The Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough will be closed until early June in the aftermath of last weekend’s storm.
On Thursday, the museum announced it sustained damage following the derecho storm that hit the region on May 21 and knocked out power to thousands of homes while damaging trees, homes and properties. A death was reported just north of the city in the village of Lakefield.
Museum executive director Carolyn Hyslop says the facility on Monaghan Road endured “significant damage.” Trees also fell at the site of the new museum under construction on the shore of Little Lake on Ashburnham Drive. A fence was reported broken. Trees in the area are being inspected by arborists, she said.
“The violent winds tore signage siding off the building, blew out windows in our Collection Centre and downed trees at both our current location and new museum site,” she said. “Our main building’s roof bore the brunt of most of the damage, though, with the wind lifting up the membrane and tearing it apart…. Parts of it landed in our parking lot! This led to rain and moisture entering the galleries, soaking and affecting a few different areas.”
No one was injured and the museum’s collection was not damaged, she said.
“And for that, we are incredibly grateful,” she said.
As a result of emergency repairs required, the museum will remain closed until June 4, reopening at 10 a.m. Summer hours will then go into effect — open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays to Sundays.
Any pre-purchased tickets for May 22 to June 3 will be refunded.
“Just as we’ve done time and time again these past few years, we must pull together,” said Hyslop. “We’ve been astonished at the incredible teamwork we’ve witnessed in our own museum’s first responders. And we’re sure that if you have experienced this storm or a similar event, you have your own stories of how your neighbours and community banded together to support one another.”