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The Kalyna Country
ecomuseum An ecomuseum is a museum focused on the identity of a place, largely based on local participation and aiming to enhance the welfare and development of local community, local communities. Ecomuseums originated in France, the concept being develop ...
is a heritage and eco-tourism district in East
Central Alberta Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy. Geography Central Alberta is bordered ...
, Canada, named after the highbush cranberry plant, pronounced (Ka-lyn-na) in the
Ukrainian language Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first language, first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of t ...
. The Ukrainian folklore states: "Without Kalyna, there is no Ukraina".The Great Coat of Arms of Our Country


Location and promotion

Kalyna Country bills itself as the "World's Largest Ecomuseum" at 20,000 square kilometers, or more than three times the size of
Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
. Its boundaries stretch across a broad area of Alberta east and north of
Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
, including nearly all the areas traditionally considered part of Canada's first Ukrainian
Block Settlement A block settlement (or bloc settlement) is a particular type of land distribution which allows settlers with the same ethnicity to form small colonies. This settlement type was used throughout western Canada between the late 19th and early 20th c ...
, the Edna-Star colony. The area has been described as being to
Ukrainian Canadians Ukrainian Canadians are Canadian citizens of Ukrainian descent or Ukrainian-born people who immigrated to Canada. In the late 19th century, the first Ukrainian immigrants arrived in the east coast of Canada. They were primarily farmers and l ...
what Cajun Country is to
Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...
culture. At its peak, the area was the largest settlement of Ukrainians in the world outside
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
. Officially, Kalyna Country comprises
Sturgeon County Sturgeon County is a municipal district in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is north of Edmonton and west of the North Saskatchewan River. Sturgeon County is located in Division No. 11 and was named for the Sturgeon Rive ...
,
Thorhild County Thorhild County is a municipal district located in the central part of northern Alberta, Canada, in Census Division 13. It was incorporated in 1955. It changed its name from the ''County of Thorhild No. 7'' to ''Thorhild County'' on March 20, ...
,
Smoky Lake County Smoky Lake County is a municipal district in north-eastern Alberta, Canada. Located in Census Division No. 12, its municipal office is located in the Town of Smoky Lake. Geography Communities and localities The following urban munici ...
, the County of St. Paul No. 19, the
County of Vermilion River The County of Vermilion River is a municipal district located in the eastern part of central Alberta, Canada in Census Division No. 10. The municipal district was formerly named the County of Vermilion River No. 24 prior to an official name ...
, the County of Two Hills No. 21, the County of Minburn No. 27, Beaver County,
Lamont County Lamont County is a municipal district in central Alberta, Canada, located in Census Division No. 10, northeast of Edmonton. The county contains 27 Townships. Its municipal office is located in the Town of Lamont. History In March 1944, t ...
, and
Strathcona County Strathcona County is a Specialized municipalities of Alberta, specialized municipality in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region within Alberta, Canada between Edmonton and Elk Island National Park. It forms part of Division No. 11, Alberta, Census Di ...
and many of the neighbouring urban municipalities,
Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...
s and Metis settlements. Kalyna berries were a popular source of food amongst the early pioneers, fur traders and natives. Kalyna Country is a year-round playground with culture as diverse as the landscape that offers it. Here the
Aspen Parkland Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of ecotone, transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area ...
and the
Boreal Forest Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by pinophyta, coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. I ...
converge, split by the scenic
North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows event ...
Valley, all amidst thousands of hectares of prime agricultural land. The main attractions include: *
Elk Island National Park Elk Island National Park is a National Parks of Canada, national park in Alberta, Canada, that played an important part in the conservation of the plains bison. The park is administered by the Parks Canada Agency. This "island of conservation" ...
known for its work with
Bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...
conservation. * North America's Church Capital - Lamont County claims this title, with nearly 40 churches declared historic sites, despite the small and thinly spread population. Tours are available. * Alberta's oldest remaining Pool Hall, in the Village of Vilna. This attraction still boasts its pool and billiards tables, as well as a barber shop and some food service. * Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village - a living history open-air museum showcasing East-Central Alberta's unique culture from 1892 to 1930. * Vegreville Ukrainian Pysanka Festival - a huge Ukrainian cultural festival held every year in Vegreville and named after that town's giant model of a Ukrainian easter egg or
pysanka The tradition of egg decoration in Slavic cultures originated in pagan times,Kazimierz Moszyński – Kultura ludowa Słowian, Kraków 1929Anna Zadrożyńska – Powtarzać czas początku, Warsaw 1985, and was transformed by the process of ...
. * Great White North Pumpkin Fair and Weigh-Off - the first Saturday of October in the town of Smoky Lake. This is part of the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, and searches for the largest pumpkin in North America each year. * Fort Victoria - a former fur-trading post, and missionary centre, home to the oldest building in Alberta. * Metis Crossing - A celebration of Metis culture in Alberta and home to Alberta's first Zip-Line attraction. Located 2 km from Fort Victoria.


Giants of the Prairies

The area is also famous for the '' Giants of the Prairies'', a series of
roadside attraction A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road meant to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere, rather than being a destination. They are frequently advertised with billboard (advertis ...
s (usually Ukrainian-themed). * World's Largest Mushrooms,
Vilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
* World's Largest 'Pumpkin Patch', Smoky Lake * World's Largest Perogy (Ukrainian dumpling), Glendon * World's Largest Kubasa (Ukrainian garlic sausage),
Mundare Mundare is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately east of Edmonton at the intersection of Alberta Highway 15, Highway 15 and Alberta Highway 855, Highway 855, north of the Yellowhead Highway. The Canadian National Railway tracks ...
* World's Largest
Pysanka The tradition of egg decoration in Slavic cultures originated in pagan times,Kazimierz Moszyński – Kultura ludowa Słowian, Kraków 1929Anna Zadrożyńska – Powtarzać czas początku, Warsaw 1985, and was transformed by the process of ...
(Ukrainian easter egg), Vegreville * World's Largest UFO Landing Pad, St. Paul * World's Largest Duck,
Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...


Affiliations

The museum is affiliated with: CMA,
CHIN The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a we ...
, and
Virtual Museum of Canada Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity. Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) wi ...
.


See also

* Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village *
Open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...
* List of Canadian place names of Ukrainian origin


References


External links

* {{Official website, http://www.kalynacountry.com * http://www.metiscrossing.org Museums in Alberta Open-air museums in Canada Living museums in Canada Geographic regions of Alberta Roadside attractions in Canada Rural history museums in Canada Ecomuseums Ukrainian museums in Canada Ukrainian-Canadian culture in Alberta