Ross Bay Villa
1490 Fairfield Rd V8S 1E8 Victoria, BC, Canada

New year, new membership renewal! Ross Bay Villa Society Membership dues are an important contributor to revenue and the financial health of our volunteer-based organization, especially when revenue sources such as lectures, workshops, or garden parties are on hold. Membership dues remain at $10.00 per person for the calendar year. 2021 membership renewals are now due and can be purchased online at https://tinyurl.com/y6nhxohd or by sending a cheque to our mailing address, 953 Empress Avenue, Victoria BC, V8T 1N8. Additional donations can be made through Canada Helps https://www.canadahelps.org//chari/ross-bay-villa-society/ or by cheque to the mailing address. Thank you to everyone who has already renewed their membership and for your continued generous donations to the Society.

As we move into the new year, we also reflect back on our volunteer-run and owned historic site in a challenging time. At the end of June we reopened the grounds with a successful Ross Bay Villa Plant Sale. Preparations are underway for a second sale, this year in mid-May. There are hundreds of propagation trays around the site thanks to all our volunteer gardeners. Later in the spring we will again be asking for contributions for the sale. Stay tuned for more details! We ran... outdoor Saturday tours during the summer and autumn in 2020. These tours, booked in advance online, focused on the garden and the history of the house and site. We don’t yet know if interior house tours can resume in 2021, but it is hoped that the History and Garden tours will be offered again this summer. During a very quiet year, the Ross Bay Villa Gift Shop has been a real success story. Closed from March until the summer, our refreshed Gift Shop in the Garden reopened as a Saturday pop-up at the front gate, offering treasures, books, and RBV-made items. Now with better tents for winter conditions and following strict Provincial Health Authority and Worksafe BC Covid-19 protocols, the RBV Gift Shop begins the new year as a bright light and major revenue contributor to the Villa. Our thanks to Gift Shop volunteers! The Gift Shop hours are Saturdays from 11am-3pm. Check in with the @thesecretvintageshoppe on instagram! See more

We had a great turnout last week for our Gift Shop in the Garden. Now for the last chance before Christmas, stop by your local historic house museum this Saturday from 11-3 and discover unexpected gifts and curiosities. Please note COVID19 protocols will be followed carefully, so bring a mask, make use of our hand sanitizer, and enjoy perusing the wide range of treasures on display. Please minimize handling the items where possible. We look forward to welcoming our visitors and Villans (that’s Ross Bay Villa volunteers if you didn’t know!) back inside the Villa in the new year when restrictions allow. For now, enjoy this picture from a previous year of our very Victorian decorations. #yyj

As we approach the end of this unexpected year, we at the Villa are having a quieter Xmas than usual. Due to the restrictions, we unfortunately can’t have Christmas tours in person. However, our gift shop is open and COVID-compliant! Stop by with your mask and do a bit of physically distanced Christmas shopping for the next two Saturdays from 11-3. Everything from vintage gifts and ephemera to items handmade by volunteers at the Villa. Support your friendly neighbourhood historic house museum this holiday season, and stay tuned for events in the coming year. #yyj Also check out @thesecretvintageshoppe on instagram!

The mystery has been solved! Congratulations to Mike! It's an 1860s baby carriage (or pram)! Isn't it something? Right?!? We'll keep you updated on what happens next: the research, the analysis, the restoration and the fundraising for it. Wait, fundraising? Yes, despite Simone's impressive haggling skills it still cost the Villa $500. Anyone who would like to make (even a teensy) contribution to its acquisition can do so on our CanadaHelps page: https://www.canadahelps.org/.../chari/ross-bay-villa-society/. Any surplus donations will go towards the restoration materials. Thanks so much for playing! Happy Thanksgiving from Ross Bay Villa! See more

Here the next clues! What could it be? Leave your guess in a comment!

When a museum lets two thirds of the curatorial committee (in charge of artifacts and furnishings) go on a road trip along the historic BC gold rush trail without a chaperone - anything can happen! Find out what Colleen and Simone got up to by solving the mystery yourself. It may have had something to do with a slightly expensive impulse purchase, but maybe not. (It does - but what is it?) Follow the photo clues to be the first to guess what they just had to get for the Villa! New photos will be added until the mystery is solved!

The secret is out! Stop by 11-3 at the Villa’s gate to check out the Secret Vintage Shoppe for heritage crafts, books, and interesting finds! You can also follow them on Instagram at @thesecretvintageshoppe.