Blog Posts

June 2013

6/20/2013

June has proved once again to be a very busy and fulfilling month at work. New exhibits are up, fresh paint has dried and we're open to the public once again. Already we have hosted tours with people from as close as the Eastern United States and as far away as France and England. Third floor exhibition area is looking fantastic!
We have received exciting news from an archaeologist bout our native artifacts. Apparently they're much older then we believed them to be. An investigation is underway.

A Workshop and a Meeting

6/3/2013

Last week consisted of a mad scramble to finish 'dressing' the Museum and the Artifactory. Discussions were had and plans are in motion for celebrations for the 125th Anniversary of our building that houses the museum. We even had a few tourists around.

On Friday I was able to attend a very informative workshop about Experiential Tourism. The couple who ran the workshop were Mary and Bill Kendrick, who are the owner/operators of Experience PEI. It was a wonderful day! Tons of ideas racing about potential things we could do at the Museum and in the town of Montague. Thank you to the speakers and the organizers. Also, the food we had at Sir Isaac's was awesome! Thanks to Anne and the serving staff.

On Saturday, we hosted the Annual Meeting for the Community Museum's Association of PEI at the Garden of the Gulf Museum's Artifactory. Always a pleasure to meet with other members of our PEI museum community who share the love and passion for heritage. The combination of great company, an awesome guest speaker, a fantastic meal put on by the Hillcrest United Women's Institute and encouraging information about potential funding available made for one of the best CMA meetings I've ever attended. Lots of ideas emerged which excited Donna and I further about this years season. Thanks to all who came and made it such a great success.

- Connie

This and that

5/21/2013

On Friday May 17, I was lucky enough to visit Southern Kings Consolidated School's grade one class. Starting out with a talk about the Museum building what is was, what it is now and what we do here. Then the children were allowed to hold an example of a fossil and an artifact, with their special white gloves on. We also had good fun playing a game of "Guess What It Is?", were I held up different artifacts and had them guess what they were. The children were fantastic and a huge thank you to their teacher Mrs Kim McGuigan for helping it run very smoothly. I handed out free admission passes to all the children and hope to
We received some amazing donations last week, put the first floor of exhibits back together again, started putting the second and third floor together, and have been doing lots of cleaning.

The Garden of the Gulf Museum operates as a non profit, with a volunteer Board. The board is currently seeking new voting members and a new executive. This is a one year term with a meeting once a month. The Garden of the Gulf Museum is the Great group to be a part of to help with the preservation of PEI's Oldest Museum. If you or anyone you know would be interested in becoming a part of this board please contact us at the Museum for information about the next meeting.

Connie Spencer
Assistant Curator

Back to Work

5/3/2013

Well, it's been a long old winter here on PEI. Spring has finally sprung. Which not only means time to get that garden started, but also it's back to work time. The Curator, Donna Collings and Assistant Curator, Connie Spencer will be back in the Museum as of Monday, May 6th. Time to work on new displays, fresh coats of paint and getting ready to open to the public. We will have a new exhibit on Sports in Eastern PEI: The people that lived the Dream.

Although, not open to the public yet we're there if you need anything.

Excited about this 2013 season at the Museum!

A Victorian Christmas

12/28/2012

Our first Victorian Christmas fundraiser was a HUGE success, thanks to everyone involved. Ladies in Victorian dress, carollers gathered around an antique horsesleigh outside, bows and boughs for decorations, a fantastic bake sale, free hot chocolate, and an awesome reading of Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol". Mr Rob MacLean, who had to stand on top of a chair for everyone to see him, was our performer. It was the best "Ba Humbug" I've ever heard. The evening was full of Christmas cheer with all ages equally enjoying this wonderful classic Christmas story. This event was Admission by donationHappy Holidays to everyone!!

CMA Workshop at the Artifactory

11/27/2012

On Novemeber 22 we were honored to host a CMA Workshop on Collections Management. This was a fantasic learning day for everyone involved. It was conducted by Linda Berko (PEI Museum and Foundation and Jason MacNeill.

We look forward to hosting many more workshops at our new storage facility. Thanks to all that made it possible.

Big Last Week

10/10/2012

Our last week open to the public was fantastic. When tourists come in this late in the season we really get to have fun with them on tour because we're not as busy which gives us more time. People still get shocked at how much we've done with the building. The three floors of exhibits make the entrance fee of only $3 great value.

We were pleased to host two school class tours our last week as well. Around 47 children in total. The children had a tour of the Museum, they all got to wear special white gloves and handle an arrowhead, and then they got to research their last name in the Resource Center. As you can see from the photo they were VERY interested in finding family members. We hope to get more school tours in the future. Educational Programming is a very important aspect of work at the Museum.

On behalf of the Garden of the Gulf Museum Board Members and Staff thank you to everyone who made our 2012 Season a very memorable one. We look forward to seeing you next year. - Connie Spencer- Assistant Curator -

2012 Fundraiser Dinner

10/1/2012

We were overwhelmed by the support shown for the Museum's 2012 Fundraiser Dinner. We sold out. Tons of donations for door prizes, silent auction, not to mention all the contributors of photos, stories and time. It was the perfect weather for a hot turkey dinner. The meal was held at the Montague Curling Club, put on by the Lion's Club. The food was awesome! Hughie Graham did a fantastic presentation on "Sports and People who lived the Dream". Our guest speaker Larry Resnitsky delivered a wonderful talk about his days of co hosting the Radio sports show "Sports Rap" with Postie Connolly. Looking forward to next years event already. Thanks to everyone involved.

Busy Busy Busy

9/27/2012

Last week was wonderfully busy. Tourists around from all over the world have been enjoying our museum. We had the pleasure of helping two families trace their ancestors this past week. One couple from Maryland we were able to drive out to the very property her great grand father settled on. The other family from Calgary, we were able to send home with tons of information. Great fun getting to know you and helping you on this adventure.

Ticket sales have been fantastic for Fundraising Diner that will be held on Sat. So awesome to see the support from our community for the Museum. It's going to be a great event. We're also busy getting the final touches on our Historical Culture Photo Exhibition, "Impressions". That will be held on Saturday, Sept 29, 12- 5. Admission will be by donation for this one day, and will allow access to the whole Museum. History & Culture go hand in hand.

Blueberry Stomp Great Fun!!!

9/11/2012

The Garden of the Gulf Museum took part in The Annual Blueberry Stomp as Rossignol Winery located in Little Sands. There was wine, good food, local artisans, music and a lot of laughs. I must admit, it didn't feel like work for the day. Twenty teams competed for money toward the charity of their choice. The Museums booth was well received and people showed great interest. We displayed enlarged photos from our collection keeping with the "Harvest time" theme. We had our books and postcards for sale and gave away some free admission passes. Look forward to participating in the event again next year, and I hope everyone was able to get the blueberry stains out of everything. What fun! - Connie Spencer -

Museum, PEI, Prince Edward Island, Community Museum, History PEI, Tourism PEI, Garden of the Gulf Museum, Montague