Join Us For Heritage Week 2024

Heritage Week is a time to celebrate the many aspects of Burlington’s various heritages. In 2024, Burlington is celebrating two exciting milestones – 110 years since the Village of Burlington became a town and 50 years as a city. 

To help mark these anniversaries, over 35 representatives from various organizations, departments and individuals have joined to offer residents and visitors, a very special extended week of heritage events and activities. These events are organized by a sub-committee led by a member of the City’s Heritage Burlington Advisory Committee. Other sub-committee members include, the Burlington Historical Society, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington Public Library, Burlington Museums,  Burlington Halton Black History Awareness Society, Beach Canal Lighthouse and David Craig of History Pix, among many others.  Along with events, residents and visitors are encouraged to check out the displays in front of and within City Hall (outside the Council Chambers) at 426 Brant St. and at Centennial Square, at the south end of Brant St. (at Spencer Smith Park). Watch out also for Cogeco’s History Minutes for noteworthy heritage information.

In 2024, several events have been brought back by popular demand while many new ones have been added for a total of 27 within the theme of “Innovations through the 20^th/21^st Centuries.” Please see a full list of planned events below.

We look forward to having you join us for this year’s Heritage Week events. 

All events have free admission though some require pre-registration or a donation to the Burlington Food Bank, Compassion Society or cash for refreshments. Events that require registration will be open for sign up from July 15 to 31, or until capacity is reached.

Parking at municipal parking lots in downtown Burlington is free on Sundays, holidays and after 6 p.m. The Waterfront parking lots east and west at Spencer Smith Park do not offer free parking. A parking pass is required at Beachway Park. For more information about parking, visit burlington.ca/parking. If you have any questions about Heritage Week celebrations, please email [email protected].

Watch and share our Burlington 150+ video

Schedule of Events

A detailed schedule of all the events taking place during Heritage Week, including locations and how to register, is available at burlington.ca/heritageweek. All events are free. Registration is open between July 10 to 28. All are welcome.

Heritage Week 2024 Schedule

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Location: Joseph Brant Museum, 1240 North Shore Blvd. East

Join a Member of Council, Indigenous Spiritual Healer White Eagle, Town Crier David Vollick, Museums Burlington Director Kimberly Watson, and other special guests at the circa 1930s replica Brant House as we formally launch Heritage Week 2024. The ceremony will include a special plaque and sign presentation for three organizations celebrating notable anniversaries, recognition certificates and other activities. Enjoy music by a quartet from the Burlington Symphony Orchestra.

In person. Light refreshments. No registration required (capacity limited to 50 people).

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Following the opening ceremony, join Alan Harrington of the Burlington Historical Society on a walk from the west end of Spencer Smith Park to the Beach Canal/Lighthouse. Enjoy hearing stories along the route and looking at locations of interest. The beauty of the walk is much of it takes place in the shade along a paved trail. Hear about the history of this unique natural area and community. Meet by the Conversations and Stories sculpture in front of Joseph Brant Museum (1240 North Shore Blvd. E). The walk can end at the historic canal lift bridge or may be extended to a visit to the outside of the lighthouse and keeper’s cottage on the south side of the bridge with the Beach Canal Lighthouse Group. 

In person. Pre-register at [email protected]. Parking lot fees may apply. Comfortable walking shoes, a sunhat and sunscreen or other weather-appropriate wear are recommended.

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Location: Spencer Smith Park, 1400 Lakeshore Rd,  Waterfront Trail, east of/across from Joseph Brant Museum

The Moccasin Identifier Initiative, was founded by former Chief Carolyn King of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. The initiative is a teaching tool and public awareness building program for Treaty relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. Representing Indigenous diversity through the various moccasin designs, the moccasin is a ‘physical expression of the First Nations journey and considered sacred and passed down to the next generation. As Mother Earth is sacred, the moccasin allows people to tread on her with honour and respect. The activity of stencil painting the various moccasin designs by children along the Waterfront Trail will help teach this knowledge to the next generation of Burlingtonians.

In person. Pre-register at [email protected]. Washable tempera paints will be used. Participants should be prepared with activity and weather-appropriate clothing.

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Location: Spencer Smith Park, 1400 Lakeshore Rd.

