Saskatchewan tourism sector highlights summer attractions

Members of Saskatchewan’s tourism sector gathered in Saskatoon on Wednesday to showcase summer events and attractions across the province. Stacey Hein reports.

Members of Saskatchewan’s tourism sector gathered at the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon on Wednesday to promote summer events and attractions across the province.

Among the attractions featured was the Saskatchewan Science Centre’s new exhibit, Journey to Space.

“Come and explore and see what it’s like to actually live in space on the International Space Station,” said Sandy Baumgartner, CEO of the Saskatchewan Science Centre.

Baumgartner also noted the Science Centre’s IMAX theatre will be one of only 41 theatres in the world screening Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey next week.

Wanuskewin Heritage Park also highlighted its summer activities. Co-executive director Andrew McDonald said the site has been a gathering place for First Nations across the Northern Plains for thousands of years. To help more people experience its history and culture, the park is offering admission by donation every Sunday in August.

“We’re really blessed to be working with a lot of fantastic people within the community who help us achieve our mandate of showcasing Northern Plains Indigenous cultures,” McDonald told journalists.

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He said more than 75,000 people visit Wanuskewin each year. The park continues to work with Parks Canada to refine its application for UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

“We will have a formal visitation coming out in the summer of 2027, and then in Paris, France, in the summer of 2028 is when the formal adjudication will happen,” he said.

The Western Development Museum is also hosting a range of events throughout the summer, including the premiere screening of Airborne, a mini-documentary telling the 1948 story of the first baby born over Saskatchewan aboard a CF-SAM air ambulance flight. The screening will take place at the museum’s Moose Jaw location on July 18.

Creative Saskatchewan’s summer lineup includes a songwriters showcase at Country Thunder Saskatchewan in Craven this weekend, where artists will take the stage each afternoon to perform their songs and share the stories behind them.

From museums and music to more than 40 summer festivals across the province, tourism organizations say there’s no shortage of ways to make the most of a Saskatchewan summer.