Museums across Western Manitoba have either opened or are preparing to open their doors for the 2023 summer tourism season.

The JAV David Museum has undergone a number of upgrades and Board chair Joyce Dietrich is excited about the upcoming season. “We’re looking really good. It’s a big improvement with the renovations thanks to the grant we got form the Killarney Foundation. New flooring and painting, everything is clean, and we have new exhibits put up.”

 

The JAV David Museum plans to open with their annual Manitoba Day Tea on May 12th.

“We also received a grant from the federal government to hire a student to work the summer months. We only open during the summer months because we don’t have enough volunteers to run the museum year-round so it makes a big difference getting that federal grant.”

2022 was a bounce back year at the museum. They held a number of programs and events and Joyce Dietrich said that helped to get people out and back into the museum.

“It was our 60th anniversary last year so we held some extra events with visiting professor from England that did a presentation for us and it helps keep people interested in the museum and what it has to offer. There’s lots of history in the museum for people to come in and see,” said Dietrich.

 

Planning for the future the museum board knows a new heating system will be needed and the museum is going to revisit the possibility of expanding the building. “We need more room for storage, and we’d like to talk with council about expanding onto our existing building. We were told a few years ago by council they didn’t want us to expand but we’re hoping they’ve maybe changed their minds.”

“Right now we store everything in the museum, and it’s really crammed in there. We still get people making donations. A lot of do nations are from family members bringing items from a parent or grandparent who has passed away. It’s hard to turn those people down and it’s so nice to get a history coming in about a family,” said Joyce Dietrich.