Upcoming Events
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Tales & Trails: Autumn Playday at the Homestead
Families are invited to The Brown Homestead for outdoor autumn fun happening all day on Saturday, October 4. Youngsters can join a Storytime Circle at 10 a.m. led by St. Catharines Public Library, followed by nature-inspired arts, crafts and discovery. Families can drop-in anytime until 3 p.m. to take part in a craft with the Garden City Gardeners, help us harvest from our community-based garden, learn how to break and hackle the flax grown on our site with Historian Dr. Ali Macdonald, and explore our pastoral historic site with self-guided scavenger hunts and other activities.
This family-friendly event is part of Culture Days.
Visit the St. Catharines Public Library website to register for the storytime.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Grow@ Speaker Series: 50 Years of Technological Changes on Ontario Farms: 1975-2025 with Hugh Fraser
50 Years of Technological Changes on Ontario Farms: 1975-2025
With Hugh Fraser, Agricultural Engineer & Ontario Barn Preservation President
From growing up on a small Quebec dairy farm; to undergrad and masters degrees in Agricultural Engineering and Engineering; to a career as an Extension Agricultural Engineer with OMAFA; and now in semi-retirement as a Sustainability Auditor with Ontario's grape and wine industry; Hugh has witnessed and participated in almost every technological change on the farm you can imagine. Hugh will show dozens of photos of what he’s seen on the farm over the past 50 years, and peer into what he sees coming.
This event is free to join. Find more details and save your spot on our Grow@ the Homestead webpage.
Seeds of Change: Agricultural History Speaker Series
Discover how evolving agricultural technology has changed the way we grow, harvest, and sustain our food, and also shaped our relationship to our food and the people who grow it, over a series of thoughtful and engaging conservations.
Closing Ceremony: Three Sisters Garden
After what we hope to be a nourishing and rewarding growing season, join Jackie Labonte and Marie Louise in closing the Three Sisters Garden as a community. Together, we will offer our thanks and share in singing and drumming. All community members are welcome.
This is a free event, and we hope to see you there!
Grow@ Speaker Series: On Being With The Land: Author Talk and Creative Writing Session with Tonya Lailey
On Being with the Land: Author Talk and Creative Writing Session
With Tonya Lailey, Writer & Poet
When Tonya wrote Farm : Lot 23, she went back into her childhood memories of the farm where she grew up: “I let myself drop into the smells, sounds, feelings and the mystery of that place. In doing this work I was reminded that when we are anywhere, we are in relationship to all that is there. We are never only on the land, or working the land or extracting resources from it. We are with it and however we are with it affects us, just as it affects the land and all that lives there. I believe that we are always with the land in ways that fall outside of the narratives the dominant culture gives us.”
Tonya will share some poems and talk a little about her understanding of her relationship to the farmland where she grew up.
Then Tonya will invite those in attendance to spend time remembering and writing about a childhood relationship to land. Maybe it's one memory in particular, the way an apple eaten off the tree tasted, or the mourning doves that woke you up, the sticky feeling of dandelion milk drying on your fingers?
Tonya will be leading this event virtually via Zoom.
This event is free to join. Find more details and save your spot on our Grow@ the Homestead webpage.
Seeds of Change: Agricultural History Speaker Series
Discover how evolving agricultural technology has changed the way we grow, harvest, and sustain our food, and also shaped our relationship to our food and the people who grow it, over a series of thoughtful and engaging conservations.
Grow@ Speaker Series: We Lend a Hand Documentary Screening and Filmmaker Q&A
We Lend a Hand Documentary Screening and Filmmaker Q&A
We’re joining a special screening of the documentary We Lend a Hand: The Forgotten Story of the Ontario Farmerettes directed by Colin Field at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre The screening will be followed by a Q&A period with the filmmakers. Opening remarks and Q&A period led by The Brown Homestead Executive Director Andrew Humeniuk.
The documentary reveals the true and forgotten story of the Ontario Farm Service Force, which put 40,000 volunteer teenage girls to work between 1941 and 1952, arriving from different parts of Ontario and Quebec to many locations in Southwestern Ontario. They were called The Farmerettes. Their job: to ensure critical food production during the most perilous period of modern history.
