The Barn is a popular gathering place
By Joan Janzen
The century-old barn located 12 km north of Fiske is a busy place. Mary Sawatzsky and her daughter Paige Sawatzsky have transformed The Barn into a popular venue for weddings, reunions, workshops, birthdays, celebrations of life and private parties. It was originally owned by Mary’s father and was used for calving, tack and housing pigs. After his passing, Mary began transforming and repurposing the historic structure.
When Paige moved back home, mother and daughter talked about her living on the top floor. Once the renovations were completed, people in the community began asking to use the space, and so their story began to unfold.
The metamorphosis began, and the once typical Saskatchewan farm became a wide-open country landscape surrounding a restored barn, massive decks, a covered dance floor and pathways in the trees. The pathways are constructed out of bricks from the old Anglia School. The manger where cows once ate while being milked is now a bar. The cowshed was cleared out and transformed into a dance floor, fully wired for a sound system.
“Our first event was a memorial of life when our neighbours thought it would be appropriate to have the memorial here,” Mary explained. Now they have three annual events: a Mother’s Day High Tea, The Witches’ Liar, and a Marketplace held on the last day of November.
“We try and feature local people who have created their own businesses, and we just had our sixth Mother’s Day High Tea,” Mary said. “About 50 ladies came.”
Paige said, “Mom and I decided we wanted to do a quality event, and we really enjoyed it! We got a local company to supply organic teas, which were amazing! We like to pick someone local and advertise for them, make it about them, not about us. We like to promote people who are working as hard as we are building a wholesome business. We try to think simple, wholesome and holistic. Everybody left smiling.”
“The barn seats about 75 people, but we have decks surrounding the whole place,” Paige explained. Paige’s mother is a marriage commissioner, which is convenient since they host between five to eight weddings every year. Weddings can accommodate anywhere from thirty to 300 guests. “We just had a three-day workshop with women from all across Canada,” she added. “This year, we’re having the Rosetown grad party.”
Paige said, “We started it as a project because Mom’s very creative, and seven years later, we’re going strong.”
“Paige came on board with marketing and advertising,” Mary said. The mother-daughter duo completely transformed an ATCO trailer into three charming bedrooms with two bathrooms.
“Paige has a place in the back between the trees where we can accommodate some RVs. They’re not electrical, but Paige wants to make them electrical eventually. We have dreams to grow it more, and it seems to be working,” Mary said. “One thing we pride ourselves on is reusing everything we can get our hands on. We like to recycle, reuse and repurpose. Everything was given to us; everything has a story and a history.”
Paige described their place as an extension of the community and a gathering place. “This is a special place in my heart and in my mom’s. We work with everyone in the community. The main thing we try to do is just have fun. That’s the main reason we built this place, so we can enjoy life,” she said.
Mary Sawatzsky and her daughter Paige have transformed “The Barn” south of Herschel into a popular venue for weddings, reunions, workshops, birthdays, celebrations of life and private parties.
The Barn was a popular venue on Mother’s Day.
