Brandon museum has big plans this summer

The Brandon General Museum and Archives is planning a number of events this year as staff aim to raise attendance levels by 50 per cent.

Museum administrator Keith Waterfield told the Sun that a focus for the museum this year is increased traffic. Waterfield is planning a paranormal investigation, pub crawls, walking tours, show-and-tells and a new cell phone app to help that goal.

“We want to be doing more events, getting more people through the door,” said Waterfield. “(Getting) more people to know we are downtown.”

Starting in March, the museum brought back its Show and Tell event.

As of time of publication, Wildlife photographer Rustam Dow was set to showcase his equipment for Mar. 22, and local photographer Weichen Zhang was set to showcase her Brandon people-centred photo-storytelling exhibit on April 1. The event is scheduled to return with new guests and new hobbies to bring a spotlight to local education.

“We have people bring their objects,” said Waterfield. “But they are also bringing their passion and their history and sharing that with the public.”

Also planned for the year, guided downtown historical walking tours are returning for the summer at the museum. The first is set to kick off on July 10 with a walk around historical landmarks of the city with interesting information given in real time. The tours are set to return every second week.

A paranormal investigation is planned for the museum this summer as well. Waterfield told the Sun in March that tickets are set to go on sale in early April for the mini fundraiser event that will have the public accompany the investigators through the museum and search for signs of ghosts.

The staff are also planning a guided historical tour that focuses on teaching the history of a number of building fires that occurred in Brandon through history. And pub crawls are scheduled for the “darker” parts of history, to give participants a bit of history information between bar visits, such as about public hangings, jewel robberies and murders that took place throughout Brandon’s history.

Museum volunteer Gordon Wallman told the Sun he contributes his spare time during retirement because museums serve an important purpose.

“It’s great for a city to try and preserve their history,” said Wallman, who was sorting through quarterly RCMP reports from the 20th century. “(Like the old saying goes:) if we forget our history we’re in serious trouble.”

Wallman said he’ll continue supporting the museum from behind the scenes. As a collections worker for the museum, he helps to catalogue everything it receives through donations.

Having spent four years on the board, he said it’s a good goal the museum has set for itself this year. Just getting its name out there as much as possible is all that’s needed.

Waterfield told the Sun in March he’s preparing the launch of an app called “On This Spot.” The app will let people take a photo at a historical location of Brandon, and see the site from a time in history.

The downtown skateboard park is one example, he said. The concrete park is built today where the old Prince Edward Hotel used to stand — and users can learn about that history when the app launches this spring. Other sites include the original fire hall, city hall and First Central School.

Waterfield told the Sun the staff and volunteers have worked really hard to update the displays and equipment at the museum to bring history to the public eye. During a March tour, he said the upcoming events are an effort to connect as much as possible with people in the city and promote the history of Brandon.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com