Several visitors stopped by to see the Plattsville and District Heritage Society’s summer exhibit at the Chesterfield Museum and Archives in Bright on Saturday, August 1, 2026.
The exhibit, titled “Holidays and Celebrations That Bring Us Together,” is designed to take visitors on a trip through the calendar year while sharing how and why people celebrate and acknowledge each occasion.
From New Year’s Eve to Christmas, the exhibit features around 31 holidays, celebrations and nationally recognized days, including Black History Month, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Pride Month, National Indigenous Peoples Day, Canada Day, Thanksgiving, Hallowe’en, Remembrance Day and more.
Big or small, each display was thoughtfully curated with meaningful details that highlight the traditions and customs of each observance. With everything from t-shirts to photos, books and cards, posters, toys, candies, food props and themed decorations, there are plenty of components involved in creating a complete story.
For those interested in bringing their youngsters to check out the exhibit, the heritage society has even set up a scavenger hunt to keep them engaged.
Denise Tew, Chair of the Plattsville and District Heritage Society, credited fellow member Marg Schiedel as the brain behind the exhibit.
“She dreams about this, and then she dreams about where everything is going and what we need,” said Tew.
With so many nationally recognized days in a year, Tew and Schiedel said it was hard to choose which to feature, while keeping in mind certain days that children learn about in school.
“We have days like Red Dress Day, we’ve got Orange Shirt Day, Anti-Bullying Day, and things like Pride too,” said Schiedel. “We wanted to have the days in there that kids are learning about in school, so we’ve included those as well.”
In order to maximize their space, they coupled certain events together like Victoria Day and Canada Day, as well as Thanksgiving and Oktoberfest.
Schiedel said that while the heritage society had many displays already in storage, there were many pieces they specifically created for the exhibit while other pieces were donated by community members.
“We’ve got people that come by to see our exhibits every year and we have people that loan us things every year too, that’s how all of this gets built up,” she said. “We started bringing stuff up and working on putting this together in February, and then another lady and I did most of the set up to get it ready.”
Schiedel added that she’s happy with how the exhibit has turned out, and likes it when people talk about certain details that bring back their own memories.
“We’ve often heard things like, ‘this brings back memories,’ or ‘I remember when Grandma did that,’” she said. “It’s nice to hear those things.”
For those who are interested in checking out the display, the museum is located at 816661 Oxford Road 22, Bright.
“We’re open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until September 19,” said Tew. “Or if Saturdays don’t work for you, you just call 519-539-9800 and make an appointment and we’ll open during the week day or evening.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
