Village board are looking into options, including fundraising.
Heritage Village is a replica of a village community from the turn of the century right up to about the 1940's. Buildings and artifacts make up a collection that will take you back in time.
The Heritage Village offers a bit of everything from household items to machinery. While visiting the village, people can see a one-room school, a rural municipality office, a country church, a blacksmith shop, and a lot more historical sites.
During the month of June, they had an increase of school tours, with 10 different schools touring Heritage Village. "We had grad photos and family photos taken around the different buildings," said Jones.
A few other tours visited the Heritage Village during July, including the Fun in the Sun summer camp from the Weyburn Leisure Centre, and the youth art program from the Signal Hill Arts Centre.
More tours are expected during August, including a special Japanese tour that will be held during the Wheat Festival.
At the end of August, there will be a garden tour of the Heritage Village on Sunday, August 25. This special event officially closes the summer hours for the Heritage Village.
