Kalyna Country facts for kids

Kalyna Country is a special area in East Central Alberta, Canada. It's like a huge outdoor museum, called an ecomuseum, that celebrates history and nature. The name "Kalyna" comes from the highbush cranberry plant. In the Ukrainian language, "Kalyna" is pronounced "Ka-lyn-na." An old Ukrainian saying tells us, "Without Kalyna, there is no Ukraina." This shows how important the plant is to Ukrainian culture.

Discovering Kalyna Country: The World's Largest Ecomuseum

Kalyna Country is known as the "World's Largest Ecomuseum." It covers a massive area of 20,000 square kilometers. To give you an idea, that's more than three times the size of Prince Edward Island! This huge area is east and north of Edmonton, Alberta. It includes most of the land where the first large group of Ukrainian settlers in Canada made their homes, known as the Edna-Star colony. At one time, this was the biggest Ukrainian settlement outside of Eastern Europe.

The region is made up of several counties, including Sturgeon County, Thorhild County, and Smoky Lake County. It also includes many nearby towns, Indian reserves, and Metis settlements.

Kalyna berries were a very important food source for early settlers, fur traders, and Indigenous peoples. Today, Kalyna Country is a fun place to visit all year round. It has a mix of cultures and beautiful landscapes. Here, two types of forests, the Aspen Parkland and the Boreal Forest, meet. The scenic North Saskatchewan River Valley flows through the middle, surrounded by thousands of acres of farmland.

Top Attractions in Kalyna Country

There are many exciting places to explore in Kalyna Country:

• Elk Island National Park: This park is famous for its important work in protecting Bison. You can often see these magnificent animals roaming freely.
• North America's Church Capital: Lamont County holds this title. Even though it's a small area, it has nearly 40 churches that are now historic sites. You can even take tours to see them!
• Alberta's Oldest Pool Hall: Visit the Village of Vilna to see this historic spot. It still has its original pool and billiards tables, plus a barber shop and food service.
• Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village: This is a living history museum. It shows you what life was like for people in East-Central Alberta between 1892 and 1930. You can see old buildings and people dressed in historical clothes.
• Vegreville Ukrainian Pysanka Festival: Every year, the town of Vegreville hosts a huge Ukrainian cultural festival. It's named after the town's giant model of a Ukrainian Easter egg, called a pysanka.
• Great White North Pumpkin Fair and Weigh-Off: This fun event happens on the first Saturday of October in Smoky Lake. It's part of a big competition to find the largest pumpkin in North America each year!
• Fort Victoria: This was once an important fur-trading post and a place for missionaries. It's home to the oldest building still standing in Alberta.
• Metis Crossing: This is a special place that celebrates Metis culture in Alberta. It's also home to Alberta's first Zip-Line attraction, which is only 2 kilometers from Fort Victoria.

Giants of the Prairies: Roadside Wonders

Kalyna Country is also famous for its "Giants of the Prairies." These are huge roadside attractions that you can see as you drive through the area. Many of them celebrate Ukrainian culture.

• World's Largest Mushrooms, Vilna
• World's Largest 'Pumpkin Patch', Smoky Lake
• World's Largest Perogy (a Ukrainian dumpling), Glendon
• World's Largest Kubasa (a Ukrainian garlic sausage), Mundare
• World's Largest Pysanka (a Ukrainian Easter egg), Vegreville
• World's Largest UFO Landing Pad, St. Paul
• World's Largest Duck, Andrew

Museum Connections

Kalyna Country works with other important groups. These include the CMA, the CHIN, and the Virtual Museum of Canada. These connections help the ecomuseum share its stories and history with more people.

See also

• Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village
• Open-air museum
• List of Canadian place names of Ukrainian origin