Heritage Farm Show

Join us for the annual Heritage Farm Show on Labour Day Weekend at the Backus-Page House.

Demonstrations over the two day event include threshing, baling, working farm horses and historic farming interpretive displays. There will be an open horseshoe competition with cash prizes on Saturday. Interested parties are advised to register early as only the first 24 entries will be accepted to compete. Teams are recommended and admission and registration fees apply.
A special addition to the show this year is the rare opportunity to tour the nearby Pearce Homestead recently purchased and restored by Cathy and Gary Jewel. The house was built by the Pearce family in the late 1800s and illustrates a distinct historic era within the community.
On Sunday the pancake breakfast starts at 9 am, gates open for the show at 10 am and there's a church service at 11 am on the lawn of the museum. If you weren't able to stop by the Backus-Page House Museum on Canada Parks Day to see licensed trapper Greg Balch and his impressive display, be sure to visit us on Sunday afternoon when Greg will return for an encore presentation. If you have a question about contemporary trapping, the history of the fur trade or you'd just like to pet a stuffed beaver...this display should be on your must see list!
A tremendous amount of work has gone into the restoration of the St Peters Rectory barn (moved to the site in 2005) and visitors to this year’s Heritage Farm Show can finally appreciate the fruits of that labour as the second floor display area will be open to the public. There are a broad variety of implements to be viewed for those who enjoy history, agriculture and changes in technology.
While on site don’t forget to tour the Backus-Page House Museum where costumed interpreters will be available to take visitors on a trip back through time to the year 1850. Exhibits currently running are the Anna (Backus) Docker and Edna Simpson Early Textile Collection and the Wallacetown United Ladies Aide Signature Quilt. The quilt will soon join other Elgin County community quilts to form the Community Patterns Exhibition at the ECM. Visitors are encouraged to take the opportunity to sign the memory book if they recollect a quilt signature and become part of history themselves.
A BBQ lunch will be available on both days. There's a daily candy scavenger hunt and hands on activities for children. Live entertainment will compliment the weekend event and guests can have a bite to eat, take in the sights and learn a little about farming history while enjoying the musical stylings of Bill Graham and Friends. You'll find good food, good friends and lots of fun at the Backus-Page House Annual Heritage Farm Show.

The Heritage Farm Show is presented by the Tyrconnell Heritage Society. For more information about the Heritage Farm Show, the Backus-Page House Museum, the John E. Pearce Provincial Park or Tyrconnell Heritage Society please call the Carriage House Office at 519-762-3072.