An Alberta heritage site razed by a fire last spring is set to reopen its doors this May long weekend.

The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, east of Edmonton, will be welcoming students, families, and curious visitors back to the site, starting May 16.

The opening comes 13 months after a grass fire destroyed the visitor’s centre at the heart of the village, along with a few other buildings — forcing the attraction to stay closed for the 2025 season.

The fire broke out on a warm, windy evening back on April 18, 2025.

Gail Fenton, Friends of the Ukrainian Village Society President, rushed over with her son when she heard the grass fire in Lamont County had spread to the village.

“It was horrible to see,” said Fenton. “When we walked through from the back 40 all the way up and when we walked across and saw how close it was to the grain elevator, we thought, ‘Oh my God, thank God it stopped when it did.’”

The open-air UCHV museum in east-central Alberta, complete with costumed interpreters and dozens of buildings, was founded in 1971 and celebrates the province’s rich Ukrainian history.

Settlers from the eastern European country first started coming to Alberta in the 1890s, and the province is home to the greatest number of Ukrainian descendants outside of the nation itself.

While no historical buildings burned, the fire claimed exhibition galleries, collections and curatorial storage.

Five structures and approximately 27,000 pieces of Ukrainian history and culture were lost. Artifacts included original textiles, furniture, jewelry and original research files.

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“These were objects that were often donated as part of the buildings that were brought to our Ukrainian village,” said Village Director David Makowsky.

“It was certainly impactful for us in being able to preserve our collection of artifacts here at the museum.”

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Wildfire destroys buildings at Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

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But through donations and support from the community and the government, the village will be reopen once again.

“We’ve reached a stage now where we can safely reopen our doors and planning is underway to construct a new visitor centre that will help us welcome visitors even better in the future,” Makowsky said.

Minister for Arts, Culture and Status of Women Tanya Fir was in attendance at Friday’s re-opening celebration and applauded the efforts by staff and volunteers so far.

“The village is a powerful symbol of resilience, cultural pride, and the deep connections Ukrainian-Albertans have made to our province and continue to make.” Fir said.

Makowsky said utility work has been completed and significant landscaping has been done to mitigate fire risk.

“It’s just been wonderful,” Fenton said. “We were able to keep going and help the Ukrainian Village keep going and try and get things going back to where it should be.”

The province said it is hopeful to have the visitor’s centre fully restored in 2028.

“Following the devastating fire last year, insurance approved an expense budget of approximately $14 million for Alberta’s government to undertake the necessary repairs and restoration of the site, which they will cover in full,” the province said in a statement.

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