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| Mayor Barbara Henderson presented this plaque to the Marshville Society for our 20th Anniversary |
How did the Festival get started?
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| L/R Ken Dayboll Robert Shoalts, Art Dean, Robert Dean |
2009.. The 21st Annual Marshville Heritage Festival
In the1980s a group of Wainfleet gentlemen all shared the same vision and worked diligently to make it come true..thus
in 1989 the first Marshville Heritage Festival was born.The lifestyle of a Wainfleet farm family in the 1890's was the theme
of that first festival & still remains today.
The Morgan-Neff log cabin & the Dean Sawmill, (that also housed the Palsco Blacksmith Shop) were the only buildings
that year, both taken down and reconstructed by these men and some volunteers. There were a small number of farm demonstrators,
entertainment, Black Powder group, food vendors, crafters, Town Crier Robert Heil, and 5000 visitors. It was truly a successful
Festival..well beyond their expectations!
Over the next 20 years these same men & volunteers have reconstructed / moved 15 more buildings that make up the Marshville
Heritage Village as we know it today. We are very grateful to many individuals and local businesses for their donations
of equipment, cash, and artifacts over the past years. Our only source of revenue is from the 3 day annual festival and is
used to build /refurbish / maintain this operation during the following year. No one is paid and no public monies have ever
been used. Over the years, Marshville has been involved with many community projects including many improvements to the arena
in the areas of hydro, washrooms, and refurbished picnic tables. Tennis Courts have been resurfaced and soccer fields upgraded.
Monetary gifts have been given to the Wainfleet Fair Board and the Wainfleet Firefighters plus many memorial gifts.
In addition to the annual Festival there are private tours and the Marshville Heritage Village is a site for DOORS OPEN
NIAGARA. Grade 3 students are privileged to participate in two weeks (spring & Fall) of in-village & Provincial Curriculum
based school programs, and six months of in-school instruction all run by volunteers.
We have been truly blessed with many volunteers, good weather and a core group of very hard working individuals who know
that our great heritage will be lost if events such as these are not available for all to experience.
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