Innisfail Historical Village has been helping residents and tourists understand the area's roots since 1970. Unfortunately, the historical village is just one of many attractions that has been temporality shuttered by the COVID-19 pandemic, but manager Kayla Godkin, says there is a silver lining, and remains optimistic about what the future holds.
“The Innisfail and District Historical Village originated with the purpose of preserving and housing the history of the Innisfail district, and began with the donation of “The Spruces” by the W. Gibson family, which is a log home and the only original stopping house between Calgary and Edmonton,” Godkin says.
“The village is comprised of a variety of historical buildings displayed on two acres of land, all furnished to tell the story of the 1930s. Visitors can tour our historical buildings on their own, with one of our interpreters, or can pre-book a costumed interpreter to lead them and their group around.”
Unique field trips, rental spaces, an ice cream parlor, and a gift shop are also on site.
“Due to COVID-19, we have made the difficult decision to remain closed to the public for our regular 2020 season. Though it saddens us, there were several factors behind the decision, the most prevalent one being the health and safety of our staff and visitors," Godkin says.
"We are very lucky to be in a position that we will survive being closed for a season, which is not something a lot of nonprofits are able to say. However, that’s not to say we have not faced challenges because of this. Profits we usually generate from summer ice cream sales, site tours, tea house rentals, and special events are at nearly zero, with our largest hit being our Canada Day event. The future is also very unclear on how we will be able to host future events and special programming such as school field trips.”
As far as the silver lining, Godkin say, “We have been able to redirect some of our summer budget into working on projects on the grounds, rejuvenating some of our museum buildings, reworking display spaces, and the town has come in and done a large scale tree project that improve grounds for visitors. We were not sure how to really approach that if were going to be open to the public.”
Godkin is thankful for the volunteers that have been able to remain on site (with safety measures in place). “It is thanks to them that things have kept moving, improvements are getting done, and there is nearly always someone on site working on something. We have been able to keep a few staff members part-time, however our volunteers pulling us through all of this shows you how integral volunteers are to nonprofits’ survival. A huge thank you to them for helping us weather the storm!”
While an opening date has not yet been set, visitors can check on the Village’s status on their Facebook page. Questions can be answered via Facebook Messenger, email, or by phone (1-403-227-2906). You can help keep the history of Innisfail alive by sending a donation by mail (Innisfail Historical Village, 5139 42nd Street, Innisfail AB, T4G 1K2) or by emailing to apply as a volunteer.
Nerissa McNaughton is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Great West Newspapers. This story was funded by the Facebook Journalism Project Supporting Local News Coverage of COVID-19 Program via the Local Media Foundation.
