Latest News
It’s All There in Black and White: Valentine’s Day 1984
With Valentine’s Day coming up on February 14th, many businesses provided ideas for Comox Valley sweethearts in this February 8th, 1984 ad page of the Comox District Free Press.
January 2024: New Gift Shop Items
The museum is happy to announce a few new plush additions to the gift shop. These include ravenous mosasaurs, realistic nautiluses, and (the stars of the show) x-ray elasmosaurs!
Happy New Year
This c.1890s card has a timeless sentiment that the museum wishes to echo as we enter the new year: “May kind words and good deeds make this a Happy Year.”
Courtenay Streets: Bonus Photo 1
Alice and Tom Beckensell, May 31, 1889. Photographed by E.C. Brooks in Victoria, BC.
Courtenay Streets
Local historian Dorothy Isabelle Stubbs (1905-2003) wrote several different columns for newspapers over the years including “Spotlight on Courtenay Streets” for the Comox District Free Press in 1970.
New Arrivals in the Gift Shop
The gift shop has some brand new additions courtesy of Rex London, ranging from retro to modern toys and games. These include jacks, spinning tops, juggling balls, train sets, slimy slugs, stitching sets, tiddlywinks and more.
Holiday Closure
The museum will be closed from 4:00 pm on Saturday, December 23rd through Monday, January 1st, 2024. The museum will reopen again Tuesday, January 2nd from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, and resume regular hours. We wish everyone a Happy New Year, and we’ll see you in 2024!
New Exhibit – Our Living Languages: First Peoples’ Voices in British Columbia
You might find yourself expanding your vocabulary—and appreciation for the state of Indigenous languages spoken in BC—after visiting the Courtenay and District Museum to view the Our Living Languages: First Peoples’ Voices in BC travelling exhibition.
‘Tis the Season
This Christmas wrap to the Comox District Free Press would be the first thing you saw on your doorstep in December of 1933. The Courtenay and District Museum board and staff would like to extend wishes to all for a wonderful and safe holiday!
Christmas Recipe – Cherry Snowballs
This recipe was published in the Rotary Anns Tasting Tea booklet from 1970. At that time, the Tasting Tea was a popular annual event and fundraiser for the Anns. The booklet contains recipes by many of its members including Kath Kirk, Rachel Corfield, Jeanie Harder, Laura Gordon and Helen Laver.
Comox Valley Santa’s Workshop
The dedicated volunteers of Santa’s Workshop are back for Christmas 2023! The Courtenay Museum will once again be a drop-off location for new or "gently-used" toys, books and games to help brighten the Christmas season for local kids and families.
Members-Only Gift Shop Sale
From December 1st through to the 23rd, Courtenay Museum members will receive a special 25% discount on most items in our gift shop. Not a member? No worries! Purchase a membership at the front desk and you will immediately qualify for the member's-only sale.
Upcoming Lecture: Tales of the Elasmosaur
Join Courtenay Museum Natural History Curator, Pat Trask, for an evening all about palaeontological discovery in the Comox Valley. Trask will focus on the 1988 discovery of the Puntledge River elasmosaur, discoveries made by others in the Comox Valley and on his more recent discovery of a juvenile elasmosaur on the Trent River. Lecture will include slides and a walk through the exhibit area.