Coldwater Museum

05/19/2026

More spectacular work from our resident photographer Simon.

05/19/2026

Congratulations Simon it does not surprise us that your work has been selected by Leica Germany. We were just saying yesterday that your work is outstanding at an International standard. Any photographer would do well to take your courses and improve their game. We wish you the very best.

Delighted to hear from Leica this morning that they chose this portrait I shot with my Q2 Monochrom as a Leica Mastershot and included it in their LFI Gallery. Thanks Leica!

This was from a series of images I shot at a reenactment event at Coldwater Museum – a fabulous place for photographers who love history and heritage.

I took a portable lighting kit from Harlowe, and set up a softbox on a stand in a corner of one of the outbuildings.

Leica Camera HarloweCreators

05/18/2026

Simon thank for your astonishing professionalism and superb photographic work. The portraits you shot are really class leading by any International standard. We are delighted that you wish to run photo opportunities for you clients and followers at our museum. You have 100% of our support in any venture you wish to explore at the museum. We are blessed to have your talent regarding our marketing materials too. The website design, video work, photography, logo design and signage are a great example of how talented you are in a broad spectrum of diverse challenges. No wonder you are being drawn to teach, are a brand ambassador and a hit on Youtube. We look forward to booking you again soon before the end of the season.

If you have an interest in upping your photographic game or signing up for any of his workshops, Simon can be reached at SimonBurn Creative.

05/18/2026

What a fantastic weekend! The museum is very grateful to the reeinactors who bravely camped out for 3 days on the museum grounds and entertained almost 200 visitors. Everyone had a great time as you can see from the pictures. For those who missed this event the reeinactors will be back on June 6th and 7th for the Anglo Boer War.
No Fenians or Brits were harmed in the making of this weekend.

05/16/2026

If you missed the shoot out today, the Fenians vs the Canadians are set for round two (make that more like 100 rounds) at 1pm tomorrow. Nothing like a family fun day out with gunpowder in the air and the weather looks set to be perfect. I think I liked wandering around the camps best. These tough ol' guys have been camping out the whole weekend. Come join in the fun.

05/14/2026

05/14/2026

Don't miss the Fenian Raids Reenactment
This Saturday and Sunday – 16 & 17 May 2026
10:00am until 4:00pm

The 35th Battalion Simcoe Foresters Reenactors will be recreating the Fenian Invasion of Canada in 1866. Expect authentic looking uniforms, tented encampments, military discipline, musket fire, war cries, and skirmishes. It’s a family friendly fun event that runs the entire weekend. Battle commences around noon on both days. Admission is by donation.

05/06/2026

The 'A' Team volunteers had their version of a board meeting today. Outstanding work as usual guys. That flower bed is looking a little sad though..any takers?

05/03/2026

What does it take to work as a volunteer at the Coldwater Museum?

Firstly you’ll need a pulse, that’s very important. Secondly, probably a sense of humour. You’ll also need some time you’d like to do something really constructive with, volunteering requires a little time, as much or as little as you can spare because the wages are awful, ask anyone who volunteers.

Community involvement, yep you’re gonna have to do some of that. You’re probably going to meet members of the community, in fact you’re likely going to meet a lot of new people, so if you’re a recluse or a hermit, maybe the Coldwater Museum isn’t quite right. Then again it could be exactly what the doctor ordered. A predisposition toward rolling up the sleeves and getting stuck in where necessary, that’s going to be very useful. The required skills? You’ll have to know which way to turn a screwdriver depending on the task in hand, which way a bucket goes up when filling, some mechanical knowledge of engines is helpful for the tractor maintenance, but not essential, we have chaps that teach that stuff, blacksmithing knowledge, though we will likely be teaching that too, same goes for the print shop, but that chap tends to make all kinds of things up, experience with building small structures though we are not exactly sure what these will be for yet, just a warning small structures have been know to end up fairly large, general building skills, you must be certified in the use of a paint brush, just kidding you only need certification for paint rollers, also kidding, someone mentioned a half ton truck with a class III trailer hitch, but that may have been a Christmas wish, a bit of carpentry knowledge wouldn’t hurt, wheel barrow slalom experience, broom experience, the ability to tie knots in string, knowledge of how to light a BBQ at lunchtime, the ability to forage because someone ran off with the lighter again, overall its not really super taxing. In fact that’s why the volunteers are from such vastly different backgrounds and are all ages over 16 yrs, and some of them are way way over 16 yrs old, we have volunteers in their 80’s and they’re the ones that get the most done because their cell phones are at home, or uncharged, or both.

I can honestly say that volunteering has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my life, in fact I volunteered to write the copy for this advertisement. I’m sure it would have been more rewarding to read if we’d hired someone but that’s life at the museum 100% volunteer run. So if you’d like to apply please drop us a line at cchm1965@gmail or sign up through the contact page on our shiny new website coldwatermuseum.com

Let’s make the summer of 2026 an epic summer to remember.

04/30/2026

coldwatermuseum

We are currently looking for new recruits to join our small army of maintenance volunteers. You'll be involved in all areas of the museum, from fixing up tractors to mowing the lawn. It's a blast and you'll get to meet some really cool locals too. Why not give it a shot. Visit coldwatermuseum.com and email us some details from the contact page. We have but one life and some of the things in it need fixing.

As it turns out, quite a lot of things really.

04/30/2026

To get our season off with a BANG the 35th Battalion Simcoe Foresters will be recreating the Fenian Invasion of Canada in 1866. Expect authentic looking uniforms, tented encampments, musket fire, skirmishes and lots of fun for all ages. This family friendly event runs the entire weekend and battle commences around noon on both days. Admission is by donation. See you there!