Village News

At Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV), we are excited to collaborate with Eastman Tourism when we can. Currently, they are helping our region develop experiential tourism. There are different kinds of tourists and it is good to know how to engage them. There is even a quiz you can take to see what type you are. Knowing what type you and the others in your group are helps the trip to be planned masterly.

Here are the different types (from quiz.canada.travel):

• Cultural explorer – You are a very active traveler who enjoys frequent weekend escapes. Always on the move, you immerse yourself in nature, local culture and history.
• Cultural history buff – You strive to go beyond your own roots to understand the history and culture of others. You are the most likely to own a passport, and you enjoy solitary travel.
• Free spirit – Something of a thrill-seeking hedonist, travel satisfies your insatiable need for the exciting and the exotic.
• Gentle explorer – You like to return to past destinations and enjoy the security of familiar surroundings. You appreciate convenience, relaxation and typically look for all the comforts of home.
• No-hassle traveler – A bit of an escapist, you search for worry-free and secure travel. You look for relaxation, simplicity, and a chance to experience the outdoors with family and friends.
• Personal history explorer – You travel to gain a deeper understanding of your ancestry and heritage. Your travel tends to be a shared experience, both during and after the trip.
• Rejuvenator – For you, travel is a chance to totally disconnect and get away from it all. When you travel, you want to stay in top hotels where you’re most comfortable and secure.
• Virtual traveler – Tending not to travel very often, you prefer the comforts of home to the uncertainties of new places or cultures.
• Authentic experiencer – Your travel type is something of an improv artist, exploring nature, history and culture, all on the path to personal development.

At MHV, we provide something for everyone and every year we work at developing it further. For the ‘Free spirit’ who loves our busy festival days, the ‘No-hassle traveler’ that visits us as part of a bus tour group, the ‘Virtual traveler’ who can now explore our latest exhibit online, the family of ‘Gentle explorers’ who return every weekend to stroll the village and feed the goats, the ‘Personal history explorer’ couple who like to go deeper by taking in a speaker series with our curator. It is quite a balancing act for a museum, but the staff at MHV love it.

Recently, MHV announced that a seasonal tipi will be on the grounds in 2023. Some ‘Personal history explorers’ expressed their concern that this would detract and keep us from going deeper with Mennonite heritage, while some ‘Cultural history buffs’ were intrigued that connections with others could be made. Dear ‘Personal history explorers’, please know that we have over 30 buildings and monuments to recognize the Mennonite story and we will keep working on it just like we did with the multi-year project of the Dirk Willems Peace Garden that was added this year. Also, our Leaving Canada exhibit went deep with a four-part series on that Mennonite legacy (see our YouTube channel). MHV will always have something for everyone. Hope to see you soon!