SUMMER 2025
This summer is packed with creative fun at the Concrete House. The newly renovated Hazelwood Gallery will be hosting three art exhibits this summer;
JUNE
Sunday, June 1 - 1 to 4 pm
Art Opening
For the Love of All Things Charlie
Group exhibit and sale of 30+ art pieces by invited Nova Scotia artists. Each artist has created either a painting or diorama (sometimes both) that pays homage to the artwork of Charles Macdonald. All art pieces will be displayed anonymously and are for sale. Proceeds go to the artist or the Concrete House per the artists’ preference.
Wednesday June 4 - 1 to 4 pm
Cookies & Tea
Come and taste some fresh cookies made with Mabel Macdonald's cookie recipes. There will also be tea and sketching materials set out, so make yourself at home and take in the magic of the Concrete House. This event will be pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $5.
Wednesday, June 11- 1 to 4 pm
Watercolours en pleine air
Join us for an afternoon of watercolour painting outside at the Concrete House! Lots of interesting subject matter can be found on the museum grounds - you could paint a concrete cougar, giant apple, or cluster of toadstools. Supplies provided. This event will be pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $5.
Saturday, June 14, 2 pm
Abandoned Roads of Nova Scotia
Come and hear Steve Skafte talk about his adventures along abandoned roads, hiking forgotten highways, and exploring the crumbling history that our ancestors left behind. Since 2007, he's shared an uninterrupted daily journal on social media of his discoveries all over the province. He's also been widely featured in national print media, and on TV and radio. He'll be signing copies of all his currently available books after the talk.
Wednesday, June 18 - 1 to 4 pm
Silkscreening
Join us for an afternoon of silk screening from 1pm to 4pm. Stop in with your own t-shirt (or pillow case, or tote bag, or tea towel, etc.) and we will help you silkscreen a drawing of the Concrete House by local artist Terry Havlis Drahos! This event will be pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $5.
The Museum will be closed to the public June 20, 21, and 22
Saturday, June 21 - 1 to 5 pm
Artist Workshop
Dioramas
with Miyoshi Kondo
Miniatures have been fabricated and held fascination over the centuries. A large world condensed can lend itself to play, to entertainment, to visualizing or understanding a larger issue. Come create your own miniature world centered around a table and chairs. What is the backdrop? Who or what would you invite? From the Last Supper to the Surrealist Ball, a fairy tea party, to The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago there are endless options.
Miyoshi Kondo is an artist with a penchant for gouache. She came to love this vibrant and fickle paint while acquiring a BFA from NSCAD University. Common themes explored in her work are how we function within, and relate to, our natural and constructed environments and our concepts of home. After completing her tattoo apprenticeship at Rave’N’Ink Tattoo she is currently working as a tattoo artist in Wolfville, NS. Her paintings can be found at Argyle Fine Art Gallery (Halifax, NS), greeting cards at The AGNS gift shop (Halifax, NS), Atlantic News (Halifax, NS) and School Street Glass (Hantsport), NS.
Class Limit - 10
Cost - $50 - all supplies included
Register - Email your name and phone number to charlesmacdonaldsociety@gmail.com followed by an e-transfer for $50 to charlesmacdonaldsociety@gmail.com
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Wednesday, June 25 - 1 to 4 pm
Pride Rainbow Collage
Join us for a fun and colorful family-friendly event during Annapolis Valley Pride Week! We’ll be collaging mini rainbows (or your own unique design). This hands-on activity is perfect for all ages, so bring your family and friends to celebrate love, creativity, and inclusivity. The event is pay-what-you-can, with a suggested $5 donation.
Saturday, June 28 - 1 to 4 pm
Music Event
One Saturday each month the Concrete House will host local musicians for an afternoon of listening.
JULY
Wednesday, July 2 - 1 to 4 pm
Cookies & Tea
Come and taste some fresh cookies made with Mabel Macdonald's cookie recipes. There will also be tea and sketching materials set out, so make yourself at home and take in the magic of the Concrete House.
Sunday, July 6 - 1 to 4 pm
Art Opening
Two for Joy
July 4 to 27
Hooked rugs by Nova Scotia folk artist Ellen Gould Sullivan
On loan from John Neville and Elaine Eskesen
Ellen learned rug hooking from her mother, and the family hooked rugs to trade with the itinerant peddlers who provided pieces of floor linoleum in exchange for the hooked rugs (one square foot of linoleum for one square foot of rug).
When she married, she moved to her husband’s family farm which had no electricity and continued to hook rugs using her own drawings depicting daily activities she observed. After raising her two sons, she moved to Halls Harbour and continued hooking rugs in a home with electricity.
