CRABFEST 2026
Sat 19 September | 3pm-6pm
CRABFEST 2026
Saturday 19 September
3-6pm
Enjoy a delicious crab meal and support the Sooke Region Museum!
Tickets are $55 each and include fresh Dungeness crab, corn on the cob, coleslaw, bread and a non-alcoholic drink.
Cash bar with beer and wine and seasonal crumble for dessert available for purchase at the event.
New this year – two sittings for the meal: 3:30pm OR 4:30pm.
Presales are sold out. A limited number of tickets will be for sale on event day starting at 3pm.
Enjoy the live dance rock music by Kooler on the main outdoor stage throughout the event.
Funds raised at CRABFEST will support heritage signs throughout the Sooke Region. Learn more about heritage signs HERE.
We’re looking forward to seeing you there!
Thank you to the CRD for supporting Sooke Region Museum events.
With support from the CRD Rethink Waste Grant, our guests will enjoy their meal on real plates, their drinks in real mugs and use real cutlery to reduce waste from this event.
Thank you CRD!
2026 Events
more details available for each event closer to the date
2026
Museum Mondays – monthly, last Monday, 6pm (summer break, resumes 31 Sep)
19 September – CRABFEST
24 October – Sooke Spook
7 November – We Remember (interactive event with Victoria Esquimalt Military Reenactors)
5 December – Moss Cottage Christmas & Market
PAST EVENTS
PAVILION CONCERT: Allen Dobb, Opal Dar, and Katrina Kadoski
Wed 12 August | 7-9pm
Allen Dobb is a Canadian singer-songwriter whose music blends country, folk, and roots traditions with a modern, literate edge. Praised by the Edmonton Journal as “one of the finest and most literate tunesmiths in this country,” Dobb crafts songs that resonate with authenticity and a deep sense of place.
Dobb has performed at major folk festivals including Edmonton, Winnipeg, Mariposa, and Bumbershoot, and toured the U.K. His albums—Horses and Hills, Bottomland, Rosetown, and Alone Together—have earned praise for their depth and authenticity. Americana Highways calls his songs “heart searching and touching, strong and vibrant.”
Katrina Kadoski is a Sooke B.C.-based singer-songwriter and playwright. Her work invites audiences to form meaningful connections with their hearts. Kadoski’s earlier music took inspiration from Lilith Fair, a travelling music festival, which she attended in the late 90s. Her debut full-length album Whirlpools (1998), recorded in Calgary and released independently, mirrors this folk sound. Since then, Kadoski has released four more albums: Dreamtime (2016), After the Shipwreck (2020), The Edgedwellers (2022), and most recently Soul Anthems (2023).
BIG BACKYARD BIOBLITZ 2026
Attention outdoor enthusiasts! help us map plants, animals, insects in and around the wetland at the Sooke Region Museum!
Learn more about the Big Backyard BioBlitz here: https://secure.natureconservancy.ca/site/SPageNavigator/BioBlitz_2026/signup_2026.html
ANNUAL OPEN HOUSE & SALMON BBQ
Sun 28 June | 11am-3pm
Thank you to all the volunteers who made the event possible and for our community partners who came to share the day with us.
We would also like to thank the following for their support:
CRD and the Rethink Waste grant provided funding for reusable dishes and cutlery and our waste reduction stations (green tents). Thanks to the CRD all of our guests enjoyed their meals with real cutlery and dishes that didn’t go to the landfill!
Canada Summer Jobs has provided funding for summer positions who led the activity stations, including historic photos, film screening, and tree ring printing.
Photography by Laura Paul at Coastline Living Photography.
16 – 22 February 2026
celebrating Heritage Week and Black History Month
Thank you to everyone who celebrated Black Heritage in Sooke at the potluck event on Family Day with storytelling, dancing and great food, at the dance workshop and at the poetry evening.
Sooke Region Museum was thrilled to partner with Sooke Global Majority to host Sooke Black Heritage Week..
The theme of BC Heritage Week 2026, ‘Stir the Pot’ aligns powerfully with the them of Black History Month, ‘Out of Many Cultures, One People’ by celebrating the richness that emerges when diverse food traditions, stories, cultures, and voices come together.
Mayor Tait proclaims Heritage Week in the District of Sooke!
Mayor Maja Tait proclaimed February 16–22, 2026, as Heritage Week, recognizing the people, places, and stories that shape the community’s unique identity and contribute to its social, cultural, and economic well-being.
Heritage is the foundation of community identity, connecting residents with shared histories, traditions, and experiences. Through the proclamation of Heritage Week, the District of Sooke reaffirms its commitment to protecting and celebrating its rich and diverse cultural and natural heritage.
See the full proclamation here.
Saturday 6 December 2025
11am – 3pm
25+ local vendors
local musicians on the outdoor stage
carolers, cookie decorating, lantern-making
Moss Cottage Christmas & Market is presented by the Sooke Region Museum & Visitor Center at 2070 Phillips Rd in Sooke, BC. This festive event highlights the rich heritage of local food producers, artists, artisans, and entrepreneurs, while enjoying holiday traditions around historic Moss Cottage.
See full list of vendors, performers, and activities HERE.
Sooke Region Museum presents Sooke Spook
Saturday 25 October 2025, 5:00-7:00pm
free admission | food available for sale | family friendly
The event will be mostly outside, dress appropriately – in costume if you like!
Join us, if you dare!
Stories inspired by local history, will be brought to life by Sooke Harbour Players, with spooky poetry readings by Sooke Writers’ Association, and scary dance by Revolution Dance Collective. Guests are invited to come in costume and roam the museum grounds to meet characters from the past.
Have you seen the ghost of Louisa Mary Stiff in East Sooke? She may appear at Sooke Spook.
Have you ever met a mad lightkeeper? If you venture into the Triangle Lighthouse you may have the chance.
We will also be celebrating International Bat Week with HAT (Habitat Acquisition Trust). HAT will have stewardship guides, a bat box display, colouring sheets and photos to help us identify bats and learn about the important role of bats in nature. Lots happening for bat week – learn more here.
Thank you to the Province of BC Community Gaming and CRD Arts Commission for supporting Sooke Spook.
The Art of Reconciliation: Survivor’s Panel
Tuesday 30 September
10am-12pm
Thank you! We had a great turnout during the event. Also huge thanks to the volunteers who helped out. On 29 September, we welcomed four high school classes from Edward Milne Community School to talk with Survivors about their art pieces. On 30 September, we saw over 70 people attend the public event. At the Sooke Region Museum, we want to extend our gratitude to the Alberni Indian Residential School Survivors Art and Education Society and Dr. Andrea Walsh.