COLUMN: Village News – Saving money with your member card

Summer is the best time to take advantage of an annual membership purchase. In general, if you visit Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) more than twice a year, the free admission benefit pays for the membership. However, you don’t even have to visit MHV to take advantage of the savings. Our museum is part of a group of Manitoba museums called Signature Museums which showcase Manitoba’s unique history, culture, and natural heritage, and your member card provides you with free admission to all 7 of these museums as well. As you explore our province this summer with your family or with your friends, take your MHV membership card along to get free or discounted admission to the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden, the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon, the St. Boniface Museum in Winnipeg, the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in Austin, the New Iceland Heritage Museum in Gimli, and the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in Winnipeg. What a wonderful way to get to know other parts of our province!

Some of our members take advantage of the free admission perk by bringing their children to MHV every week in summer to visit the animals at our farm for an hour. They ask staff for permission to feed the sheep or goats and to give the chickens some grass clippings, or they play on the giant straw bales near the windmill. It’s a great adventure for smaller children.

We also see some members coming to our Pioneer Days festival for a few hours each of the three days on the August long weekend to see something different each day. They may come for the waffles and white sauce on Saturday, the Saengerfest concert on Sunday, and the threshing demonstration on Monday. They don’t feel the need to cram all the activities into one day but can spread out their participation over all three days without paying admission fees.

There are numerous other discounts available to members when you visit us. Your meal at the Livery Barn Restaurant will receive a 10 percent discount. Your book or tee shirt purchase at Village Books and Gifts will receive a 10 percent member discount. And if you are enrolling your children in our Pioneer Day Camps, your membership saves you $16.50 per camper. As well, you can bring two friends or relatives for a 50 percent discount on their admission every time you visit. This is a great way to spend an afternoon with out-of-town guests, enjoying a great meal, walking through our heritage buildings, recalling early family memories.

Everyone wants to save money, and everyone wants to get good value from their purchases. An MHV annual membership does both. Take advantage of the perks this summer. Visit other areas of Manitoba and use your member card at other museums. Visit MHV to participate in your favourite museum activities. Take advantage of member savings at our giftshop and restaurant. An individual annual membership is only $40, and a family membership is only $85. We are open 7 days a week until September 30.

We hope to see you again soon!

Upcoming events

May to September – The museum, the Livery Barn Restaurant, the General Store, and Village Books and Gifts are open 7 days per week.

July 7 at 7 p.m. – Local Author Evening at MHV. Meet local authors, Jane Hebdon, Bill Massey, Suzanne Funk. They will be sharing their stories of living and working in Southeastern Manitoba.

July 26 – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Country Classic Car Club – Show and Shine at MHV.

Aug. 2 to 4 – Pioneer Days: Celebrate the 151st anniversary of Mennonites arriving in Manitoba this summer during the August Long Weekend.

Aug. 16 – Peace Trek: An annual cycling fundraiser highlighting certain historic sites between The Mennonite Landing and the MHV Peace Exhibit. Details at www.mhv.ca.

Sept. 6 – Tractor Drive: Our annual antique tractor fundraising drive including a 50 km countryside ride through several local communities.