Celebrating the 190^th year of Emancipation throughout the British Commonwealth, the Freedom Festival brings together music, children’s activities, cultural art, food, crafts and heritage, historical, genealogical and multi-cultural groups to promote inclusivity and community integration. Share in the joy with the Halton Black History Awareness Society, as Burlington was the first city in the world to acclaim August as Emancipation Month. Bring lawn chairs, sunshade, an appetite and dance wear for optimal enjoyment!

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Location: Centro Garden Farm Market, 590 Brant St.

Burlington’s rich, productive farmland has produced a variety of fruits and vegetables through the years.  Join Affirm College of Culinary Arts for free cooking demonstrations featuring freshly picked produce that can be readily purchased at the Centro Garden Farm Market.  Professional chefs will show you how to transform local produce into delectable recipes to celebrate the season and share with friends and family.

In person. No registration required.

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Heritage Burlington is sharing its second self-guided special anniversary driving tour of Burlington. Commemorating the theme of Innovations through the 20^th/21^st Centuries, this tour will highlight several firsts from within its northern rural communities to its southern urban settlement.  This tour offers an opportunity to discover the community, along with historic places of interest and related stories.  Find the tour route on the Burlington Historical Society’s webpage.

In person. No registration required. Please safely follow all rules of the road, including parking.

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Location: St. Luke’s Anglican Church, Community Centre and grounds, 1382 Ontario St.

Come tour St. Luke’s, at 190 years old this year, the oldest church building in Burlington.  Visit the community centre to enjoy and purchase artwork from a  local artist or make your own piece of art. Walk the grounds to see artists paint whatever scene catches their attention. This is known as painting en plein air or “in the open air”, weather permitting.  Donations of cash, non-perishable food, diapers, unopened hygiene products, will be accepted for the Burlington Food Bank or the Compassion Society of Halton, at the entrance to the community centre.

In person. No registration required. All sales handled by artists so be prepared to make either a cash or e-payment.

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Location: St. Luke’s Anglican Church Community Centre, 1382 Ontario St., Room 201

Join Hugh Fraser, Agricultural Engineer (semi-retired), Ministry of Agriculture and Food, for his fascinating and well-informed presentation, on the barns of Ontario.  Enjoy looking at his many photos of some of the 1,000 barns he has been in and marvel at a beautiful scale model of an old barn. Hugh will have copies of his book “Swing Beam Barns of Niagara” highlighting 50 barns built circa 1819 to 1884. Did you know we have swing beam barns in Burlington?!  Learn more about Ontario Barn Preservation.

In person. No registration required. Seating capacity of 50 people per timeslot.

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Location: LaSalle Park, 50 North Shore Blvd. East

Join Alan Harrington of the Burlington Historical Society on a walk, through LaSalle Park. Hear about the explorer Rene-Robert Cavalier de LaSalle, the man, the park and the legend. Walk in his footsteps. Enjoy hearing stories along the route, looking at locations of interest and learning about the history of this unique natural area and community.  Meet by the pavilion in LaSalle Park.

In person. Register at [email protected]. Parking lot fees may apply. Comfortable walking shoes, a sunhat and sunscreen or other weather-appropriate wear are recommended.

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Location: Burlington Public Library, Aldershot Branch, 550 Plains Rd East, Program Room

Learn how you search for, view, and download historical images, maps, clippings, scrapbooks and more using the Burlington Digital Archive. The archive includes online local history collections of Burlington Public Library, Burlington Historical Society, and the City of Burlington. 

In person. Register online at www.bpl.on.ca.

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Location: Joseph Brant Museum, 1240 North Shore Blvd. East

Explore the travelling exhibit, Worlds of the Night, highlighting the nocturnal ecosystems, insects and animals, some of which can be found in Burlington’s nightscape. 

Step back in time and explore Burlington’s past with a film screening of “The Eyes of Memory” at Joseph Brant Museum. Produced by Burlington-based film company Cinema 16, the film originally premiered in 1973 for the centennial celebration of the City of Burlington. Originally shot on 16mm colour film, the image quality has been upgraded. Attendance includes film screening, light refreshments, and popcorn (while supplies last).

Pre-registration with Museums of Burlington is recommended. Regular Museum admission will apply to enter galleries when open during the day. The Museum’s galleries will not be open in the evening.

In person. Maximum of 40 people per screening time.

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Location: Central Park Band Shell, 2311 New St.

Bring your lawn chair or a blanket and be ready to be swept away by the sounds of Burlington Symphony Orchestra, celebrating its 51^st anniversary. Many Burlington and area residents have enjoyed listening to a variety of music played in this 60+-year-old landmark band shell venue throughout the decades.

