Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village not reopening for summer after devastating blaze
Posted August 11, 2025 11:08 am.
Alberta’s Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, which lost its visitor buildings in a grass fire in April, won’t be reopening anytime soon.
The province said Monday the site will be closed for the remainder of the season and it’s cancelling upcoming summer events to allow for “proper restoration.”
Ukrainian Day on Aug. 24, normally held at the site, is also being moved to the province’s Legislature Grounds in Edmonton.
The blaze blew through the village on April 18. Mounties say calls came in about a fire east of Elk Island National Park behind the village, which is about 25 minutes east of Edmonton, around 5 p.m.
The fire was declared ‘under control’ later that day, and an Alberta emergency alert asking residents to prepare to evacuate was cancelled shortly after.
The site was already closed for the season and was expected to open for Victoria Day.
The next day, government officials said that the Visitor Centre buildings, which included exhibit spaces that housed irreplaceable artifacts, were lost.
David Makowsy, the village’s branch director, says the team and community experienced a “profound loss,” but they are committed to reopening as soon as possible.
“We are working to restore the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village so future generations can continue to experience and learn from Alberta’s Ukrainian heritage. This has been a profound loss for our team and the community, and we are committed to reopening as soon as possible,” he said.
Furnishings for the historical buildings stored in the collection areas of the Visitor Centre and artifacts in the Visitor Centre collection storage, which include original research files associated with the collection of historic buildings, were lost.
Additionally, the visitor reception, gift shop, exhibition galleries, offices, conservation lab, collections and curatorial storage, and public washrooms were also lost.
However, artifacts and furnishings stored in historical buildings or at off-site collection warehouses managed by the Royal Alberta Museum remain intact.
The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, founded in 1971, features 40 restored buildings commemorating the Ukrainian settlement of east central Alberta.
According to the village site, the Alberta government acquired it in 1975, and maintains a theme of “Early Ukrainian Settlement in East Central Alberta to 1930.”
