The Pemberton Museum is quietly gearing up for another busy summer season.
Its big opening day: Tuesday, June 3.
“I’m super excited because it looks like I’m going to have a really great team,” said Charmaine Carpenter, curator and executive director of the museum. “The stronger the team and the more people I have, the more stuff we can do.”
That includes a few concerts over the summer, Toonie Teas—which feature a tea along with entertainment or informative talks—and welcoming a diverse range of longtime locals, new residents, and international tourists through the doors.
Last year, the museum welcomed people from South Africa, Australia, the U.K., Ukraine and South and Central Americas, to name just a few locations, who were keen to learn a bit about Pemberton’s history.
“It’s really exciting and interesting to meet all these people that are coming through,” Carpenter said.
But first, the museum is hosting a kick-off party—which doubles as a fundraiser and membership drive—on June 8. It starts with a Family Dance Party from 12 to 4 p.m. featuring DJ Ira Pettle, as well as crafts and activities (tickets are $5). Then, after a short break, the party restarts for the adult crowd from 6 to 9 p.m. with The Hairfarmers, a cash bar, and games (tickets are $20).
“It’s the second one,” Carpenter said. “Last year we did our first season kick-off and it’s a fundraiser and membership drive. We’re definitely trying to increase our membership, which is incredibly affordable. It’s $20 for individuals and $25 for families. We’re also trying to get some business memberships and that’s $50 for a business to be a member.”
When visitors arrive at the museum, they will be greeted by two new murals by local artist Kate Zessel—who now lives in Pemberton.
“Last fall we partnered with the Pemberton Arts Council and they are doing great work right in the community with murals all over town and we were fortunate enough to get two murals from Kate Zessel,” Carpenter said. “If you're driving down Pemberton Meadows Road, you’ll see the murals on the back of our tool shed. We’re really excited about that. She painted it over the winter, so we just got it installed and we look forward to celebrating that throughout the year. It’s made such a lovely difference to the back of the site.”
A less noticeable upgrade the museum has made over the last year: mitigating fire risk.
“Last year we invested almost $25,000 with the support of the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation, to make some serious headway into FireSmarting the site,” Carpenter said. “You can imagine how at-risk we are due to the sheer nature of the buildings we are trying to preserve. We had some sprinklers added to our cedar-shingle roofs. We upgraded our roof last year. We’ve had several perimeters put around all the buildings. Last year we had all our trees limbed. We always have to stay ahead of it … That work has started, but it’s a big site.”
While that site is about to get busier, the museum still welcomes bookings for private events—both in summer and winter.
“One of the amazing things that’s happened over the last few years is that we’re available to rent,” Carpenter said. “We’ve had all kinds of events, everything from weddings and memorials and then the school house is used for everything from yoga and breath work to drumming circles. We have not-for-profits using the school house as a meeting space. We’re trying to keep it incredibly affordable. It’s a community space, it’s meant for the community.”
It’s also meant for students. Some of the biggest groups to visit in the early season are from local schools.
“Last year we had almost 600 students,” Carpenter said.
With a new website launched, check out pembertonmuseum.org or visit facebook.com/PembertonDistrictMuseum/ to stay up to date with events—including tickets to the season kick-off party.
