I hadn’t heard of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village until we arrived in Edmonton and it wasn’t on my list of places to visit. After reading a bit more about it, we decided it was something we wanted to do. We had dedicated the day to visit the Village and you really do need a full day here to take it all in.

We arrived on the opening day of the season and paid a reasonable $40 CAD price for a family of four. It wasn’t particularly busy, probably as a result of the wildfire smoke that was around at the time!

We were advised at the ticket gate to head to the Visitor Centre to collect our map of the Village. We obtained our map from the lady behind the desk who noted down what time some buildings closed for lunch on it as well as marking where the pigs and chickens lived for the boys to visit. We made our way across the causeway and to our delight managed to photograph a squirrel in the bush along the way.

Once we got to the main street of the village, we were greeted with beautiful horses and a carriage ready to take visitors for a ride. We hopped on, along with another family and the driver was absolutely lovely and chatty and his passion for the village was infectious. He advised the best place to start was at the Burdei, which involved (in my opinion) a far too short horse and cart ride (I seriously could have been on there all day). 

We walked down a short track and were greeted by a woman in full period costume and character. She explained to us that when they migrated to Canada (approx. 1900) they were given 120 acres and 3 years to create a homestead and functioning farm, so they would build a Burdei in 3-4 days as the initial shelter, then work the land until they had time to build a more permanent house on the property. 

The Village is designed so that you can walk around and see homes/buildings from oldest to newest. We next went to some homesteads (date ranging 1918-1919) and again were greeted by friendly costumed/in character hosts. They welcomed you into their homes and explained what everything was, never breaking character even when a certain child would throw some curve ball questions at them. 

They then would walk with you around the homestead, explaining what each building was, even giving the boys some food to feed the chickens with. It is for this reason you need to allow a full day at this village. Sure, you could do it in 2-3 hours, but if you really want the full experience, you need to allow a lot of extra time to chat with the hosts as they have a wealth of knowledge and going to a place like this is about much more than looking at buildings!

A few of the buildings were closed, but the majority were open and Mr 8 even got taught some Ukrainan dance moves in Kiew Hall (lets just say, two left feet would be a compliment).

The boys even ended up back at school with a teacher, initially at the single classroom Russia School, where the teacher lived on site in a ‘teachers shack” and there was a barn for the children to put the horses they rode to school on in, and then at the much larger Morecambe school, which also had a two-room basement that acted as a gymnasium in the winter months.

There are several Churches on site. The St Nicholas Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which was closed when we were there, the St Nicholas Russo-Greek Orthodox Church, which had limited seating as the majority of the congregation were expected to stand, and the show stopper, St Vladimir’s Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church with its stunning original artwork, dome and hand crafted chandler. Interestingly, these churches still hold the occasional mass service.

We then explored the rest of the village. The blacksmiths who were working at the time, the hardware store, the hotel with its two eating areas – one for the beer drinkers and the other for the people (mostly women) who preferred a much more relaxed atmosphere. We managed to have a look upstairs where the hotel rooms were and the bathroom, in which the boys asked ‘what is that?’ We had to explain toilets back then were quite different to what they are now.

We then checked out the Andrew Alberta Provincial Police Post station that only had a cell big enough for one person. Lastly before heading back over the causeway, we had a look through the Bellis Home Grain Company Elevator and took some photos of the cute Railway Station.

We were back at the Visitor Centre and had a look around the museum there and then the attached gift shop. We managed to restrain ourselves and only purchase a $10 wooden Pysanka (Ukrainian decorated Easter Egg). I had my eye on much more delicate looking ones, but with a lot of travelling still to do, decided a wooden one would have less chance of breaking.

On the way out we looked through the last few (newer homes) at the front of the village. We only left about 10 minutes before closing.

My final thoughts are that if you are interested in Ukrainian Culture, history from the early 1900’s or just wanting a blast from the past, this Village is well worth a visit. Allow yourself the whole day so you can converse with the hosts. They make the village feel really authentic, so much so that the boys actually thought the hosts lived there in the houses and worked on the farms!

Also, you have to be prepared to walk. The village is very spaced out and there is a lot to see. I did see some scooters you could hire, so there is that option if you have mobility issues.

Keep reminding yourself that each of the buildings are original and have been moved onto the site, some of them would have been a logistical nightmare, but is such a great way to preserve history.

Favourite thing about the Village?

Mr 11 – the people

Mr 8 – the pigs and chickens!