Alberta’s Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village opens with Celebration of Dance

Alberta’s Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village opened for the summer with a Celebration of Dance.

The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village in Lamont County opened for the season over the May long weekend, kicking things off with a Celebration of Dance on Monday.

Almost 300 dancers from 12 different Alberta dance groups participated in the first major event held by the village in two years.

“We’re thrilled to be back in action,” head of education and interpretation Pam Trischuk said. “We were fortunate to be able to keep operating over the last two summers … [but] we weren’t able to have our special events.

“It’s the most people we’ve seen on-site in three years, and we’re just thrilled to see the site alive and kicking and people out here experiencing Alberta’s history again.”

The village about 25 minutes east of Edmonton is fully operational, with no restrictions in place. Visitors can enter all of the buildings, as well as participate in wagon rides, with no capacity limits. Trischuk noted an increase in interest since the war in Ukraine began earlier this year.

“It’s made a lot of people curious about Ukrainians in Alberta, and why there are so many Ukrainians in Alberta,” Trischuk said. “Our museum is the perfect place to learn about the history of Ukrainians in Alberta, and Ukrainian culture in Alberta.”

For those looking at how they can help Ukrainians coming to Alberta to escape the war, the site will be collecting non-perishable food items in its Wagon of Hope in support of Food Banks across Alberta.

Trischuk explained that Alberta Food Banks have been experiencing an increase in demand due to the influx of Ukrainians coming to the province, and in general due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The village will be open Wednesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until September 5, 2022. Directions can be found online.