With no prior farming experience, their hardships were tremendous. For long months, they worked under relentless weather conditions and schedules. Yet they single-handedly managed to produce hundreds of thousands of tons of food that were shipped off to the frontlines to feed starving European populations and even prisoners of war.
Through reenactments and unique archival images, We Lend a Hand: The Forgotten Story of Ontario Farmerettes recounts the story of these magnificent young women, now in their late 90s, bringing back their most cherished memories while reminding us – perhaps for the last time – that service comes in many forms.
This event is presented by Vineland Growers’ Co-Operative, Historical Society of St. Catharines, and Niagara Federation of Agriculture with The Brown Homestead as a promotional partner.
Tickets are $12.50 (plus $2.75 handling fee, plus HST).
Seeds of Change: Agricultural History Speaker Series
Discover how evolving agricultural technology has changed the way we grow, harvest, and sustain our food, and also shaped our relationship to our food and the people who grow it, over a series of thoughtful and engaging conservations.
Timber Framing Workshop
Join us for a unique, hands-on Timber Framing Workshop at The Brown Homestead.
Participants will help us build a principal scissor truss for the future pavilion planned for our property.
Learn the fundamentals of traditional timber framing through a blend of hands-on learning, demonstrations, and expert-led discussions.
Work alongside skilled practitioners to assemble a principal scissor truss—a key structural element in the Pavilion project, a timber-framed gathering space we aim to complete by 2027.
Gain insight into truss systems, traditional joinery, timber selection, and the sustainability and durability of timber frame structures.
Learn about the evolution of the craft of timber framing, and why this skill is relevant to our building industry today!
This workshop is more than a lesson in building techniques—it's a unique way to connect with our region’s built heritage, explore historic and sustainable building methods, and take part in a tangible community project.
Coffee, tea, and lunch are included in the registration cost! $70 per person.
Special Note: Due to the nature of the workshop, participants must feel comfortable lifting 50 lbs., and steel-toed shoes are required to be worn at all times.
Register Now - Only 10 Spots Available! Purchase tickets for $70 below
Heritage Conservation in Action Open House
To celebrate Culture Days, we’re sharing the not-so-secrets of the heritage trades with a special Open House.
You’ll get an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look as students of the Willowbank School of Restoration Arts complete their timber framing course on site, building a scissor truss using traditional joinery techniques. Take in the careful restoration of our historic 1850s Dairy, marvel at the craftsmanship of heritage woodwork, and see how our wallpaper project is reviving the charm of historic interiors.
Grow@ Speaker Series: From Barn Boots to Bluetooth: The Changing Story of Our Family Dairy Farm with Rachel Summers
From Barn Boots to Bluetooth: The Changing Story of Our Family Dairy Farm
with Rachel Summers, 6th Generation Dairy and Grain Farmer
Rachel Summers joins us to explore the evolution of her family’s dairy and grain farm in Thorold, ON over six generations. She shares from her own experiences growing up as a farm girl and stories collected from her family.
This event is free to join. Find more details and save your spot on our Grow@ the Homestead webpage.
Seeds of Change: Agricultural History Speaker Series
Discover how evolving agricultural technology has changed the way we grow, harvest, and sustain our food, and also shaped our relationship to our food and the people who grow it, over a series of thoughtful and engaging conservations.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Seed Saving Workshop
Join Linda Crago and discover the importance of heirloom varieties and seed saving! We’ll explore the basics of saving seeds from your own garden through hands-on learning.
This is a free event, but spots are limited.
Harvest Pioneer Day
Help us celebrate the fall harvest with the Lincoln Museum & Cultural Centre for their 59th annual Harvest Pioneer Day!
Check out all the skillful historic craft demonstrators and artisans, and be sure to drop by The Brown Homestead table to view our Rural Niagara Memories photo exhibit and create artwork with natural materials gathered from our pastoral historic site.
International Plowing Match & Rural Expo
We are thrilled to be a part of this five-day celebration of agriculture and rural living coming to West Niagara!
