Learn, relax, connect, move.
Heritage Park Museum is a safe space in the community. The 2024 season brings new ideas to help with community wellbeing. New research shows that museums can help with mental well-being. Museums provide a quiet place where you can either be alone or connect with a tour guide. Museum exhibits stimulate the brain with new information and connect you with local history. On an average day, our museum is a calm, quiet, and non-stressful environment. Our museum also offers picnic tables for a peaceful lunch out of the house or office. Our free community summer camps and events give an opportunity for the community to come together and connect. Connection is such an important aspect of community wellbeing. We want to make sure our space can be a place that is calming, inclusive, and welcoming. The new programming described below aims to elevate our efforts to support community wellbeing and mental health.
Mental health and wellbeing at the park
Weekly Guided Meditation
Our weekly guided meditations are great for those who are new to meditation. The sessions are only 40 minutes, with only 25 minutes of active meditation and 10 minutes of contemplation and guidance afterward. Meditation helps calm your mind and can help you cope with stress and anxiety. It allows your mind to take a step away from your thoughts. Gathering in a group for meditation allows you to silently connect with others and motivates you to follow through with the practice of meditation. Sessions are free and begin in May 2024.
Monthly Seniors Historical Arts Open Mic
Join us for three summer seniors open mic sessions, starting in June, 2024. Come share live music, poetry, artworks or share a story of Old Terrace/Local History. This event aims to connect other seniors with local history and art. We encourage a maximum of three people on the Dance Hall stage. One microphone will set the stage, but may not be needed as it’s a smaller space. We encourage musicians to play “unplugged” as there is not enough time to set up more equipment on the stage unless requested prior to the day of. This is an alcohol-free event, non-alcoholic beverages will be provided. The event is free and will cap at 30 guests and 8 performers/storytellers. If you have music, art, poetry, or a story to share, sign-up begins 24 hours before the event online, by email or by phone up until the start of the event at Heritage Park.
Accessible Tours
We are working to make our tours more customizable to be more accessible. When we open for the 2024 summer season, we will be offering a specific wheelchair-accessible tour, self-guided pamphlet tours at the front gate, a visually-impaired guided tour, and private tours with a consultation about the visitor’s needs and sensitivities. The admission for all our tours, including the ones above, is by donation. We can also offer a sensory kit upon arrival, which includes headphones, sunglasses, wipes and fidget toys. Visit our tours page to book.
Pride Picnics
We are partnering with the Terrace Pride Pals to bring bi-weekly Pride Picnics to Heritage Park Museum. This picnic is inclusive to all. Bring your own lunch and Heritage Park will provide cookies and juice. The picnic involves conversation points during lunch and backyard games afterward.
Community Events and Kids Camps
Every year Heritage Park hosts a number of community events, such as Easter, St. Jean Baptiste Day, Canada Day, and Halloween. These events help to get our community together and provide affordable activities for all. We also host a free kids camp in August, where kids get to have fun and learn about the history of Terrace.