Cumberland Museum and Archives

10/22/2026

New Exhibition!

Visit our Collaboration Studio to explore our new exhibition celebrating 10 years since the first Woodstove Festival. A look back at a decade of music, art, and community right here in Cumberland.

🔥Warming Our Community With the Arts: 10 Years Since the First Woodstove Music & Arts Festival

The Woodstove Music & Arts Festival was developed by Tereza Tomek and Heather Thomson as they sought community connection to sustain them creatively through the winter.

With the help of the Cumberland Culture and Arts Society, alongside many local creatives and arts organisers, Woodstove Music & Arts Festival has transformed historic buildings into spaces for creative exchange, artistic mutual aid and unapologetic self-expression since 2016.

Woodstove is a community-wide production in November in which we gather through the arts to sustain wellbeing and creative output through the darkest and coldest time of the year. Feel free to take the stage and make some music yourselves!

The exhibtion is open during regular museum hours, so you can stop by anytime. And if you're joining for the Woodstove Festival, on November 6-8, make sure to pop in! We're thrilled to be a festival venue again this year.

Exhibition Dates: October 2026 – April 2027

Curated By Christina Jones
Photo Credit: Mary Matheson

10/22/2026

Cumberland Museum & Archives Fall Fun! -

The Woodstove Music & Arts Festival was developed by Tereza Tomek and Heather Thomson as they sought community connection to sustain them creatively through the winter.

10/17/2026

Explore Cumberland’s darker history on an after-dark, lantern-lit walking tour through Cumberland streets and alleys. Uncover facts, superstitions, stories, and ideas about death, dying, and the afterworld from the perspectives of Cumberland’s diverse early settlers.

From Hungry Ghosts, Sulfur and Brimstone, and Yomi-no-kuni to cholera outbreaks, catastrophic fires, and funeral processions — the truth is darker than fiction.

If you’re drawn to the shadows of history, this 110-minute tour with Meaghan Cursons is for you.

⚠️ Please note:
-No dogs
-The tour is for adults or mature youth
-Please no headlamps (handheld lights only, directed at the ground — red light preferred)
-Be advised: low lighting, uneven ground, dark alleys, and slippery sections
-No jump scares
-The tour will be canceled in the event of heavy rain

Tickets: https://square.link/u/YSWnShUm
https://www.facebook.com/share/1C5Z25ggea/

10/16/2026

❄️Calling all Local Businesses and Organizations❄️

The Cumberland Museum & Archives is launching our WinterFaire Wreath Sponsorship Program, and we’re inviting businesses, non-profits, community organizations, independent artists, and self-employed individuals across Vancouver Island to get involved!

✨For a $100 sponsorship, we’ll create a custom wreath featuring your logo (provided by you), brand colours, and holiday spirit. Your wreath will be displayed at WinterFaire, one of our biggest fundraisers of the year, welcoming up to 4,000 visitors over our two-day artisan market!

✨ $60 from every sponsorship goes directly back to the museum to support engaging community events and public programming that celebrate the stories and creativity of Cumberland.

✨After WinterFaire, your wreath is yours to take home, gift, or give away to one of our lucky visitors.

A special thank-you to 5th Street Florist💐 for providing our beautiful base wreaths! 5thstreetflorist.ca

📩 Interested in sponsoring a wreath? Contact [email protected] to secure your wreath!

Support your community, showcase what you do, and be part of WinterFaire!
https://cumberlandmuseum.ca/activities/winterfaire/

10/01/2026

🍂October is full of history, community & a little spooky fun at the Cumberland Museum! 🍂

FUNGUS FEST
-October 1–4 | Thursday–Sunday
-Museum open regular hours
-Free entry for Fungus Fest ticket holders
Festival tickets: https://cumberlandforest.tickit.ca/

CHINESE CANADIAN TOWNSITE COMMUNITY WALKING TOUR
-Saturday, October 10
-11:00 AM
-$10 per person
Join us for a community walking tour exploring Cumberland's Chinese Canadian history.
Details & tickets: https://cumberlandmuseum.ca/activities/community-walking-tour-chinese-canadian-townsite-october-10-2026/

HAUNTED MINE EXPERIENCE
- Saturday, October 31
- Cumberland Museum – Downstairs
- 4:00–5:30 PM
- Free entry / Entry by donation
No tickets required!

Mark your calendars and come explore, learn, and celebrate with us this October!

09/29/2026

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation | September 30

The Cumberland Museum & Archives will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, September 30, in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

September 30 is a day to honour the children who never returned home, Survivors of residential schools, and their families and communities. It is also an opportunity for all of us to listen, learn, reflect, and consider our ongoing responsibilities toward truth and reconciliation.

We invite our community to take time to learn from Indigenous voices and to explore the history and lasting impacts of the residential school system.

Resources for learning and reflection:
🧡 Government of Canada – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
The Cumberland Museum & Archives will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, September 30, in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html

🧡 National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR)
The NCTR provides educational resources, archival materials, Survivor statements, and opportunities for learning about the history and legacy of residential schools.
https://nctr.ca

🧡 Truth and Reconciliation Commission – 94 Calls to Action
The Calls to Action provide a framework for individuals and organizations to understand and work toward reconciliation. The NCTR provides access to the report and Calls to Action.
https://nctr.ca/about/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-of-canada-calls-to-action/

🧡 Truth and Reconciliation Week 2026
The NCTR offers free educational programming and resources for students, educators, and the broader community.
https://trw-svr.nctr.ca/past-years/truth-and-reconciliation-week-2026/

🧡 Government of Canada – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Activities
A listing of community activities taking place across Canada throughout September and on September 30.
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation/list-activities.html

Every Child Matters.

09/22/2026

Join us for a special community screening of Spirit Bear: Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams, a powerful and beautifully crafted stop-motion film.

Spirit Bear: Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams
22:07 Minute Stop-Motion Animation

Created by Spotted Fawn Productions in collaboration with the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society

📅Sunday, September 27
📍Cumberland Museum & Archives | 2680 Dunsmuir Ave
⏱️4:00PM
All Ages Film Screening, Free Entry.

Come together with our community for this meaningful film and an opportunity to learn, reflect, and honour the memories of those affected by residential schools.

Learn more about Spirit Bear and Truth and Reconciliation through resources from the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society.
Full Event Details: https://www.facebook.com/share/19fvpKqzVx/

09/18/2026

How do you envision sharing your community’s local legacies?

On September 24th, we are hosting this Community Engagement Session.
To register, reach out to [email protected]

📅 September 24
🕔 5:00–7:00 PM
ONLINE MEETING

One of the first people to explore Forbidden Plateau was Maryland-born gold prospector and coal miner John Henry Brown. Brown first arrived in Canada in 1886, and lived in Nanaimo, Seattle, Kansas, Victoria, and Missouri before settling permanently in Cumberland in 1909. A skilled storyteller, Brown named several mountains and lakes in Strathcona Park, where he spent his summers. Brown lived in Cumberland until his death at age 91 in 1960

Image: John Henry Brown and a dog in the 1950s. C180-002

08/30/2026

It’s Ben’s last day at the museum!

If you've visited us recently, you'll be familiar with Ben's great sense of humour, knowledge of history, and his warm welcome for every visitor.

Behind the scenes, Ben also made a huge contribution to our collections, digitizing thousands of accession records from the museum’s early years, 1981–1989. His work is helping preserve these important records and making them much easier for staff and researchers to find in the future.

A huge thank you to MP Gord Johns and the Canada Summer Jobs program for supporting local youth employment and making it possible for us to welcome Ben to the museum this summer.

See what the museum looked like in 1981, when these records were written!

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