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Children’s discovery centre, new restaurant planned for RJ Haney Heritage Villlage

Board asks Salmon Arm council for a $25,000 contribution, will be decided at budget time
19004825_web1_copy_191023-SAA-Haney-Heritage-project
R.J. Haney Heritage Village and Museum curator Deborah Chapman, board directors and advisors Bill Laird, Randy Brogden, Evelyn Dallow, Norma Harisch, general manager Susan Mackie, board members Gary Cruikshank, Doug Adams and Trudy Hall pose with a model of their latest project, Phase 2/3 of the Village Development Plan, the Children’s Discovery Centre and Museum and the new restaurant, the Sprig of Heather. (Martha Wickett/Salmon Arm Observer)

New exhibits are planned for R.J. Haney Heritage Village & Museum, and more funding is needed.

Staff and board members representing the village and museum made a presentation to city council on Oct. 15, first pointing to successes of the current season.

In 2019, more than 17,000 visitors came to the village, about 1,000 more than in 2018, board president Norma Harisch told council. Dinner theatre attendance increased by 27 per cent from 2,384 to 2,914.

Revenues in many areas increased as well. Soiree revenue was up 21.7 per cent, car show revenue increased 23 per cent, food sales were up 15.6 per cent, liquor sales were up 31.8 per cent and daily admission increased by five per cent.

Volunteers did their part and more, with 200 people providing 7,378 hours, up from 6,992 in 2018.

The Montebello Museum flooded in the spring, but the concrete vault housing the archives protected the valuable paper records and photographs. The building and office equipment suffered about $20,000 in damage, which was partially covered by city insurance and the museum’s content insurance.

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In the summer a new exhibit opened, Pass the Popcorn, a celebration of 75 years of community service from the Salmar Community Association. In September, the EA Palmer Butcher Shop was opened.

The Montebello Museum is complete except for four store fronts.

Next on the village development plan are the Children’s Discovery Centre and Museum, and the new restaurant, the Sprig of Heather.

General manager Susan Mackie said the Children’s Discovery Centre will provide a playful way of learning. It will show key elements from the Shuswap’s first people as well as colonial settlers.

Activities will connect to water, from a steamboat to a water wall and a salmon pinball machine. An area near a canoe will be a story circle and there will be a miniature version of a First Nations winter home. On a dock there will be a loading platform with a workable crane.

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The old museum will be redesigned into a new, possibly 150-seat restaurant, A Sprig of Heather, which will be a beautiful commercial facility, Mackie said. It will be complete with a covered patio at the back.

Past president Doug Adams said $415,000 has been budgeted for the two phases.

He said the village and museum was fortunate to receive a BC Rural Dividend Fund grant that allowed a couple of years of planning, architect fees, etc.

He reviewed funding options and was asked about the possibility of receiving funds from the hotel tax. He said the museum is in discussions with them but it appears the funds are focused on marketing.

Adams asked council for $25,000, which it won’t decide on until upcoming budget deliberations.

He said he hopes council supports the request, because “it is your museum as well as ours.”

@SalmonArm
marthawickett@saobserver.net

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19004825_web1_191023-SAA-Haney-Heritage-model
A model of the latest project at R.J. Haney Heritage Village and Museum, Phase 2/3 of the Village Development Plan, the Children’s Discovery Centre and Museum and the new restaurant, the Sprig of Heather. (Martha Wickett/Salmon Arm Observer)


Martha Wickett

About the Author: Martha Wickett

came to Salmon Arm in May of 2004 to work at the Observer. I was looking for a change from the hustle and bustle of the Lower Mainland, where I had spent more than a decade working in community newspapers.
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