2023 Theme Weeks

June 28 to July 2                      Weaving together the Fabric of a Nation

Join us for our Confederation Celebrations as we celebrate the founding of Canada and our diverse and storied history.  Like our Weaver takes weak threads to create a strong fabric so, too, does Canada’s strength come from our interwoven lives.

July 5 to July 9                    Ready for Rhubarb?

Enjoy our rhubarb while it’s fresh!  Savour the tasty homemade rhubarb treats being made on the woodstove at the jail!   Pick up a Rhubarb recipe from the print shop, then swing by the Village Tea Room for a delicious Rhubarb dessert.

July 12 to July 16                Cows and Cream

In honour of Cow Appreciation Day falling this week, Come meet our fabulous pair of Jersey cows, Charlie and Ethel.   Visitors this week can try some homemade biscuits with home-churned butter in the Sherbrooke Jail.   Everyone is welcome to visit us on Ice Cream Day (July 16th) as we re-introduce homemade ice cream to the streets of Sherbrooke Village!

July 19 to July 23                The Earth we Tread

Come celebrate the skills of our Potter as she uses traditional methods and materials to reproduce nineteenth century Nova Scotia Redware from the clay of the Earth.  See our growing gardens of flax as we show how this material can be turned from plant to cloth in our Temperance Hall.

July 26 to July 30                Forged in Fire

The Blacksmith was often the social centre of the community, certainly it was for Joe McLane and his descendants.   Come continue the tradition of gathering at the McLane Blacksmith and watch our Blacksmith perform his art.  Likewise, for generations our food was cooked with pure flame.   Come enjoy some of our baked goods made in a traditional wood stove in the Sherbrooke Jail.

August 2 to August 6                     The Temperate Life

Come join us as we remember the Joy and Brotherhood of the Temperance Movement!   Join in our daily Temperance Parades around town, as we proclaim the pure joy of the sweetest drink: Water!   Join our songs, and enjoy wholesome games like Checkers, Croquet, and Stilt walking to defy King Alcohol!  Learn about the challenges of the local Gold Rush that created the town of Goldenville almost overnight and the steps the people took to safeguard their way of life.

August 9 to August 13                  From Forest to Fireside

Come journey through our Sawmill to see how great trees were turned to planks and lumber for everyday projects with the amazing power of water.   As you travel through our village, visit the  St. Mary’s Printery and learn how wood was first turned to paper in Nova Scotia, then see our Traditional Woodturner work his lathe and ply his craft as Chairmaker in the footsteps of Sherbrooke’s first woodturner, Mr. DeBol. 

August 16 to August 20               The Right Mix

Watch the magic that was the Apothecary and Druggist.   Watch as our hand cream is created from basic ingredients by the trained hands of our Apothecary.   Then travel the town to seek our two professional Ambrotypists and have a traditional ambrotype photo taken as a memory of your visit to a time gone by, and learn how revolutions in chemistry and physics allowed for the creation of the first photographs.

August 23 to August 27               The Power of the Word

Visit the St. Mary’s Printery and learn how the printing press changed the world by making knowledge accessible to everyone.  Next door you can post a letter to those abroad.   The modern postal system in Nova Scotia had its birth in the 1800s, and it, likewise, changed the world.   At Sherbrooke School you will see the beginnings of the Education System we know today, as our early forebears sought a better life of literacy and education for their children, allowing them to build the modern world.

August 30 to September 3                 From Rags to Riches

Come see the great differences between the home of a poor pioneer and that of the great merchant and businessman of the Victorian Age.  Side by side, enjoy the simple art of Candle making in the Clooney House, and then have a cup of tea on the lawn of elegant Greenwood Cottage.  Then journey to our Exhibit Centre and see how a once struggling and decaying village became the Sherbrooke Village Museum through the efforts of the Sherbrooke Community in the late 1900s.