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Press Release - Doukhobor Discovery Centre Celebrates 37th Seasonal Opening

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Press Release - Doukhobor Discovery Centre Celebrates 37th Seasonal Opening

Jon_Kalmakoff  (View posts) Posted: 7 May 2008 8:37PM GMT
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DOUKHOBOR DISCOVERY CENTRE CELEBRATES 37TH SEASONAL OPENING

With the theme of the 100th commemoration of the Doukhobor move to BC, the Doukhobor Discovery Centre kicked off it's 37th season in great style under an azure sky on April 27th.

Highlights included the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada official unveiling of the Doukhobor Suspension Bridge, and the participation of the Psalmist's Ensemble, which had been the focus of archival recordings as the Heritage Project of 2008.

Both of these features, as well as a new exhibit focussing on the migration of the Doukhobors, spoke to the Doukhobor pioneering presence of the Doukhobors since 1908.

When the Doukhobor migration began, the population of this area was about 400 souls. By 1913, 5000 Doukhobors had arrived; developing basic agriculture, orchards, lumber mills, irrigation projects, brick yards, roads, bridges, apiaries and the construction of over 90 communal villages
in the Kootenay-Boundary area. In 1913, they built the historic Doukhobor Suspension bridge.

This is an especially auspicious opening and year for the Doukhobor Discovery Centre, as Peter V. Verigin, mastermind of the migration, has been declared a Person of National Historic Significance, and the migration itself has been declared an event of National Historic Significance.

The well attended afternoon program featured speeches by HSMBC dignitaries, members of the Kootenay Doukhobor Historical Society board, as well as pioneering members of the Doukhobor community who spoke of early settlement.

Before the program, a well attended prayer meeting took place. The program was followed by a reception which included sumptuous snacks prepared by the Village Bistro.

The Centre looks forward to an eventful and significant season in light of this historic year and demarcations.

It will now be open daily from 10:00 to 5:00, and the Village Bistro will be open daily from 10:00 to 4:00 until September 30th .

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