Past Events

at The Brown Homestead

Heritage Oil Paint Lecture & Oilcloth Workshop

Wed, July 24 | 7 - 8:30 p.m.

Sat, July 27 | 1 - 4 p.m.

Guests discovered the art of working with heritage oil paints and designed their own one-of-a-kind oilcloths using traditional stencils!

First, they took part in an interactive lecture on heritage oil paint-mixing, learning how a traditional oil paint from the 1860s would have been milled and applied to different materials. A few days later, they returned to apply their new knowledge of heritage paints in the production of their own one-of-a-kind small oilcloth.

Natural Pigments Watercolour Workshop

June 29th, 2024 from 1 - 4pm

In this hands-on arts workshop, participants were invited to creatively interpret the John Brown House using paints derived from natural pigments repurposed from construction waste.

This event featured a demonstration of how to make natural pigment watercolour paints, and a bit of a history lesson, followed by a step-by-step painting session accompanied by wine and pastries.

Trivia Night at Rodman Hall

April 26th, 2024 from 7 - 10pm

This memorable event was a fundraiser for The Brown Homestead. Sixteen teams attended and showed off their knowledge across a variety of fun trivia topics while supporting our ongoing adaptive restoration. This exciting evening took place in the ballroom of the historic Rodman Hall, built in 1863 and recently restored to its original majesty as a boutique hotel. The night was cheerfully MC’d by YourTV Niagara’s Mike Balsom, and included delicious appetizers, raffle prizes, a concession stand, and more. It was a night to remember!

National Canadian Film Day

April 17th, 2024 from 7 - 9pm

For the second year in a row, The Brown Homestead joined the cross-country celebration of CanFilmDay.

Guests grabbed their favourite snacks from our concession stand and watched a free screening of the 2021 Canadian Screen Award winner Beans, an emotive coming of age story set during the 1990 Oka Crisis.

A Night at the Tavern

February 10th, 2024 from 2 - 4pm & 6 - 8pm

Guests enjoyed a guided whisky tasting led through a brief history of whisky production in Niagara in the original ballroom of the John Brown House. Specially-curated tapas boxes by Pique-Nique were served to guests, featuring creations to pair with each whisky.

This experience was led by Iron Gate’s Ajay Bhardwaj, Canada’s first certified whisky ambassador. After the 60-minute tasting, guests were invited to explore the rooms of The Brown Homestead and learn about our on-going heritage restoration work.

The Ontario Land Registry: an Introductory Workshop Series

January 17, 24 & 31, 2024 from 6:45 - 8:45pm

Together with the expertise of established local historian Brian Narhi, The Brown Homestead has developed an instructional workshop series equipping historical researchers and genealogists researching properties in Ontario with essential tools and skills. This online, multi-session workshop provided participants with the hands-on knowledge and resources to conduct historical research of properties in Ontario over the course of three weeknights.

Traditional Christmas Crafts Workshop

December 9th, 2023 from 10am - 4pm

Seeing the rooms of the John Brown House full of festive fun truly warms our hearts. With the historic halls decked for Christmas, cozy activity stations were set up in four different rooms for families to explore during this free community event.

Upon arrival, participants brought with them donations of non-perishable food items, which were given to Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold.

TD Niagara Jazz Picnic

July 16th, 2023 from 1 - 4pm

The Brown Homestead hosted the TD Niagara Jazz Picnic in both 2022 and 2023. We were excited to switch up the historic host location last year, holding the Jazz Picnic at Willowbank National Historic Site in Queenston (14487 Niagara River Parkway, Queenston, ON), featuring Alex Pangman & Her Alleycats as part of the 2023 Summer Festival.

Doors Open

August 20th, 2022 from 10am - 4pm

The Brown Homestead has participated in St. Catharines’ Doors Open 2017, and Doors Open 2022. In 2022 we welcomed approximately 500 people on site, and were thrilled to share the various pieces our restoration journey with the public. On this day we also hosted two special performances of The Shaw Festival’s 30-minute original production titled "A Short History of Niagara."

Our Year in Review

Check out our 2023 Year in Review video.

Wow! What an exciting time of growth, collaboration and learning. We’ve created some beautiful memories and are making great strides towards our future goals. Thank you for being a part of this journey so far, and we hope you can join us this year as we tackle 2024 head-on. The best is yet to come!