The Executive Director for Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach says 2023 was a very good year for the museum in every aspect except finances.

"Our bottom line, we had a loss," says Gary Dyck. "But otherwise, the programs were great, the events were well attended."

Dyck says at the start of the year, Travel Manitoba said that 2023 would be a bounce-back year and that it would be a return to near-normal for tourism. 

"We definitely hit that and more," says Dyck. 

He notes they welcomed approximately 50,000 visitors to the museum in 2023, which is slightly above average. They also ran five day camps, which according to Dyck, were all well attended. Dyck says they also welcomed a lot of students through their school programs, had a solid year for wedding rentals and private events, and saw a lot of interest in their exhibits. 

"It just felt like everything was humming along well," adds Dyck. "2023, we got back to our new normal and then some."

Yet, at year-end on December 31st, Dyck says they had a deficit of $270,000 for the year staring them in the face. Dyck attributes that loss to a couple of factors. First of all, he says in the wake of the pandemic, there has been a dramatic increase in their wages. 

"Wages is our biggest expense at MHV," he says.

In addition to that, Dyck says 2023 saw a couple of larger expenses, including some unforeseen repairs. And, with construction costs and mortgage rates rising, Dyck says this all hurts their bottom line. According to Dyck, the museum's debt now sits at about $780,000.

But Dyck says it is all a matter of timing. He notes two months after posting a year-end loss of $270,000, the museum was the beneficiary of a bequest worth more than half that amount. 

"So, we are starting now with 2024 on a very good note," he says. "It's all about timing I guess."

According to Dyck, MHV brings in about $500,000 annually in grants, an increase from about $200,000 annually when he first started. 

Meanwhile, Dyck says for the first time since joining MHV in 2019, he feels like they are keeping up and actually getting ahead with their village renovations, repairs, and maintenance. He notes they own 40 acres of land with 30 heritage buildings and monuments and says each year they need to make improvements to at least a couple of those buildings. 

"The buildings are looking nice, there's good paint," he says. "There's always more to do, but I actually feel we've been whittling down the list."

MHV held its annual general meeting this week, attracting about 35 people. At the meeting, it was announced that Willie Peters would be returning to the board as President. Sid Reimer is also returning. New to the board this year are James Loewen and Karen Thiessen. 

Dyck says 2024 will be a year of milestones as the museum celebrates its 60th anniversary and recognizes the start of the 150th anniversary of the Mennonites coming to Manitoba.