Daly House has big plans for 140th anniversary

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This article was published 11/07/2022 (1155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Daly House Museum will be ringing in its 140th anniversary with a special event capturing history on canvas.

The museum will host local landscape artist Weiming Zhao Friday, helping guests experience the art of en plein air painting and the unveiling of his exhibit “Brandon Heritage on Plein Air.” The outdoor studio will be set up in the Daly House Victorian garden courtyard and serves as a kickoff to the Doors Open Tours taking place on Saturday and Sunday.

“We’re celebrating its heritage from pre-1882 to present time,” said Daly House curator Eileen Trott. “The house was built in 1882, the same year we were incorporated as a city.”

Paint the Garden is a celebration of the 140th anniversary of the historic site. The week of celebrations will wrap up on July 21 with Gathering in The Garden.

As part of Gathering in the Garden, the museum will be launching the new exhibit, “A Landscape History.” The exhibit features 16 panels with historical facts and tidbits spanning the eras of the Daly House. The panels will be placed permanently in the Daly House’s garden gazebo.

The panels will feature images from the site including photos from pre-1882 to contemporary times.

As she designed the exhibit, Trott carefully curated the history of the house including gathering information about past owners, the 40-year history of the Maples Orphanage and lastly when the Daly House Museum moved in. It was a challenge narrowing down what to feature in each panel, but she was able to hone in on specific themes for each insert.

The images all come from the Daly House archives, Trott said, aside from the pre-1882 panel that features images from the Library and Archives of Canada.

The house was designated a municipal heritage site in 2000. The exhibit will also discuss what features helped earn the museum this designation.

The Victorian Garden was installed in 2012 and images of its construction and growth will also be included. Trott noted the garden is also steeped in history, with plants such as the Brandon Corrabells, which were developed at the Brandon Research Centre in the 1950s specifically to withstand the hot and dry summers of the Prairies. Peonies owned by former Brandon police chief Harry Collister in the 1950s are also on display along with other peonies developed by Harry Patmore of Patmore Nurseries.

It took time to develop the exhibit, Trott said. Her research allowed for interesting discoveries and insights into the history of Brandon.

While digging through the archives, Trott unearthed a unique photo album from the Daly House yard featuring guests in period costumes — but there were no names or dates. After some digging, she discovered they were taken on Manitoba Day, May 12, 1992. The photos were of awards given to volunteers for promoting heritage in the city.

“You never know what’s going to come from when you start looking at what you have in your collection,” Trott said.

The Daly House has more than 21,000 objects, photographs and documents in the museum. These artifacts help show how life in Brandon has changed over the past 14 decades.

Trott hopes guests walk away with a better understanding and appreciation for Brandon’s history.

“Locations have a history, they have a dialogue. For this location, part of that history is not in our human memory. We don’t remember what it looked like when it was a bison plain. We don’t remember what it looked like when the city was incorporated … we only know what it looks like now,” Trott said. “When you come to Daly House and you walk through the garden, it’s totally changed from what it was 140 years ago,” Trott said. “We get to learn from those changes. If you don’t know your history, the old saying is, you’re doomed to repeat it.”

Tours will be available inside the house during Gathering in the Garden and guides will be on hand to answer questions about items and artifacts on display.

The landscape history display will be located in the courtyard before it becomes a permanent installation in the gazebo.

Tickets for Gathering in The Garden are $45 and are available for purchase by calling 204-727-1722 or visiting Event Bright. Members get a $5 discount. A tax receipt of $20 is available upon request.

Trott wants to see people mingle through the garden and engage in the rich history of the Daly House, Trott said, while enjoying the courtyard surrounded by a Victorian garden.

“That’s the best way to drink it in — look and ask questions and have fun with your friends while you’re here,” Trott said.

Paint the Garden with Weiming Zhao tickets are available for $40.

During the summer, the Daly House is open from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and children and $12 for families.

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