The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum hosts some annual as well as occasional events, including workshops, presentations, and outdoor activities. The best way to keep informed about upcoming events is to become a member and receive our quarterly newsletter, or sign up for our free Enews. You can also check back here often on our website for new listings as well as follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Upcoming Events
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2025 Canoe & Brew
Sunday, September 28, 2025 3-6 PM CDT Red Schoolhouse Wines (5768N 4th St S, Stone Lake, WI x
The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum, in conjunction with Round Man Brewing, invites you to join us for our annual end-of-the-season celebration. The 6th annual "Canoe & Brew" will be from 3:00-6:00 PM on Sunday, September 28, 2025 at Red Schoolhouse Wines in Stone Lake, WI. This is an exclusive event and reservations are required. The event is $30 per person and reservations can be made on the home page of our website. Included in the reservation for Canoe & Brew is a social hour, with beer tastings from Round Man Brewing, live music from True Grass, and Meet & Greet Booths. The Meet & Greet Booths include WCHM Executive Director Alexis Linder & WCHM Board President Mike Knuth, along with Hunt Hill Nature Center. The event will also have highlights of WCHM's summer activities, an exclusive archive canoe display, smoked pulled pork dinner, door prize drawings, canoe raffle, and WCHM Election results. There is limited space and reservations are required. All proceeds benefit WCHM. Reservations are $30 per person and can be made on the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum home page. We hope you can help us wrap up the year!
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Past Events
Dr. Sissel Schroeder of UW-Madison
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Badger Talk - From Wood to Watercraft: Dugout Canoes of Wisconsin
August 8, 2025, 6:00 PM CDT Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum x
Join us for this free, in person event on August 8, 2025, at 6:P00 PM at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum. The Wisconsin Dugout Canoe Survey Project highlights the persistence of cultural traditions and technological ingenuity. It embodies the Wisconsin Idea by engaging local and national museums, historical societies, and tribal museums in this project that is documenting an important yet relatively rare form of material culture. The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum hold two dugout canoes within its collections that are part of this survey project. Presenter Sissel Schroeder received her PhD from The Pennsylvania State University and is currently a Professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is an affiliate of the Nelson Institute for Enviromental Studies Program, and the Material Culture Studies Program. Her current research is focused on issues of sociopolitical complexity, climate change impacts, and historical ecology among ancient Native American societies of the southeastern and midwestern United States.
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Frank Bures Author Talk: Pushing the River
July 11, 2025, 6:00 PM CDT Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum x
On July 11, 2025, at 6:00 PM, the WCHM will be hosting author Frank Bures on his new book, Pushing the River: An Epic Battle, A Lost History, A Near Death, and Other True Canoeing Stories. Bures is an award-winning author, having won “The Year’s Best Sports Writing 2022,” Gold Award Feature Story at the MMPA Excellence Awards in 2018, and many others. Pushing the River was released this April, and features a collection of true canoeing stories “as varied as the waters, weather, and rhythms of a canoe trip.” His collection features two kayakers who escaped the 2011 Pagami Creek Fire in the Waters, a supernatural scare in Quetico Provincial Park in the 1970s, and Bures’s experience. His largest essay, which is also told in an article, through the Minnesota Historical Society, is an account of the battle for the Mississippi River paddling record. Bures's narrates the lost history of the Paul Bunyan Canoe Derby in the 1940s and 1950s. The 450-mile race on the Upper Mississippi features the dominance of racers from the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, canoe-racing legend Gene Jensen, members of the Tibbets family, and the unacknowledged contribution of the Ojibwe canoe builders Jim and Bernie Smith, whose design features are now part of the modern canoe-racing landscape. Bures will be discussing his book and the essays and tales within it at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum in Spooner, Wisconsin, on July 11 at 6:00 PM. Admission is free. You can buy the book through Northwood Book & Fiber who will be selling the book at the event. We are honored to have both Bures and Northwind present for the event. |
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Wild Rice Push Pole & Knocking Stick Making Workshop
March 11-13, 2025, 6:00pm-9:00pm CDT Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum, Spooner WI x
The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum and Hunt Hill Nature Center are teaming up to sponsor a Wild Rice Push Pole & Knocking Stick Making Workshop on March 11-13, 2025. From 6-9 pm daily in this three-evening class, you will make a push pole and a set of knocking sticks to use for wild ricing, using traditional hand tools and techniques. Tools and materials will be provided, but feel free to bring your own hand tools (such as: a draw knife, wood plane, and wood rasp) and personal protective equipment (safety glasses and gloves). You may work individually or bring a partner for the same price. Registration required by March 10; Limit: 8 individuals or couples (If you sign up as a couple, you only need to register and pay for one of the two people). To register, click HERE or call Hunt Hill at 715-635-6543. |
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WCHM General Membersip Meeting 2024
Wednesday Sept 18, 2024, 6:00 pm CDT Online Zoom Meeting - Open To WCHM Members x
The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum is scheduled to hold its annual general membership meeting on Wednesday September 18, 2024 starting at 6:00 pm CDT. The results of the current board election will be announced, outgoing board members will be recognized and thanked and incoming board members will be recognized and welcomed. In addition any topics brought forward by the general membership will be addressed. This meeting will be held online through the Zoom meeting app. There will be both video and phone-in options. You can find detailed instructions for joining the meeting on the day of the meeting at www.WisconsinCanoeHeritageMuseum.org. For more information write to [email protected] or call 715-635-2479. |
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WCHM & Round Man present the 2024 Canoe & Brew
Sunday Sept 29, 2024, 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Red Schoolhouse Wines, Stone Lake WI Limited space, reservations required, $25/reservation. Inquire at [email protected] or 715-635-2479 x
The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum, in conjunction with Round Man Brewing, invites the community to join them for their annual end-of-the-season celebration. The 5th annual “Canoe & Brew” will be from 3:00 to 6:00 pm on Sunday September 29, 2024, at Red Schoolhouse Wines in Stone Lake, Wisconsin (5768N 4th St S). This is an exclusive event as Red Schoolhouse will be closed to the public, attendance is limited, and reservations are required.
