Heritage Week

Celebrate Heritage Week In Your Community

Heritage Week is an exciting opportunity to celebrate Saskatchewan’s rich history and heritage.  Since 1991, Saskatchewan has recognized the third Monday in February as Heritage Day – a national event that brings attention to our rich heritage and traditions.  In 2005, Saskatchewan’s Heritage Day grew into Heritage Week – a full week of celebrations, activities and events.  Communities across Saskatchewan are encouraged to not only remember the importance of family roots and traditions but to also celebrate their past.

A great way to celebrate Heritage Week is to learn about the historic places that exist.  Every community’s unique history is written in its buildings, streets and landscapes.  Historic places are symbols of a shared past.  They strengthen our sense of identity, build civic pride and help define the character of our cities, towns and rural areas.  Whether they are buildings, structures, streetscapes, archaeological sites or landscapes, historic places tell the story of the land, the people and the building of our province.

Saskatchewan’s historic places are many and varied.  They include ancient camps and hunting sites, ceremonial places, fur trade posts, town halls, schools, homes, barns, warehouses, churches, grain elevators, banks, general stores, parks and much more. Whatever there type, they are all tangible links to the past and reflect events that shaped our communities and commemorate the vision and contributions of those who came before us.

The Government of Saskatchewan supports our rich heritage assets through Provincial Heritage Property Designations and the new Main Street Saskatchewan program.  Provincial Heritage Property designation formally recognizes a property’s provincial significance and provides it with legal protection, ensuring its long-term preservation.  

Celebrate Heritage Week by learning more about the historic places in your community and around the province.  The Saskatchewan Register of Heritage Property can help you find historic places designated as Municipal or Provincial Heritage Property.

5th Annual Public Lecture

The Heritage Conservation Branch is pleased to present the 5th Annual Public Heritage Lecture on the evening of Thursday, February 23, 2012.  This year’s lecture, entitled "What Makes a Place Great: Culture, Heritage and Place-Making", will be delivered by Jennifer Keesmaat, who will speak to the importance of “quality of place” in building successful communities and the role that culture and heritage play in creating great places.  Discover why communities that have embraced their culture and heritage have become rewarding destinations for visitors and investors and cherished places to live, work and play.

Ms. Keesmaat is an award winning urban planner with extensive experience managing complex planning projects internationally and across Canada.  She led the development of Saskatoon’s Culture Plan, Regina’s Downtown Neighbourhood Plan and is currently guiding Regina’s new Official Community Plan.  A popular guest lecturer, Ms. Keesmaat speaks with enthusiasm and authority on a wide range of community planning and urban design topics.

FREE ADMISSION:
Top of The Inn Room, Sheraton Cavalier Hotel, 612 Spadina Cres. E
Saskatoon, SK
Thursday, February 23, 2012, 7:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.

A reception sponsored by the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation and the Architectural Heritage Society of Saskatchewan will follow.