BLAINE LAKE — Visitors to the Doukhobor Dugout House will now have the chance to immerse themselves in a different cultural experience, as organizers are now offering overnight stays at the national historic site.
Visitors will have the chance to interact with actors who portray Russian author Leo Tolstoy and philosopher Peter Verigin, with the former sharing stories of his famous works. The Doukhobor Dugout House introduced the new attraction when it opened on Saturday, July 6.
“We haven’t had this before, and the overnight stay is in conjunction with Tourism Saskatchewan. We share actual stories of Tolstoy. His significance and connection with the Doukhobor people,” said Brenda Cheveldayoff, who founded the historical site.
“We have set a few dates in July, August, and early September. Once the Doukhobor Dugout House opens, this will be available every year. They actually stay during the week, and the only difference is that the whole activity is on a Saturday."
Two pods can fit two people each, so the whole experience is new for couples or best friends who want to spend a quiet weekend away from their busy lives. There are only limited dates available to book a stay.
The overnight historical stay is an off-the-grid experience overlooking the North Saskatchewan River and valley. It also includes access to the heritage site, costume guides, and story time.
They will also serve you Doukhobor borsch and bread, Pyrahi or Pyroshki, a tart with different fillings, a caviar charcuterie board with various traditions, Russian black tea boiled from a samovar, and the Russian pancake blini with sour cream and jam.
She added that they had no plan to build additional pods since they aimed to have guests experience and learn the Doukhobor culture and traditions their ancestors had practiced since escaping persecution in Russia more than 100 years ago.
“This is a new feature at the Dugout House. We want to give our guests the full Doukhobor experience. It consists of a lot of pre-organizing. It is almost like a private tour of history with culture and food. There is no room for error,” said Cheveldayoff.
“We are not thinking of the number of guests that we can get. It is about giving visitors the entire Doukhobor Dugout House experience as we will all be in period costumes, even when we are going to serve their food.”
She added the new theme pods and the service it provides gained positive reviews despite having the new attraction offered on select days for this year since they want to give their guests the best experience and satisfaction. The attraction is open until early September.
“They talk about experiencing the serenity of the place and the view. They will stay in theme pods to see [Verigin] and [Tolstoy]. When we bring the food, we are in period costumes. It is like a whole production,” said Cheveldayoff.
“We only selected a few days of each month. We don’t want to overwhelm ourselves. Most people are requesting to have ethnic food. They have access to all the amenities and both are theme pods. If they stay at the Tolstoy pod, they will meet a Tolstoy character there.”
