CELEBRATING HERITAGE WEEK

The province is celebrating its past by proclaiming February 18 to 24 as Heritage Week in Saskatchewan.

Heritage Week coincides with the federally-proclaimed Heritage Day and Saskatchewan’s first Family Day statutory holiday, which are both celebrated February 19.

“Heritage Week is a great time to reaffirm family traditions and values and to explore the rich diversity of our cultural and built heritage,” Culture, Youth and Recreation Minister Glenn Hagel said.  “Heritage sites are symbols that capture our history and beliefs and provide us with a sense of community and belonging.  Heritage Day is an opportunity to take the family out to visit a historic place in your area.”

Since 1991, the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation has annually asked the province to recognize Heritage Week in Saskatchewan to focus attention on the rich heritage and diversity of our province.

The Government of Saskatchewan will be designating three more provincial heritage properties this year.  One is Moose Jaw’s YWCA building which was home to many young women who came to Moose Jaw for school or business training.  Another is the Honeywood Nursery, near Parkside, where Albert J. Porter developed some of the first fruit varieties capable of thriving on the prairies.  The third is Lindner Studio at Emma Lake, where renowned landscape artist Ernest Lindner created much of his work.  All three are places where people made a defining contribution to the province’s cultural identity.

A directory of designated provincial and municipal heritage properties, a study of the province’s grain elevators, and other information on heritage in Saskatchewan is available on Culture, Youth and Recreation’s website at www.cyr.gov.sk.ca/heritage.html.

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For more information, contact:

Janet Peters
Culture, Youth and Recreation
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4967
Email: jpeters@cyr.gov.sk.ca