Page 13 - XperienceAlberta-EDA-2025

“Most recently, they’ve been involved in
helping us acquire additional buildings as we
aim to complete our museum,” says Makowsky.
“The society helps with funding the restoration
of artifacts, the sewing of historical costumes
and all important parts of being able to present
an authentic visitor experience so people can
really appreciate what life was like in Alberta.
Ultimately, this organization is one that allows
our museum to remain connected with Alberta’s
Ukrainian community and other groups that
also are connected to east central Alberta. They
help us stay engaged with our most important
audiences, those people who are advocates and
supporters of the work we do.”
The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village
offers visitors an opportunity to experience
the blend of turn of the century Ukrainian
traditions and Alberta’s pioneer roots that
Ukrainian culture in the province grew. Here,
visitors discover where Eastern Europe meets
the western frontier.
“MORE AND MORE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE
CAME TO ALBERTA — TODAY, ONE
IN FIVE PEOPLE IN ALBERTA ARE
ACTUALLY OF UKRAINIAN HERITAGE.”
— SHANE OLSON, MANAGER OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR
LAMONT COUNTY
Today, tens of thousands of guests visit
the Heritage Village, including visitors
from around the world during their travels
to Western Canada. “As much as we’re
custodians of Ukrainian culture in Alberta,
it’s also fascinating to learn how other
visitors from all over the world perceive
this culture and how they’re able to see
their own cultural experiences in the
work that we are able to put on display,”
Makowsky says.
Visitors interested in Ukrainian
heritage and culture should also
experience the Lamont County Church
Tour, which includes 47 historical churches
representing multiple denominations and
faiths. “We’ve kind of adopted this ‘church
capital of North America’ slogan,” Olson
says. To tour the interiors of the churches,
people can contact the congregations of
the churches they wish to visit — maps and
contact information are available
Images feature a costumed interpreter in
front of a burdei, a temporary shelter dug out
of the ground or into the side of a hill by the
earliest Ukrainian immigrants to Canada. A
burdei (also known as a zemlianka or buda)
sheltered newly arrived immigrant families
for periods ranging from several weeks to
several years while they cleared their land and
planted crops.
The burdei at the Ukrainian Cultural
Heritage Village is based on field
research and archaeological findings and
reconstructed to 1900.
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