History will come alive at Austin’s Manitoba Agricultural Museum as the annual Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede kicks off at the end of July.
Why it matters: Manitoba’s agricultural past will be on full display July 25-28 in central Manitoba.
This year’s event will include a new feature titled “History Alive!” at the Homesteader’s Village portion of the site.
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“We wanted to make sure we are highlighting many buildings and many activities and many historical aspects about our very special village,” said Tricia Dyck, collections and programming manager with the museum.
Demonstrations in the village are typical of the reunion, but organizers say activities are amplified this year and will include musical acts, monologue performances and children’s activities.
Suffragettes — women who undertook the social campaign to win women the right to vote — will be among the historical re-enactments. The First Farmers Exhibition and Indigenous agriculture exhibit will open with a ceremony on the first morning.
“We’re very excited to be able to have a more well-rounded version of provincial agriculture here,” Dyck said.
The Ride N’ Roll exhibit is this year’s machinery feature, with a showcase of vintage ATVs, snowmobiles and motorcycles. This will run alongside antique farm machinery and field demonstrations.
Other special exhibits include an exploration of shelterbelts, developed by University of Manitoba researcher Brenda Brown. That will be set up in the museum’s Centreville School. Other featured exhibits will highlight vintage hats and women’s labour.
Live music acts include Bull Ruckus, Banned and Outlawed and Along for the Ride.
The rodeo will highlight each evening, while the RCMP Musical Ride will begin on the first night of the event July 25. Rodeo tickets are separate from general admission.
Dyck recommended that visitors, especially first-timers, check the schedule available on the museum’s website.
“We have a full four-day schedule for the village expo and then we have a full four-day schedule for the festival in general,” she said. “I would pick your highlights from those schedules, and then plan accordingly.”
