Heartfelt Thanks to the Knights of Columbus!

April 28, 2026

The Aylmer-Malahide Museum & Archives extends heartfelt thanks to the Aylmer Knights of Columbus for their generous donation of $2,000. Knights met with museum staff on April 28th to make their wonderful donation, which is commemorated in the photograph to the left. We rely on the support of community members like the Knights to continue in our mission of preserving and promoting our community’s history. The funds from this donation will go towards general operations and the preservation of our extensive collection. Thank you!

Left (left to right): Office Manager Kathi Vandermeer, Grand Knight Andy Lamers, Collections Manager Sarah Bentley

Call for Tour of Homes Sponsors!

April 17, 2026

The volunteers of the Aylmer-Malahide Museum & Archives are pleased to announce the 22ⁿᵈ annual Christmas Tour of Homes, scheduled for November 13ᵗʰ to 15ᵗʰ of 2026.

Our Tour of Homes Committee is hard at work arranging another fantastic Tour of Homes! Christmas never takes a break at the museum, and preparations for the tour begin as early as January of each year. As our most ambitious fundraiser, we rely on the committee’s support to make each tour a resounding success!

Each year, the museum seeks four homes in the area to generously open their doors to our community for one weekend in November. The homes are decorated for the holiday season, largely drawing from the kind support of local merchants and business owners to loan merchandise as décor. Museum volunteers coordinate the tour and decorate the homes, and hundreds of volunteer hours go into making the tour possible. Tickets in the form of small booklets are sold to the public, who are welcome to tour the homes and partake in the festivities! Last year, the tour drew in over 880 guests, travelling from across southwestern Ontario.

We greatly value the financial support of local businesses to make the tour an annual success! Sponsorships allow us to offset the cost of hosting the tour, printing tickets, and purchasing additional décor, alongside keeping the museum afloat. The tour itself is intended to raise funds for the museum’s charitable goals of preserving and promoting our community’s history through the conservation of our collection of artifacts and the implementation of educational exhibits. Revenue from the tour goes to general operations, staff salaries, and the care of our extensive collection.

We would love to have your business’ support for this year’s Tour of Homes! We offer sponsorships through the purchase of advertisements. Each advertisement will be printed in the Tour of Homes ticket booklet, which reaches approximately 900 tour-goers, and will be featured on the Tour of Homes webpage with a link to its respective business. Please note that ticket advertisements will be printed in black and white, and website advertisements will be featured in colour. We are pleased to offer three sizes of advertisements: a half-page ad (5.15″ x 3.9″), a quarter-page ad (5.15″ x 1.9″) and an eighth-page ad (2.5″ x  1.9″). Local businesses are welcome to fill out the form below to advertise with us, or to otherwise contact us at (519) 773-9723 or info@aylmermuseum.ca.

Please confirm your advertisement for the 2026 tour before August 15th.

Museum Featured in the Woolwich Observer

Reporter Meg Deak of the Woolwich Observer reached out to museum staff to request an interview regarding the Swan Line and the migration of the Tundra Swans. Office Manager Kathi Vandermeer was able to provide a few statements to be featured in the story. Those interested in the article may read it at the link below. Please be aware that access to the article requires a membership, but the Observer offers free plans.

Read more here!

Featured image courtesy of David Helsdon.

The Swans Have Moved On

April 8, 2026

After another annual stop at the Aylmer Wildlife Management Area, the swans have moved on to their mating grounds in the high Arctic. A total of 28,854 swans were counted between March 10 and the last day of counting on April 2.

Many thanks to Eastlink for providing the Swan Line to the museum free of charge. Special thanks to the Elgin Stewardship Council for acting as the swans’ caretakers and for providing us with their daily numbers.

Thank you for visiting this page; we look forward to seeing you again in the spring of 2027!

 

For more information, visit our Tundra Swan Line page.

 

 

 

Featured image courtesy of David Helsdon