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Vegreville,
Alberta's Little Ukraine
by
Jerry W. Bird
 The
moment you spot an onion-shaped dome or giant
Easter egg on the horizon, you know you're heading
for Little Ukraine, the capital of which
Vegreville, home of the Ukrainian Pysanka Festival,
with its fly-in breakfast and three solid days of
food, festivities and fun. Farm families from the
steppes of Eastern Europe found the Alberta plains
resembled their homeland in many ways. These hardy
souls adapted well, combining their knowledge of
agriculture with the sweat of the brows and muscle
of their backs to create solid, successful
communities. Vegreville is rich in cultural
heritage, natural resources and modern facilities,
such as its indoor Aquatic and Fitness Centre
complex. Stop and enjoy the water slide, leisure
pool, whirlpool, sauna, fitness room, and
racquetball court, or depending on the season,
watch a hockey game at indoor ice arena. Located on
the main Canadian National Railway line and
serviced by a modern airport, Vegreville is a
transportation hub for the area. For those who
check out  the
lifestyle, it's an excellent place to live, with
low taxes, reasonable housing prices, first class
educational, medical, recreational and cultural
facilities, companies, institutions and utilities.
While agriculture is the primary industry,
Vegreville also has regional offices for a string
of prominent companies and agencies.
Communities
in the Vegreville area
Mundare
Ukrainian and East European art and artifacts
abound at Mundare's town museum and Basilian
Fathers Monastery. For example, there's a 12th
century gospel handwritten in the Old Slavic
language, several 14th century icons, copies of the
first printed Latin Bible (1520), and the first
printed French Bible (1558). Ornate stained glass
windows in the monastery's St. Peter and St. Paul's
Church depict the life of Christ as well as the
history of Mundare and the Ukrainian people. We're
sure the visit will inspire you.
County of
Vermilion River
How green is my valley? The County of Vermilion
River, which includes the hamlets of McLaughlin,
Rivercourse, Blackfoot, Islay, and Clandonald
offers a laid back atmosphere. Vermilion Provincial
Park and Lea Park provide opportunities for
pleasure boating, fishing, and the usual water
sports. What's more, visitors can golf with a
backdrop of rolling hills, or choose a hiking or
horseback riding trail along the verdant Vermilion
River valley. Country museums, local festivals and
top events like the CRA Lea Park Rodeo and Three
Cities Fair keep enthusiastic supporters from near
and far coming back in droves.
Vermilion
Main Street, Alberta. For Yellowhead travellers
coming from the east, the town of Vermilion is
likely their first taste of Alberta - and around
here; good taste is always in fashion. A
walk-around tour of Vermilion's downtown area
includes over 30 historic blocks, all lovingly
restored, and each featuring an interesting shop or
service. The result could easily pass for a Norman
Rockwell original, vintage 1930. Add some antique
autos, and you've got the perfect movie set. This
tree-lined community offers visitors a the
pleasures of heated outdoor swimming pool, a nine
hole golf course and in winter -- a km-long
snowmobile track. Small wonder that, several of
Canada's Olympic athletes come from this area. Fun
events are always in season -- including a spring
and fall rodeo, a spring music festival, a summer
agricultural festival and an autumn trade fair.
Places to visit are "FireWorks"- Canadian Fire
Museum and Discovery
Centre, the
Alberta Fire Training School and Lakeland
College.
Innisfree
Yeats poem
"The Lake Isle of Innisfree" was the inspiration
for the town's romantic name. The incident occurred
in 1905, when Sir Byron Walker, President of
Canada's Bank of Commerce, agreed to open a new
branch if the community's name was changed to
"Innisfree". Why? The nearby Birch Lake area
reminded the banker of his summer home in
Ireland.
County of
Minburn
A year-round
destination in the Lakeland Tourist Zone, the
County of Minburn attracts major sports events and
is a magnet for vacation and recreation bound
travellers. Activities include everything from
hunting and fishing to water sports, camping and
other pleasures of the great outdoors.
Multicultural activities abound, hosted by
churches, light theatre groups, service clubs,
agricultural societies, arts and craft guilds.
Check the official Yellowhead map for a minute. See
how the County of Minburn occupies a vast, park -
like area, which straddles the Trans Canada
Yellowhead Highway, from a point an hour west of
the Saskatchewan border to its outer limits an hour
east of Edmonton. There are 37 townships in the
county, the main centres of activity being
Innisfree, Lavoy, Mannville, Minburn, Ranfurly,
Vegreville, and Warwick.
Minburn
Named after
Mina Burns, a writer of western magazine articles,
Minburn is 34 km west of Vermilion. Activity began
in 1905 as a siding and townsite for the Canadian
Northern Railway Company.
Lamont
County
Get
Quacking. The world's largest mallard duck stands
tall at Andrew, a hamlet near Whitford Lake Wetland
Preserve. His presence is a magnet to nature
lovers. Being the heart of a well-travelled
waterfowl flyway, hunters and bird watchers flock
here to catch the action each spring and fall. Due
to its rich cultural mosaic, Lamont County is
called the "Church Capital of Canada," many of them
crowned with a familiar onion dome signifying their
Ukrainian origin. Lamont County offers self-guided
driving tours to 47 different churches and shrines
in the area. Another popular heritage site is the
Old Walker School house in Bruderheim. Other Lamont
County communities are Chipman, Lamont, Hilliard,
Mundare, St. Michael, Star/Edna and Wostok. At the
Andrew Museum, a railway caboose and mini golf keep
the kiddies amused, while the bigger kids and
grandpa take a journey into history.
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