Her work has been exhibited in Nova Scotia (AGNS and Acadia University Gallery) and internationally through a touring exhibit titled “Welcome to Our World” organized by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
Wednesday, July 9 - 1 to 4 pm
Watercolours en pleine air
Join us for an afternoon of watercolour painting outside at the Concrete House! Lots of interesting subject matter can be found on the museum grounds - you could paint a concrete cougar, giant apple, or cluster of toadstools. Supplies provided. This event will be pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $5.
Saturday, July 12 - 1 to 5 pm
Artist Workshop
Rug Hooking
with Lynn Denney
Master rug hooking artist Lynn Denney will lead this afternoon of traditional Nova Scotia craft. Using a pattern designed by Lynn specifically for this exhibit, participants will complete a small multi coloured rug hooked artwork.
Class Limit - 10
Cost - $50 - all supplies included
Register - Email your name and phone number to charlesmacdonaldsociety@gmail.com followed by an e-transfer for $50 to charlesmacdonaldsociety@gmail.com
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Sunday, July 13 - 7 pm
Ghost Walk at the Blue Cottage
Contact Valley Ghost Walks
to reserve your spot
Wednesday, July 16 - 1 to 4 pm
Silkscreening
Join us for an afternoon of silk screening from 1pm to 4pm. Stop in with your own t-shirt (or pillow case, or tote bag, or tea towel, etc.) and we will help you silkscreen a drawing of the Concrete House by local artist Terry Havlis Drahos! This event will be pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $5.
Wednesday, July 23 - 1 to 4 pm
Pressed Flower Cards and Postcards
We will be using pressed flowers to decorate cards, just like Mabel Macdonald used to. Pens, markers, crayons, glue, and coloured paper will also be provided. You will also get a chance to take a look at Mabel’s handmade cards and collection of postcards from our collection. This event will be pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $5.
Saturday, July 26 - 1 to 4 pm
Music Event
One Saturday each month the Concrete House will host local musicians for an afternoon of listening.
Wednesday, July 30 - 1 to 4 pm
Visible Mending
Join us for a fun, hands-on community art event where you'll learn the basics of visible mending! Bring an item with a small hole (or just something you want to add a fun patch to), and explore techniques like darning or patching while learning how to extend the life of your clothing—just like Charlie and Mabel Macdonald would have done. Sewing supplies and fabric for patches will be provided. This event is pay-what-you-can, with a suggested $5 donation.
AUGUST
Sunday, August 3 - 1 to 4 pm
Art Opening
Inspired by the Blue
August 2 to 31
A collection of photography by artist in residence Holly Worthington
Cyanotypes, Tintypes, Solargraphs, Lumen Prints and more, all created during magical stays at the Blue Cottage.
Wednesday, August 6 - 1 to 4 pm
Cookies & Tea
Come and taste some fresh cookies made with Mabel Macdonald's cookie recipes. There will also be tea and sketching materials set out, so make yourself at home and take in the magic of the Concrete House.
Saturday, August 9 - 1 to 4 pm
Artist Workshop
Dive into Blue at The Blue Cottage
Explore the Cyanotype Process in an Introductory Workshop
with the artist in residence Holly Worthington.
Location - Blue Cottage at Huntington’s Point
Description - Experience the charm of one of Charles Macdonald’s original concrete cottages while spending an afternoon learning the basics of the cyanotype process in the perfect blue setting. Dress appropriately for working both inside and outside with art materials.
We will be using natural elements and the sun to create our magical blue images, but a little overcast day is okay too. Bring a snack and drinking water.
Class Limit - 10
Cost - $50 - all supplies included
Register - Email your name and phone number to charlesmacdonaldsociety@gmail.com followed by an e-transfer for $50 to charlesmacdonaldsociety@gmail.com
Wednesday, August 13 - 1 to 4 pm
Watercolours en pleine air
Join us for an afternoon of watercolour painting outside at the Concrete House! Lots of interesting subject matter can be found on the museum grounds - you could paint a concrete cougar, giant apple, or cluster of toadstools. Supplies provided. This event will be pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $5.
Wednesday, August 20 - 1 to 4 pm
Silkscreening
Join us for an afternoon of silk screening from 1pm to 4pm. Stop in with your own t-shirt (or pillow case, or tote bag, or tea towel, etc.) and we will help you silkscreen a drawing of the Concrete House by local artist Terry Havlis Drahos! This event will be pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $5.
Wednesday, August 27 - 1 to 4 pm
Pressed Flower Cards and Postcards
We will be using pressed flowers to decorate cards, just like Mabel Macdonald used to. Pens, markers, crayons, glue, and coloured paper will also be provided. You will also get a chance to take a look at Mabel’s handmade cards and collection of postcards from our collection. This event will be pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $5.
Saturday, August 30 - 1 to 4 pm
Music Event
