zorra-now-spring-2025-web

TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY INFORMATION TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY INFORMATION 28 Zorra Now | Spring 2025 Zorra Now | Spring 2025 29 Easter, Education Programs & Events toAttend In April, we celebrate National Volunteer Week and Volunteer Recognition Day. It’s appropriate that we take this chance to thank the amazing volunteers that support Beachville District Museum and Beachville District Historical Society. We benefit greatly from our senior volunteers who share extensive knowledge of their communities’ histories and guide museum operations as committee members and devoted directors. We also continue to be inspired by the commitments and skills of our young volunteers. We hope to see our volunteer team grow in coming years, and to remain a rewarding site for volunteer development. Thank you to all those who volunteer within Zorra for your positive impact and great generosity. This month, we celebrate Easter alongside Beachville Parks & Recreation who will be hosting their annual Easter Egg Hunt on the museum grounds on Saturday, April 19th from 12pm until 2pm. The Easter bunny will be present, different age groups will hunt for colourful eggs at their own pace and chocolatey treats will be handed out. Don’t forget to bring your basket! To celebrate Earth Day, we offered a P.A. Day camp focused on green growing, recycling and earth sciences. P.A. Day camps are also scheduled for May 30th and June 27th. Registration is open online at https: /beachvilledistrictmuseum.com/2025- pa-day-camps if you’re looking ahead to those days off school. To support local educators and facilitate local field-trips, the museum continues to run its Gr.4 pulleys and gears program and its Gr. 7 limestone program. This spring, we’re excited to announce that we’ve also launched a Gr. 10-12 program on farming in the 1920s. Details can be found here at https:/beachvilledistrictmuseum. com/farmingforward. At the start of May, the Oxford District Women’s Institute will host their Spring Vendor Market on Beachville District Museum: Upcoming Events the grounds starting at 10am. This market is a great stop for Mother’s Day presents or small gifts that usher in spring spirits. The museum is also recruiting vendors for booths at its upcoming car shows. Interested vendors can call the museum at (519)423-6497 for details. The May car show is typically the largest and is scheduled, this year for Sunday, May 25th. Drivers of show cars are welcome to arrive on- site after 9:30am. The general public is invited to take part in the fun starting at 11:00am. Our car shows bring together an impressive variety of vehicles from classic cars, hippy vans, and mystery machines to motorcycles, tractors and buses. They also help raise funds for the museum and the Legion. Come for a stroll, buy a coffee, listen to some tunes, enjoy an ice cream cone in the shade or cast a vote for your favourite car in show. Each month, where mother nature cooperates, we’ll have our engines running. Mark your calendars for June 22nd, July 27th, August 24th and September 28th. The museum is now building up its summer staff team. We are hiring through the Young Canada Works and Canada Summer Jobs programs. If you qualify for these programs and have an interest in local history or children’s education, be sure to find our job postings on Indeed or on our social media platforms. We’ll be providing orientation and training in early June. Summer Camp starts on June 30th. Registration is already open for full-week and single-day slots on our website. This year’s themes include “Across Canada”, “Science Squad”, “Kid Curators”, “Hay Days”, “Water Works”, “Junior Engineers” and more. We’re very excited for a summer spent doing crafts, meeting new friends, playing outdoors, solving puzzles, exploring the museum and welcoming special guests. Baseball by 1838 rules a Zorra Heritage Committee event A fun family event offering the chance to try (or watch others trying) baseball as it was played 187 years ago, is slated for May 31, hosted by the Zorra Heritage Committee and the Beachville District Museum. Called BASEBALL, BUDDIES & BURGERS, the event will be held on the Museum grounds and will include the opportunity to observe or play a reenactment of the original game with five bases, see exhibits related to baseball provided by local organizations, play baseball related activities, and enjoy a lunch provided by the Beachville Legion. Advanced tickets for the fundraiser are required and available for $20.00 on the Museum website ( beachvilledistrictmuseum.com ).or calling 519-423-6497 Beachville was the site of the first recorded baseball game in 1838. Part of the Beachville District Historical Society, the Zorra Heritage Committee was formed to investigate, document and inform Zorra residents and others interested in Zorra Township’s heritage. Information is subsequently posted on the website of the Beachville District Museum. The Committee has documented, through visits over the past three years, Zorra information available at Museums in Woodstock, Norwich, Stratford and Archives in Woodstock, Norwich and UWO. Local presentations have included the history of the 1893 World Tug of War Champions, the “Mighty Men of Zorra”, as well as information and pictures relating to 15 early Zorra crossroad communities previously identified by the Township of Zorra. It has resulted in an ongoing exhibit in partnership with the Museum. Other activities have included a popular Mother and Daughter Tea in 2024. Currently, the group is gathering information on Greats of Zorra Township, individuals whose impact extended beyond Zorra. The Museum is composing a spreadsheet of these past Zorra citizens. Any person interested in Zorra Heritage is most welcome, whether residing in Zorra or not. Meetings are the first Wednesday of each month, 7:00 pm at the Beachville District Museum (excepting July and August).