Museums and art galleries in Alberta are part of the first stage of the province’s plan to relaunch our economy and the Wetaskiwin and District Heritage Museum will reopen its doors tomorrow, Thursday May 21!
Our government recognizes that museums are key community builders, integral to the health and well-being of Albertans, and help drive local economies. We are honoured to do so and excited for new opportunities that will allow us and our historic building continue to be a friendly gathering place for the local community to engage in the history and culture of Wetaskiwin City, County, and Maskwacis.
The Heritage Museum staff are eager to see familiar faces again and as always look forward to meeting new ones. We are also committed to keeping ourselves, our community, and your collection safe.
For now, we will be open for drop-in visits (by donation) three days a week (Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays). Our hours are 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. The main floor gallery and gathering space, as well as the Star Store Gift and Wool Shop, will be accessible. To allow for proper physical distancing, we will be admitting only 10 people into the building at a time unless prior arrangements have been made. The washrooms are currently closed unless a private booking has been made; however, we have a plumbed-in public hand-washing station and hand sanitizer at various locations throughout the building, including the entrance. Access in and out will be through the front door only. Staff or volunteers working at the front desk will wear a mask for your protection and sanitize the counter as well as debit/credit card machine after each transaction.
The upstairs permanent gallery, which showcases the history and heritage of our great community from the dinosaurs to the war years will not be accessible for the time being. We are working on renovations before installing a new immigration exhibit. Due to its interactive nature, our ever popular and one-of-a-kind Children’s Legacy Centre, including the Pioneer Playrooms, will remain closed until all physical distancing regulations have been lifted.
There are no public programs currently scheduled, though we do have some great WDHM @ Home activities planned for the coming months, so stay tuned. We are also continuing our increased online outreach through our Facebook page as well as our Youth Network’s Facebook group “The Nutty Networkers”. We encourage everyone to follow us if you are not already. Not on Facebook, but would like to stay informed of upcoming activities? Send us a message with subscribe in the subject line to wdhm@persona.ca and we will add you to our new email notifications program.
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The decision to open three days a week may seem strange. We love our 117-year old building, but she is expensive to keep well-lit and at a temperature that humans find reasonable. For the past two months staff has only been working on-site three days a week in low lighting and wearing jackets as the temperature has been set at 60°. We will raise this for you on opening days to 65° and let it raise naturally to 80° when real summer sets in. If you are coming for a visit before July though I would bring a sweater!
Like many in our community, the museum has been struggling financially over the past couple of months and this will have a long-term impact on how we are able to serve our community. Traditionally, the spring is when we generate the revenue that allows us to provide programming throughout the year. We have not had any bingos or school tours and we were unable to hold our annual main fundraiser. Donations have dropped off completely, few people have renewed their memberships, and our gift and wool shop sales are minimal. If you are able to give, we would be grateful if you would consider us. Even five dollars would be great. Donations of $20 or more will receive a tax receipt. Our memberships are also reasonably priced at only $15/person or $25 for a family of two or more. Looking for a unique gift, or know a fibre artist who loves quality wool? Come check out our Star Store.
Together we will continue to unite with the local community through history, culture, events, and education.
Originally published in the Wetaskiwin Times, May 20, 2020
