The Huronia Museum invites you to step into a winter wonderland and experience the magic of the season at its annual Holiday Home Tour. This enchanting event will take place on Saturday, December 6, 2025, from 4 PM to 8 PM.
Embark on a captivating journey through stunning homes, each uniquely decorated for the holidays. Meet the passionate individuals who have poured their hearts into creating these festive masterpieces. From classic elegance to whimsical creativity, you’ll be amazed by the diversity of styles and the heartwarming stories behind each home.
Ticket Information:
Price: $15
Tickets available at Huronia Museum or etransfers accepted at huroniamuseumcash@gmail.com (Please include purchaser name in the notes of the e-transfer)
Proceeds from this event will support the Huronia Museum’s vital artifact conservation program.
Huronia Museum invites you to join them in unboxing the most recent addition to its Group of Seven collections on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at 1 pm.
Along with the unboxing of the new Franz Johnston painting recently acquired by the Huronia Museum, Michael Janzen, guest speaker, will be presenting familiar and unseen Group of Seven and related artists’ artworks from the storage of the Huronia Museum Collection. Janzen will share his new insights into the Group of Seven Georgian Bay artworks, including Midland’s associate artist W.J. Wood, whom A.Y. Jackson referred to as “a genius”. A wonderful portrait of Wood by Arthur Lismer, which has also been recently donated to the museum, will be unveiled at this event. Over the years artists have significantly contributed to our historical knowledge, impressions, and present-day vision of the distinctive Georgian Bay. Join us for this special afternoon to discover hidden Georgian Bay art treasures from the ever-growing Huronia Museum art collection and celebrate the love for it that we share. Refreshments to be served Special guest speaker, Michael Janzen, is an international visual fine artist, born in Toronto, who constantly explores and is inspired by Georgian Bay since he was a child. Janzen was mentored by A.J. Casson, the last living member of the Group of Seven, and artist Warren Luckcock, a Georgian Bay cottage resident who worked with several of the Group of Seven members. Janzen for the past 10 years has exhibited, organized, and represented Canadian art at the Grand Palais and the Carrousel de Louvre in Paris, France as well as museums throughout China. He is also Chairman of the International Federation of Art and Artists ( I.F.F.A.).
For further information on this event please contact the museum at 705-526-2844 or huroniamuseum@gmail.com
Title: Simcoe County Heritage Groups Partner to Acquire Wooden Boat with a Message and a Mission: Atlantic Challenge gig Diversité coming to Georgian Bay
The Georgian Bay Heritage League and the Canadian Museum of Water have joined forces to acquire an 11.5-metre wooden rowing craft steeped in heritage and tradition.
Built in 2010 by renowned Canadian wooden boatbuilder Peter Code, the Diversité was originally constructed for a youth organization in Mississauga. It became available earlier this year and Basil Lafrenier, President of the GBHL, moved quickly to acquire it.
“Many will know that the GBHL has been restoring, repairing and exhibiting wooden boats for over 20 years. The Diversité, although a relatively new build, embodies all that we’re interested in and also carries a message of heritage and craftsmanship that is completely aligned with our message,” said Lafreniere.
For the Canadian Museum of Water, a digital museum operated from Port McNicoll and part of an international network of water museums under the UNESCO banner, the partnership to acquire Diversité was also logical.
According to Water Museum president Dan Travers, acquiring the gig is a major step for the initiative: “Since our museum was founded in 2020, we’ve been looking for ways to fulfill our mandate for the appreciation and stewardship of water from the earliest times to the present day. We’re excited to acquire Diversité with the GBHL because it not only addresses our mandate, but provides a visible symbol for our work going forward.”
The vessel, described as a gig, and is patterned on a design based on a French Navy admiral’s barge that was captured in Ireland in 1796. The design was carried forward in 1984 when the first replica was built for youth development and adventure by Lance Lee of Maine.
CMW Director Donald Mitchell said “the acquisition will expand our community reach and youth programming”; “as we enter our third year of the museum’s business plan Diversité will enhance our physical presence as a not for profit organization, and as a registered charity by the end of the fiscal year.”
The groups have no immediate plans to operate the vessel as an active participant within the international Atlantic Challenge movement, but it is a possibility in the future. There are some 80 vessels built to the same design in over 15 countries worldwide including six in Canada and one operating out of Midland. Representing their communities and countries, they are sailed by teams of ten youth oarsmen and gather regularly for competitions, youth development and international goodwill.
We need to get to work fist, said Lafreniere. “We’ll see what we’ve got, address any immediate concerns for maintenance and preservation and then move to displaying and developing programming for it.”
The vessel arrived to a champagne reception at the GBHL’s workshop/facility in Perkinsfield on September 12th and will be on display at the Heritage Boat Show at Huronia Museum from 1-9pm on Saturday, September 16th. Members of the public are encouraged to attend the event and view the boat for themselves, which will also feature several other historic boats in the possession of the Heritage League.
For follow-up, please contact CMW President Dan Travers at 705-794-3980 or dan.travers@canadianmuseumofwater.org
Further Information:
The Canadian Museum of Water: was established in 2022 to provide a focal point for advocacy and for water-related initiatives in Canada. From a unique Canadian perspective, the telling of the story of water spans a timeline that is centuries old, from the earliest First Nations through to the Industrial Era and on to contemporary Canada. The Canadian Museum of Water is a member of the Global Network of Water Museums – a UNESCO Flagship Initiative. https://www.canadianmuseumofwater.org/
The Georgian Bay Heritage League is an organization devoted to restoring and preserving wooden boats. They are in possession of a number of boats obtained in collaboration with the Huronia Museum (Midland, Ontario), some completed and others waiting for attention. The GBHL displays its boats, either during public events (city festivals) or in specialized settings (such as vintage boat shows). They are always on the lookout for opportunities to sponsor organizations that require assistance in fulfilling their own mandate if related to marine heritage. www.gbhl.ca
UNESCO Hydrologic Program: The Global Network of Water Museums (WAMU-NET) is a ‘flagship initiative’ of UNESCO-IHP (Intergovernmental Hydrological Program) which aims at fostering water awareness education.
WAMU-NET Water Museums Global Network is established to re-connect people with all forms of water legacy (both natural and cultural heritages) and highlight the natural, social, cultural, artistic, and spiritual dimensions related to water and inherited form the past.
The Atlantic Challenge Program Atlantic Challenge International began in 1984 with the belief that youth and the nations they represent gain immeasurably from direct, exhilarating experience; from immersion in skilled enterprise, and most of all from contact with their peers in other cultures through such experience. https://www.atlanticchallenge.org
Huronia Museum 