Visitors can watch plowing competitions, engage in a range of activities for people of all ages, encounter numerous opportunities to learn about agriculture, enjoy near-constant live entertainment in multiple venues, explore hundreds of vendors and exhibitors, and more! Check out their website for all the information you need to visit.
Come say hi to The Brown Homestead at the Hydro One Education Centre and try out our fun building activities!
International Plowing Match & Rural Expo
We are thrilled to be a part of this five-day celebration of agriculture and rural living coming to West Niagara!
Visitors can watch plowing competitions, engage in a range of activities for people of all ages, encounter numerous opportunities to learn about agriculture, enjoy near-constant live entertainment in multiple venues, explore hundreds of vendors and exhibitors, and more! Check out their website for all the information you need to visit.
Come say hi to The Brown Homestead at the Hydro One Education Centre and try out our fun building activities!
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
International Plowing Match & Rural Expo
We are thrilled to be a part of this five-day celebration of agriculture and rural living coming to West Niagara!
Visitors can watch plowing competitions, engage in a range of activities for people of all ages, encounter numerous opportunities to learn about agriculture, enjoy near-constant live entertainment in multiple venues, explore hundreds of vendors and exhibitors, and more! Check out their website for all the information you need to visit.
Come say hi to The Brown Homestead at the Hydro One Education Centre and try out our fun building activities!
International Plowing Match & Rural Expo
We are thrilled to be a part of this five-day celebration of agriculture and rural living coming to West Niagara!
Visitors can watch plowing competitions, engage in a range of activities for people of all ages, encounter numerous opportunities to learn about agriculture, enjoy near-constant live entertainment in multiple venues, explore hundreds of vendors and exhibitors, and more! Check out their website for all the information you need to visit.
Come say hi to The Brown Homestead at the Hydro One Education Centre and try out our fun building activities!
International Plowing Match & Rural Expo
We are thrilled to be a part of this five-day celebration of agriculture and rural living coming to West Niagara!
Visitors can watch plowing competitions, engage in a range of activities for people of all ages, encounter numerous opportunities to learn about agriculture, enjoy near-constant live entertainment in multiple venues, explore hundreds of vendors and exhibitors, and more! Check out their website for all the information you need to visit.
Come say hi to The Brown Homestead at the Hydro One Education Centre and try out our fun building activities!
Grow@ Speaker Series: Indigenous Agricultural Practices and Tools with Dr. Adrianne Lickers Xavier
Indigenous Agricultural Practices and Tools
With Dr. Adrianne Lickers Xavier, Professor of Indigenous Studies at McMaster University
Dr. Adrianne Lickers Xavier will take an archaeological perspective to the tools and practices Indigenous peoples have taken to agriculture. Adrianne will consider how different tools were made, how they changed over time, and what impact they have had.
This event is free to join. Find more details and save your spot on our Grow@ the Homestead webpage.
Seeds of Change: Agricultural History Speaker Series
Discover how evolving agricultural technology has changed the way we grow, harvest, and sustain our food, and also shaped our relationship to our food and the people who grow it, over a series of thoughtful and engaging conservations.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Three Sisters Soup Workshop
Join Carrissa Gracey in the Dining Room for a collaborative Three Sisters Soup making workshop. Participants will learn about the importance of the three sisters in Haudenosaunee culture and everyone will work together in preparing the soup. Afterwards, everyone will have the opportunity to enjoy a bowl of homemade soup.
To help us supply this workshop for free, we ask that guests bring a couple things (if possible) to assist the soup process:
A cutting board and knife
A bowl and spoon to enjoy the soup!
This is a free event, but spots are limited.
NO TOURS TODAY - EVENT IN PROGRESS
We are not open for guided tours on Saturday August 23rd due to the Three Sisters Soup Workshop taking place on site. We hope you can join us at the event, or book a tour for another time!
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.
Book a Guided Tour
Guided tours begin every hour, on the hour at the front of the John Brown House. Tours are approximately 60 minutes. We recommend booking your tour in advance of your book to save your spot, as tour space is limited.