Event attendees will enjoy a social hour of beer tasting from Round Man Brewing followed by a traditional fish boil dinner from Red Schoolhouse Wines. There will also be a Meet & Greet with Kim Ammann of the Winged Freedom Raptor Hospital and Marissa Ginger of Hunt Hill Nature Center. Les Fils du Voyageur will provide musical entertainment. There will also be new canoe acquisitions and previously unseen museum collection pieces on display, door prize drawings, and the annual canoe raffle drawing. Reservations are $25 per person and can be made by visiting www.WisconsinCanoeHeritageMuseum.org, writing to [email protected], or calling 715-635-2479. |
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Author Mike Elliott "This Fancy Old Canoe"
Thursday July 25, 2024, 7:30 pm Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum, Spooner, WI x
Author Mike Elliott "This Fancy Old Canoe"
Thursday July 25, 2024, 7:30 pm Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum, Spooner, WI Mike Elliott, author of “This Fancy Old Canoe: A Comprehensive Guide To Restoring Antique Canoes,” is coming to the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum (WCHM) in Spooner, Wisconsin, for a presentation and book signing on Thursday July 25th beginning at 7:30 PM. In his presentation, Elliott, who has restored over 240 canoes since 2003, will let us in on the trade secrets of how to successfully return a canoe to its former glory. He’ll be talking about treasured antique canoes and their connections to individuals, families, and communities. Elliott will also be signing copies of his new book, which will be available for purchase. The book picks up where his earlier "This Old Canoe: How To Restore Your Wood-Canvas Canoe" left off. Whether you are an avid collector of antique canoes or you have limited woodworking experience and just want to get your family's heirloom canoe back on the water, the two books work together to provide the techniques necessary to achieve success in your canoe-restoration adventure. Elliott began restoring canoes as a hobby in 1995. That hobby bloomed into a full time career in 2003 when he opened Kettle River Canoes in Grand Forks, British Columbia, where he's been restoring wood canvas canoes ever since. His books are designed to simplify the many challenging tasks of restoring fancy antique canoes. Mike Elliott will be at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum in Spooner (312 N Front St) on Thursday July 25th. The presentation begins at 7:30 PM and is free and open to the public. The museum will be open starting at 6:30 pm for a pre-presentation reception and exhibit hall tours. For more information visit www.WisconsinCanoeHeritageMuseum.org. |
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WCHM Canoe & Wooden Boat Show
Saturday May 25, 2024, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum, Spooner, WI x
WCHM Canoe & Wooden Boat Show Saturday May 25, 2024, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum, Spooner, WI More than twenty-five exhibitors are expected to attend the 14th annual Canoe & Wooden Boat Show held at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum at 312 N Front St in Spooner, Wisconsin. There will also be museum tours and open house in the museum exhibit hall, ongoing activities and demonstrations in the canoe workshop, a silent auction of canoes and related items, and live music from Blu Kanu and others, along with food and beverage in the beer garden. The public is invited to this free event. For more information write to info@wisconsincanoe heritagemuseum.org or call 715-635-2479. |
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WCHM & Round Man present the 2023 Canoe & Brew
Sunday Sept 24, 2023, 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Round Man Brewing, Spooner WI Limited space, reservations required, $25/reservation. Inquire at [email protected] or 715-635-2479 x
The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum, in conjunction with Round Man Brewing, invites you to join us for our annual end-of-the-season celebration.
The 4th annual “Canoe & Brew” will be from 3:00 to 6:00 pm on Sunday September 24, 2023, at Round Man Brewing in downtown Spooner, Wisconsin (234 Walnut St).
Attendance is limited and reservations are required. Reservations are $25 per person. All proceeds benefit WCHM. Reservations can be made at [email protected] or 715-635-2479. |
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Wild Rice Push Pole & Knocking Stick Workshop
March 28 - March 30, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm daily Program Fee: $50/pair of knocking sticks & push pole Location: Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum in Spooner, WI Instructor: Gary Dunsmoor x
Wild Rice Push Pole & Knocking Stick Workshop
March 28 - March 30 Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm, daily Program Fee: $50/pair of knocking sticks & push pole Location: Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum in Spooner, WI Instructor: Gary Dunsmoor Interested in making your own tools for wild ricing? The Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum and Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary are teaming up to sponsor a Wild Rice Push Pole & Knocking Stick Workshop on March 28-30, 2023. From 6-9 pm daily in this three-evening class, you will make a tamarack and maple push pole and a set of white cedar knocking sticks to use for wild ricing using traditional hand tools and techniques. Tools and materials will be provided, but feel free to bring your own hand tools (such as: a draw knife, wood plane, and wood rasp) and personal protective equipment (safety glasses and gloves). You may work individually or bring a partner for the same price. Registration required by March 27; Limit: 8 individuals or couples (If you sign up as a couple, you only need to register and pay for one of the two people). To register go to https://hunthill.org/event/wild-rice-push-pole-knocking-stick-workshop or call Hunt Hill at 715-635-6543. |