The 108 Mile House Heritage Site is getting ready for a jam-packed summer of fun, starting in May.
The 100 Mile & District Historical Society board is anticipating a busy season, with ongoing renovation projects taking place alongside activities for the public to enjoy.
Newly elected president Kelly Carnochan said before any of this happens, however, the heritage site needs to be spruced up after the winter.
The association is looking for volunteers to help with cleanup on May 6 and 7. Anyone interested in helping out can get in touch with her or Ulli Vogler.
Following cleanup, Carnochan said the first big event of the year is the Yard Sale being held on May 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Setup is from 8 to 9:45 a.m. Vendors are asked to bring a table or they can sell from their tailgate. There is a $10 fee per space and must be reserved in advance.
For reservations, contact Marianne Lawrence by phone at 250-845-8017 or 250-398-0841 or email lawrencemaryann@hotmail.com or 108heritagesite@gmail.com.
The first 108 Mile Heritage Market of the season will be held on May 20. The market will run every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. until Sept. 30.
Lawrence has done a great job getting more vendors and it is looking like there will be around 25 most weekends, Vogler said.
The thrift store will also open on the May long weekend and will be open each Saturday.
“All proceeds go back to the heritage site to help with maintenance,” Carnochan said. “We’re always looking for donations of gently used items.”
The Heritage site will once again be celebrating Canada Day and a brand new event, the Family Harvest Festival Fair will take place in September.
This will be a big market with lots of activities for the kids, a pie-judging contest, and a lot of different food vendors.
“What we are trying for is to have a lot of different food vendors here. We have so much international cuisine around and maybe have some Thai food, some East Indian food, from all over. But we’re still working on that,” Vogler said.
Another returning event is the walking tours of the site.
“We found a couple of amazing students who will do the tours for the museum and the tours of the grounds,” Vogler said.
The final event of the year will be the Christmas Market in December.
Their list of long-term goals for the site is huge, said Carnochan. This summer they are looking at having a feasibility study done to see what is involved in preserving the big log barn and other buildings and what needs to be done to keep them in existence for another 150 years.
The study will take around two weeks to complete.
Restoration work on the barn was originally done back in the 1970s. Over the years, runoff and snow have exposed the wood to possible deterioration. The study will identify any weaknesses and what needs to be done in order to prevent the bottom boards from rotting.
A second project for 2023 is the replacement of fencing around the site. Fundraising plus money from the post office, gift store and thrift shop plus a $5,000 grant from the South Cariboo Community Enhancement Foundation provided the money necessary for the project.
“We have all the material and this summer will be a volunteer project to rebuild the fencing,” Vogler said. “Over the summer, week by week, we will have different volunteer weeks where we do the fencing and that will be a major project for this year.”
Last summer, volunteers rebuilt the sun deck on the museum porch.
“It looks beautiful right now,” she said. “All the rotten wood is gone.” The museum exterior and the windows and shutters for all the other buildings will be painted.
One final project for the year is to pour the foundation for the cook shack.
“So that means, financially now we are committed and we are drained to zero,” laughed Vogler, adding that it is time to start working hard again to raise money for the next project.
fiona.grisswell@100milefreepress.net
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