Wednesday marked the final day in the Saskatchewan Heritage Fair at the Government House in Regina.
A total of 45 projects were showcased by Saskatchewan students, with an award ceremony recognizing the best of the best. The awards were divided into four different categories, including archives, digital innovation, and historical thinking.
For Grade 7 student, Emmerson Forbes, his project focused on his great, great grandpas’ journey through World War 2. And just moments after asking him what his project was about, you had pretty detailed description of the war and his family.
“He lived in Saskatchewan his entire life,” Forbes explained. “At the age of 26 he enlisted, and he was a royal artillery gunner. His total service in the army was 77 months. 64 months were in the United Kingdom, and 13 were spent in Europe.”
His project showcased his great, great grandfather’s history and his life after the war.
Grade 8 student Ben Jebelli looked to the stars as inspiration, focusing on Chris Hadfield, the Canadian astronaut born in 1959.
“His father and brothers were all pilots, and when he was nine, he was inspired by the Apollo 13 landing on the moon, and ever since he wanted to be an astronaut,” Jebelli described. “Here’s a little bit of a fun fact… he was also afraid of the dark. So, in order to become an astronaut, he had to overcome this fear.”
2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the Heritage Fair, and the second in-person event held by Heritage Saskatchewan since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Heritage Fairs program consists of three levels: local, regional, and provincial. Students participate in their local school or community and are then chosen to advance to a Regional Heritage Fair. Once regionals are through, students are sent to the provincial fair.
Any student in grades 4 through 8 in Saskatchewan is eligible to participate in the Heritage Fairs program.