Painting the MHV town and the livery barn red with $53,000 in grant money

The Mennonite Heritage Village Livery Barn restaurant is getting a fresh coat of paint thanks to a 2023 Building Sustainable Community grant. 

MHV Executive Director Gary Dyck says, with the $53,396, their dream of completing their village street renewal project is now very doable.  

“It means we go from 20% funding to 70-75% funding. And so, now we just need to finish off the funding part.”

Gary Dyck, Executive Director at the MHV in Steinbach stands outside the General Store, with a 'pink' Livery Barn on the right, soon to be bright red once again. 

For now, Dyck says they have several projects dog-eared for the grant money.  

“It's quite a project this year, we’ll be working on several buildings. So, we’ll be repainting the outside of the Livery Barn restaurant. The barn-red that's turned pink will be painted and the rotten wood and then the floor redoing the floor inside. Then the Printery needs to be taken off its platform and a new foundation put in and reset. And then fixing the lighting in the Reimer store next door.” 

Dyck continues, “And we're keeping going down the street to the General Store, which has been nicely renovated and winterized inside, so, we’re redoing the wood outside and new paint to freshen it up and then finally the white trim on the village. Centre building, which is the next building and the main building you people see when they first come. 

Dyck says the smaller projects will be done by MHV volunteers, while they are hiring companies to do the bigger work.  

As to a completion timeline, Dyck says they are hoping to be done by the end of summer or fall of this year.