IONA — Transformational change at the Highland Village will continue this spring when shovels hit the ground to begin construction of a modern welcome centre that will be unveiled in time for the 2022 tourism season.
The 7,700-square-foot facility will be the main piece of ongoing improvements and house a reception area, gift shop and an orientation exhibit gallery that will prepare visitors for their journey around the historical site.
“We embarked on a strategy to look at our needs, what we would need to ensure we have the capacity to deal with in the future with that continued growth.”“We’ve seen huge increases in cruise ship visitation, with the exception of 2020, over the last half-decade and the infrastructure we had in place wasn’t big enough to keep up with the demand of the operation,” said Rodney Chiasson, director of the Highland Village.
HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE
Changes in visitor expectations have been considered in upgrades, including an expressed desire for a more hands-on experience though experiential programming.
Chiasson said the museum will continue to tell the Gaelic story from the late 1700s until the early 1900s but will add to that story everything that has happened since that time to tell the ‘living story in Nova Scotia’ today.
A greater emphasis on the Mi’kmaq story through an exhibit or interpretation and more information on the Bras d’Or Lake will also be incorporated into the new build.
The new welcome centre will also be a multi-purpose space with a kitchen that will allow for year-round programming. An expanded library and archive space will be in there, as well.
Other components of recent improvements include an already-completed new washroom facility, conversion of a small barn to an activities space, and completion of a shingle mill.
The existing main building is currently being turned into a cultural resource centre and workshop.
Sydney-based Brilun Construction is the current contractor for the new welcome centre, the new workshop, exterior upgrades of the existing main building, and the new washrooms.
The total cost of the ongoing development project has been valued at more than $5 million since work began over 10 years ago.
ONGOING IMPROVEMENTS
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency originally added money to the project and the province announced $1.5 million this past summer.
Support has also come from Canadian Heritage and the Municipality of Victoria County.
Quietly, some private fundraising has also been underway but Chiasson said those efforts will go public in the coming months.
The ongoing improvements come after a challenging 2020 tourism year that saw tourism traffic to the museum dip by 90 per cent. Much of that (38 per cent) can be attributed to the loss of the cruise season and that few could visit from outside of the Atlantic bubble. Chiasson is hoping for a successful vaccine rollout and a return of the Atlantic bubble to spur visitor traffic this summer.
“There’s a lot of homesick Atlantic Canadians who want to come home,” he said. “As soon as it is safe, you will see an influx of Maritimers heading home.”
