Heritage Park Launches Inaugural Warming Hut Competition

Calgary, AB — Heritage Park is proud to announce its first-ever Warming Hut Competition, set to debut at this year’s heritage holiday event Once Upon A Christmas. Inspired by the success of a similar international event, Heritage Park is bringing the excitement of artistic warming huts to its holiday celebration.

“We’re excited to bring this unique competition to our Once Upon A Christmas event, offering both participants and visitors an opportunity to engage with the history and artistry of warming huts,’ says Kevin Graham, Chief Operations Officer. “The competition promises to add a new layer of enchantment to the holiday season at Heritage Park and foster a deeper connection to the region’s heritage.”

Warming huts, a beloved staple of outdoor activities in Western Canada, offer basic shelter to those venturing into remote areas. Like Heritage Park itself, these huts connect people to the region’s rich history and unique setting. The international warming hut competition based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which has been running since 2009, elevated these huts from functional structures to impressive works of public art.

Heritage Park invites local businesses and post-secondary institutions to participate in this competition by submitting their warming hut designs for blind jury evaluation. The competition is open to participants worldwide, with the condition that the designer(s) must be prepared to travel to Heritage Park for the installation and deinstallation of their hut.

Design teams will have an opportunity to showcase their talents, competing against other companies and emerging talents from academia. Participating companies and post-secondary institutions will have the opportunity to display their logos next to their huts. Post-secondary winners will receive a $1,000 honorarium. Winning teams will celebrate their achievements at an exclusive launch party.

The team that creates the guests’ favorite warming hut will be rewarded with a private three-course dinner with wine in Heritage Park’s elegant Founders’ Lounge. This special experience will be hosted by the world-class Executive Chef Tobias Larcher.

Design submissions for the Warming Hut Competition open on September 26, 2023. The deadline for submissions is October 17, 2023. Further details and competition guidelines can be found on the Once Upon A Christmas Warming Hut Competition page at heritagepark.ca/warminghuts.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Dominic Terry

Strategic Communications Manager

403.519.3409

Heritage Park is one of Canada’s largest living history museums and a registered charity. We are located on Treaty 7 territory, respecting the history, languages and cultures of the nations on whose traditional land we reside. All year long, Heritage Park connects hundreds of thousands of guests to specific times, places and events that were significant milestones in our collective past. Your support throughout the year helps preserve Heritage Park as an immersive educational and community hub and tell the diverse stories that communicate the multicultural history of Western Canada.