In person. No registration required.

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Location: Burlington Public Library, Central Branch, 2331 New St, Ron Ness Training Room

Learn to apply basic search strategies to online genealogical resources and family history tools to enhance your research.

In person. Register online at www.bpl.on.ca.

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Location: Royal Botanical Gardens

Join a RBG interpreter on this approximately 90-minute guided walk to discover the natural and cultural significance of the Burlington Heights  landscape and why it was designated as a National Historic Site.

In person. Maximum of 20 participants. Register online at rbg.ca.

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Location: Roseland Park Country Club parking lot, 3079 Princess Blvd., west of Port Nelson United Church

Planting trees is one of the best ways to combat climate change. Did you know that for a tree to be carbon neutral, it needs to survive for five years after transplanting? Growing trees in the urban environment is tough. Urban Foresters try to minimize the challenges by planting with the hope they will live for 40 years or more and bring hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of green infrastructure benefits to the people of Burlington.

Learn about the interesting trees the City of Burlington is planting, the best size of tree to plant, where we plant and how the City is trying to grow our canopy on both public and private land to reach our 35% canopy cover goal.

City of Burlington will lead a leisurely community-guided walk as residents explore the various environmental aspects within Roseland Park. This walk is led by City staff (ISA Board Certified Master Arborist), that will last approximately 45 minutes and will conclude with a questions and answers session.

In person. Maximum 35 participants. Register at [email protected].

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Location: Roseland Park Country Club parking lot, 3079 Princess Blvd. west of Port Nelson United Church

The Roseland Park Community celebrates its 100–year anniversary as a residential area this year with a 20^th/21^st century architectural history tour being offered. Prior to its establishment, the adjacent town of Port Nelson was a busy and important port from where a wide variety of agricultural and other products were shipped along the Great Lakes. The area currently known as Roseland Park was at one time a farm occupied by the Rev. Thomas Greene, first Rector of St. Luke’s Church and his wife Kate Kilally, whom we have to thank for the name Roseland, given her love of roses. The land was granted to the church by Margaret Brant Powlis, a daughter of Joseph Brant. Roseland is now an area known for its beautiful tree canopy and stately homes.  Join us on an afternoon tour and learn from two residents about this community’s rich history from its time as an important First Nations Territory to today with its beautiful tree canopy, one of the finest, most diverse urban forests in Canada.

In-person. Register at [email protected].

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Location: Burlington Public Library, Tansley Branch, 1996 Itabashi Way, Program Room

Learn how you search for, view, and download historical images, maps, clippings, scrapbooks and more using the Burlington Digital Archive. The archive includes online local history collections of Burlington Public Library, Burlington Historical Society, and the City of Burlington.

In person. Register online at www.bpl.on.ca.

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Location: Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Community Studio, 440 Locust St.

With all new questions, join Don Thorpe, Burlington Historical Society and David Craig, History Pix, for a fun evening of trivia about Burlington’s past and the characters that made it.  Be ready to be surprised, possibly shocked and definitely to enjoy your time as you decide whether to go with your first answer or your second answer. Come by yourself or with a group to compete for bragging rights.

In person. Maximum of 160 participants. Register online.

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Location: Burlington Public Library,Central Branch, 2331 New St., Centennial Room

Spend an afternoon immersed in Burlington’s history! Meet with local organizations and community groups to learn about their history and the part they play in preserving Burlington’s rich heritage. Explore informative exhibits and displays, talk with members, and listen to speakers.

In person. No registration required. Maximum capacity of 70 seats.

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Location: Burlington Public Library, Central Branch, 2331 New St., Centennial Room

Listen to four talks from the City of Burlington Heritage Planning, Royal Botanical Gardens, History Pix and Halton Heritage Services with a focus on the preservation of cultural heritage landscapes, buildings and objects.

In person. No registration required. Maximum capacity of 70 seats.

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Location: details at pre-registration

The CSCC and Kilbride History Group will be presenting the history of Lot 7 and 8, Concession 2 NS in north Nelson Township. The first settler, Thomas Simpson, settled here. It was also home to the Dakota Mill and the powder company that exploded, the sound which could be heard as far away as St. Catharines. For those interested, the CSCC who are celebrating their 100^thanniversary this year, have offered to walk anyone to the location of the Mill.  Descendants of Thomas Simpson, Titus G. Cummins (founder of Cumminsville) and possibly the Pegg (owners of the Mill) and W.D. Flatt (developer of the CSCC and Roseland Park Community) families may be in attendance.

