A winning $6,500 bid on a pie contributed to the more than $70,000 raised over Heritage Week for R.J. Haney Heritage Village & Museum.
Heritage Week (Feb. 19 to 24) wrapped up last Saturday with several activities at the Mall at Piccadilly, where related exhibits celebrating the area’s history were on display. Saturday’s main event was the 28th annual Best of the Shuswap Pie Baking Contest, where participants submit their homemade apple, fruit or berry pies for judging.
The winner of this year’s contest was Yenny Connor with her apple pie. Coming in second place was Jeanette Gellein with another apple offering, a Granny Smith apple pie.
Third place honours went to Alyssa Halvorson for her “very berry” pie.
“A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated and entered a pie into this year’s competition!” announced Haney in a social media post shared after the event.
“Your creativity and talent made this event truly special. Also, a big shoutout to everyone who came out to support us – your enthusiasm added to the sweetness of the celebration.”
As in past years, another highlight of Saturday was the pie auction – fetching the highest bid, $6,500, was a whiskey caramel apple pie created by Haney’s registrar of collections Erin Stodola.
Between the pie auction and Haney’s online auction, Haney general manager Susan Mackie said “just a hair over $70,000” was raised. She said the money, “helps us keep the lights on, and keeps us working here doing the stuff that we do taking care of the history of Salmon Arm, until we open our doors in May to the general public.”
Regarding Heritage Week, Mackie said overall it was a was a great opportunity to raise awareness around local history and of R.J. Haney Heritage Village & Museum. “If people haven’t been to Haney, they really should put us on their must do list,” said Mackie, urging people to be on the lookout for some upcoming special announcements.
Located at 751 Hwy. 97B SE in Salmon Arm, the heritage village and museum opens May 15. The village offers numerous exhibits to explore – the Montebello Museum, the Sprig of Heather Restaurant, the Children’s Museum and Discovery Centre, trails and more.
