ON THE SURFACE, Memory Lane Heritage Village, in Lake Charlotte, N.S., is typical of the historical reconstructions that are a tourism staple across Canada. Its 13 buildings include homes, a church, general store, gas station, school and working farm. But unlike most heritage villages, Memory Lane, 90 kilometres west of downtown Halifax, preserves a decade in Nova Scotia’s past that is still well within the living memory of many people who stroll through its gates every summer — the 1940s.

That’s precisely the point, say Memory Lane’s architects. The village is a time capsule of sorts, storing the living memories of Atlantic Canadians. The proprietors have interviewed people who attended the village’s one-room schoolhouse, operated the ice house and worked in the gold mine, which is also part of the property. They’ve collected family recipes and stories from the period and have even located the then young miscreant who broke a still-damaged light fixture in the village church during a boring sermon 60 years ago (he is now a volunteer guide).

When these people are gone, says Memory Lane executive director Thea Wilson-Hammond, the village will present a tremendously accurate historical accounting to the world that is not based solely on archaeological evidence and historical documents.

This summer, Memory Lane is sponsoring a celebration of women, examining their multi-faceted role in society during the 1940s, a time in Canada when electricity, paved roads and communications systems were just beginning to reach isolated communities and traditional roles were changing fast.

“The 1940s was a hard time in many ways,” says Wilson-Hammond. “But it was also a time when a lot of doors were opened for women.”

— T.M.

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NORTH AMERICA’S first ecologically sustainable five-star resort opens this summer — and it sits north of 60.

Mike Mueller and Alana Nelson of Perfect Earth Tours want to show their guests that luxury, wilderness and sustainability can coexist at their Eco Spa & Retreat, located southwest of Whitehorse.

“The premise of the resort,” says Mueller, “is if it’s not truly 99 percent organicsustainable and environmentally friendly, we don’t look at it.”

Guests will stay in custom-made organic canvas tipi tents, use compostable toilets and surf on solar-powered wireless internet. And while basking in green virtue, they can canoe, horseback ride, enjoy the treatments of the spa staff and go aloft in a hot-air balloon. The carbon emissions from all guest flights are offset.

This summer, the lodge will host some 30 Grammy-nominated musicians, including Sylvia Tyson and Sophie B. Hawkins. Not bad for a campfire singalong.

For more information, call (888) karma-08 (527-6208), or visit www.perfectearthtours.com.

IF YOU THINK sandcastles take skill to build, wait until you see the phantasmagorical sculptures conjured from the feverish mind of Peter Vogelaar, an artist from Winlaw, B.C. Some years ago, he put aside easels in favour of a medium better known as a child’s summer distraction. In August, he will be competing against other Berninis of the beach at the Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition at Parksville, on Vancouver Island.

The contestants get only a few sweaty hours to shovel a mass of sand before beginning the fine process of shaping a pile into an awe-inspiring sculpture.

“You go from grunt labour,” says Vogelaar, “into being Michelangelo.”

Last year, Vogelaar successfully defended his solo title with a homage to Pirates of the Caribbean, complete with a monster wrapping its tentacles around Captain Jack Sparrow. He took home a $3,300 prize and will be seeking a third consecutive win this summer.

Ordinary beach sand contains bits of shell and seaweed, but sculptors use fine sand from which such impurities have been washed away. Each soloist gets about 10 tonnes of the stuff, while six-member teams work with twice as much. Every grain must be used. (The organizers offer contestants a warning: “No hiding the excess under the beach towel!”) Wielding trowels and palette knives, the artisans sculpt from the top down. The competition lasts 23 hours spread over three days.

In the end, the sculptures are so tightly compacted that heavy machinery is needed to knock them down.

The gates at Parksville Community Park, about 150 kilometres north of Victoria, open Aug. 11, and admission is by donation ($2 is suggested). The sculptures remain standing until Sept. 1, weather permitting.

For more information, including a gallery of groovy photos, visit www.parksvillebeachfest.ca.