Village News

At the Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) we now have three art galleries for you to enjoy this month! The first, is the outdoor festive lighting. MHV commissioned a Winnipeg artist to develop two customized light displays for our grounds as well as a professional lighting company to transform the village into a winter wonderland. Last week I shared a top ten list of things to do in winter in Manitoba and MHV can now provide for all ten of those items!

The other two exhibits are the “Resurfacing: Mennonite Floor Patterns” by Margruite Krahn and “Beauty in the Ordinary” by South-East Artists. Krahn’s adaptation of what Mennonite women painted on the floors of their housebarns reminds me of the beautiful Persian rugs that filled my house while living in Central Asia. During their nomadic era each time they stopped, wives would ask their husbands as they set-up the tents if this was a longer stay that warranted rolling out the ‘flooring’. They were only truly settled when the flooring was in place. I wonder if these Mennonite women felt the same once their floor painting had dried? Take time to visit this artistic exhibit before it closes April 1st.

In the meantime, here is another top ten list of what you can experience while trekking on MHV’s Snowshoe Trail (total loop time is 20 minutes):

1. Get inspired by the festive lighting as you leave for the trail at dusk.
2. Go through the narrow path in the woods and into a clearing.
3. Cross over the pond bridge and see if the water is still running below. See if you can find any footprints of a muskrat, fox, or rabbit.
4. On the other side of the pond is a bench that offers a great view of our windmill. If you stay long enough you might see the windmill head moving as the fantail always keeps it pointed towards the wind all winter long.
5. Cross the smaller bridge or if the ice is thick enough dare to cross the pond itself and see how well the snowshoe grips the ice.
6. Next, climb the small hill and see how great the metal claw traction on our snowshoes really is.
7. Get up close to the Berlin Wall and ponder how it vividly separated neighbours and loved ones.
8. Sit on a bench overlooking the artesian pond that runs and steams all winter long. This hidden gem is one of the most beautiful spots in south-east Manitoba.
9. Visit the Dirk Willems monument and remember how he saved his captor from freezing water.
10. Walk by the original Russländer Mennonite church that now glows from the inside in the evening.