Past Events
at The Brown Homestead
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.
Visit the event page to learn more.
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.
Visit the event page to learn more.
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.
Visit the event page to learn more.
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.
Visit the event page to learn more.
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."
Visit the event page to learn more.
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.
Visit the event page to learn more.
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!