BLUMENORT, MB
Just in time for the winter tourist season when snowbirds flock to Blumenort to bask in the sunshine and nearby gravel pits, Lonely Planet has released an extensive guide book to the small Mennonite town. The Australia-based travel publisher has grown to become the world’s largest travel guide company, so a Blumenort book was inevitable.
“We’re really proud of this publication,” said company founder Maureen Wheeler from her Melbourne office. “It has a thorough description of every business, church, restaurant, and attraction in town. Everything a tourist might want to know.”
Like all Lonely Planet guides, the Blumenort edition features detailed maps, close-up snapshots of every single person in town, and suggestions for self-guided walking tours through private backyards and gardens.
“We warn tourists not to tread on Mrs. Friesen’s begonias,” said Wheeler, “but with the huge influx of visitors, Blumenort residents can expect some minor disruptions to their daily schedules.”
Lonely Planet is particularly proud of the graphic full-colour photographs of the local chicken eviscerating plant, while other highlights include lengthy sections on Penner Tire, Penner Farm Services, and Penner Truss Plant.
“From Lilac Street to Oakdale Drive,” said Wheeler, “we have a detailed guide to the goings-on of every household in town.”
The book is said to be the second longest ever written about Blumenort after Royden Loewen’s five-volume 3500-page historical expose, Blumenort: A Mennonite Community in Transition published in 1983.