In person. Please go to kilbridehistory.com and click on Events for more details and to pre-register. Limited capacity. Please note that the CSCC is private property and entrance is only possible with permission.

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Explore Burlington’s heritage and culture during Doors Open Burlington.  Explore our great city and discover its stories.  All in-person Doors Open Burlington sites offer FREE admission and onsite activities. This year learn more about the Doors Open Ontario theme of Adaptive Reuse – showcasing heritage sites that have been repurposed to best serve their communities, while retaining their heritage attributes. Information about participating sites can be found at doorsopenontario.on.ca/burlington.

Locations include the Burlington Model Railway Club, Appleby United Church, and more.

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Location: 1333 Lakeshore Rd

Join us in the Family Studio for a free drop-in art activity with Catherine Jones, who will show you how to make your own thaumatropes! One of the oldest forms of animation, thaumatropes combine paired images drawn on both sides of a circular surface to create an exciting optical illusion of movement. Head into the gallery to explore Alize Zorlutuna’s We Who Have Known Many Shores, and draw inspiration from the various symbols and objects found in their exhibition to create a thaumatrope in the studio – or let Alize’s stories of ancestral lands guide you to your own imagery and ideas!

Volunteer Gallery Guides will also be present to provide informal exhibition tours and answer visitors’ questions as part of Doors Open Burlington.

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Other opportunities to celebrate Burlington’s heritage

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Location: Joseph Brant Museum, 1240 North Shore Blvd. E.

A community’s history is captured through photographs and documents often tucked away in private homes. Sharing personal memories can enrich the community’s history with digital scans ensuring the preservation of the stories, memories, and experiences unique to the people of Burlington. Do you have cherished photographs at home you are willing to share? Do you want to preserve your family’s photographs digitally for generations? Museums of Burlington invites you to bring your local family photographs (photo-negatives and slides also) and documents to us where we will scan your items and with your permission add the scan to our community archives. Keep your family treasures and gain a digital copy! Alternatively, if you’d like, you can donate the original copy to the Museum for long-term preservation at our storage facility. You and your family can then choose to visit the photos/documents at a future time by contacting the Museum. Preservation and access go hand in hand, as we collect and store content so that it can be viewed and enjoyed by generations of Canadians. We recommend booking a timeslot on our website. For more information regarding the event, email our Curatorial Department at [email protected].

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Location: Backed By Bees, 6214 Appleby Ln.

Burlington has a rich history embedded in agriculture. By the early 1900s, Burlington had evolved into a very prosperous farming community with mixed farms growing a variety of fruits and vegetables.  It was known as the “Garden of Canada” with local produce loaded and transported across Canada on the Grand Trunk Railway. In honour of Burlington’s Heritage Week, an exclusive, limited batch of mead has been created. 

Indulge in the rich heritage of Burlington, Ontario, with “Garden City Heritage Mead”, a truly unique and artisanal creation. This mead combines the finest local honey with the crisp, fresh flavors of Halton apples, creating a delightful harmony of sweetness and fruitiness. Enhanced with a warming blend of spices, each sip of this mead evokes the cozy comfort of autumnal orchards and festive gatherings. Limited edition and available exclusively at Backed by Bees. Perfect for gifting or for enjoying during special occasions. While quantities last!

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In honour of keeping with Burlington’s heritage milestones in 2024, elementary schools in Burlington within the Halton District School Board have a unique and exciting opportunity to learn about and celebrate the history of Burlington.  Kindergarten to Grade 8 students who attend a Burlington school can participate in this contest by applying their critical and creative thinking skills, in order to design a piece of work to showcase Burlington’s heritage. Produce a poem, song, photo story, video, poster, artwork, movie trailer or trading cards Students interested are invited to submit their work no later than Sept. 27, 2024 to Leanne Rust, HDSB Elementary Instruction Program Leader, by email at [email protected] or by mail to New Street Education Centre (3250 New St., Burlington, ON L7N 1M8 c/o Leanne Rust. Please include the student’s last name and first initial, current grade level, teacher’s name and school name as of September 2024. Certificates and a prize to be awarded to one student from each of the five categories – Kindergarden, Grade 1-2, Gr. 3-4, Gr. 5-6 and Gr. 7-8.  Let’s see how creative you can be!

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