The MHV volunteer appreciation evening took place last Thursday. Around 125 volunteers showed up to enjoy the delicious dinner. 

Robert Goertzen, Program Manager, says that volunteers are at the core of what they do at MHV. Without volunteers they wouldn’t be able to run a lot of their programs. 

"We see volunteering at MHV as a benefit for the entire community, in order to put on programs and in order to just have a sense of well-being in the community.” 

Goertzen says the event was a great opportunity for people to reconnect with each other. 

“There's lots of conversations, sharing of stories, some of the highlights of the year, some of the experiences with school kids. Some with newcomers and with all of the visitors who came from across Canada and around the world.” 

They are thankful for all of the volunteers that make events like fall on the farm possible. 

“We were just so grateful that the generosity of our community is incredible,” he says. “We're just so happy that we're able to continue to tell the story of the early Russian Mennonite settlers and how they pioneered in this area.” 

This year was great for MHV with more people coming to volunteer. After two years with very few programs happening, they we’re very excited to see heightened interest in both volunteers and visitors once again. 

Their indoor galleries are open all year-round and they are already are planning fun activities for the upcoming winter. 

"We are planning to ramp up our winter programming. There will be some snowshoeing and skating and different events that we're having that we're planning throughout the winter.”