Our season began with a family of robins making their nest on the porch. Their mother faithfully came to feed them every day, and before long they had grown up and flew off into the Oak Grove.

For the first time since the pandemic began, the museum was able to re-open to the public with our Spring Party on the Victoria Day weekend. The event set the tone for the year with its surprisingly strong attendance, and ended with a bang when a thunderstorm rolled across Cameron Lake.

Over the course of the summer, many magical creatures appeared at Maryboro Lodge, including this dragon who liked playing giant croquet!

As always, the horticultural society did a wonderful job of caring for the museum’s gardens. They make a special effort to plant flowers that provide habitat for the pollinators. The Rocky Mountain Liatris was especially popular for monarch butterflies, who came to visit practically every day.

In 2022, the museum premiered many new interactive exhibits. Some like the little wind machine, gave visitors hands-on opportunities to learn about science.

The garden in front of the porch was turned into a kids’ garden, as local youth like Ryan Bellwood and Sophie Kaloudas planted a variety of vegetables and flowers. By summer, their lettuce, basil and tomatoes were ready to eat.

Maryboro Lodge Museum hosted Fenelon Falls’ Canada Day celebrations this year, co-ordinating event both at the beach park and on Water Street. One new activity was an evening street party, that was much enjoyed by everyone who attended.

Local kids had the chance to take part in Chris McKhool’s Fiddlefire show.

As the sun set over Cameron Lake, thousands of people assembled by the beach to watch the fireworks…

And Supernova Fireworks put on a spectacular show!

The age-old tradition of tea returned to Maryboro Lodge in 2022, and the gatherings were very well attended. The Sexy Senior Outlaws showed up in force every week!

Judy Kennedy always dressed beautifully to greet visitors at tea.

Maryboro Lodge hosted daily arts and crafts activities. The art workshops were a lot of fun!

The museum hosted weekly concerts in the park and an open mic. Many local performers shared their talents at Maryboro Lodge this summer.

One new event at Maryboro Lodge this year was Pride in the Park. Resident pianist Don Deathe was at the keyboard, sharing his wonderful musical talents.

In the evening, the Pride Committee put on a spectacular dance on the patio.

On July 16, Maryboro Lodge hosted the Fenelon Falls Horticultural Society’s Garden Tour. Volunteer Judy Kennedy was on hand to interpret the Victory Garden.

Anna Croxall returned to lead our ever popular school program. This year we raised a butterfly, made fairies, sent telegraphs, built a bridge to the moon, and of course learned reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic.

On July 21, the Rotary Club hosted a picnic at Maryboro Lodge, to thank all the volunteers who helped at the COVID-19 vaccination clinics. As the museum hosted so many wonderful public events this summer, it was a moment to reflect on all the volunteers who made our summer fun possible.

Anne Langton (Barbara Dunn-Prosser) dropped by and hosted a tea, featuring her own biscuit recipe.

Our students had a great idea for a new event: the Ball. Hearkening back to the days when James Wallis built Maryboro Lodge to host soirees of the local gentry, guests like Zoe, Sofia, Sophie and Edie dressed up to attend the ball. We enjoyed soda (a new product served at Northey’s Restaurant) and grape juice (after all, Fenelon Falls is a dry town!).

A boat sailed off into the sunset, as darkness came to the ball. It was the last weekend we had all of our summer students together.

Among our new activities this year, was a street hockey game featuring legendary local goalies Alvin Gould (who won the Stratton Cup for Fenelon Falls) and Joe Junkin (Championship Bobcaygeon goalie who went on to play for the Boston Bruins).

One of the magical things about Maryboro Lodge is that it is situated in an ancient oak grove. It is always nice to look up through the twisted branches of the Bur Oaks.

Each Saturday the museum hosted an engineering challenge, where participants could put their ideas to the test. The catapult was one of the many popular science activities.

We also had a great time building cardboard box castles. Many thanks to Cornerstone Home Furnishings for saving us all those boxes.

KidsFest was an awesome end of summer party, featuring many new activities and a lot of talented performers.

Just as we were closing up for the season, our the caterpillar that we had been caring for in the school emerged from its chrysalis, hardened its wings, and flew off into the oak grove. It was a magical end to the season.

We had a wonderful summer in 2022. Thank you very much to all the volunteers who made everything possible, and everyone who visited the museum and took part in our best season ever!