Lilac Festival in full bloom at Macaulay Heritage Park

Theresa Tait and Suzanne Smith were selling tickets on “Memories” a Dresden Plate design quilt, as a fundraiser for Rose House Museum. The quilt was pieced together using a design found on an incomplete 1830s era quilt donated by Peggy Frizzell and Jean Buchanan. Hundreds of hours of work were shared by quilters from the PEC and Sandhurst Shore guilds’ members and friends. Tickets will be sold throughout the summer at various events.

Derek Cooke was on hand at the Macaulay House Lilac Festival Saturday to appraise antiques and artifacts. One of his favourite items of the day was Nancy Bontje's circa 1920s "Yes No" bear passed down from her mother. The bear, though clearly loved and worn, was valued in the $150-$200 range. Wagging the bear's tail moves its head.

Maia Heissler was among the many vendors at the the Lilac Festival. She shared her forest friends and other gifts from nature and also demonstrated how to dip candles.

Nancy Woods cooked at the Macaulay House kitchen fireplace and offered tasty samples of her creations to visitors.

Macaulay Heritage Park was in full bloom Saturday, May 19 welcoming visitors to the annual Lilac Festival. The day included exhibits on the grounds, baking, handicrafts, heritage plants, collectibles, quilting, antiques and children’s games. The Macaulay House, 23-25 Church St., Picton, was built in 1830 and restored to the mid-1850s was open for tours. Reverend William Macaulay came here as a missionary. In 1823 he organized the Parish of Hallowell, donating the land for the Picton church.
Macaulay House is open from May to October. The Macaulay Church Museum next door was re-opened last year.

Summer Experience Camps will be offered this year at all the County’s museums to help make history come alive for children ages seven to 12.

The Museums of Prince Edward County are celebrating heritage with a new web presence at www.countymemorytrail.ca
The website’s virtual content development features digitization of the museum’s collection (approximately 7000 artifacts) for staff and public use and production of a “virtual interactive walk-through” of Macaulay Church where viewers online can control movement, and have ability to select artifacts of interest. When selected, (via mouse or touch screen) either a mini-documentary or Interactive Video Content pops up.
The public is encouraged to upload content related to the museum, its collections, and the County’s overall heritage.
Jennifer Lyons, head curator, says the project was initiated at the time of the rehabilitation project at Macaulay Church to improve access to the museum’s collections, as museums typically display 10 to 15 per cent of their collections at any given time.