The Wells Museum is once again part of this year’s National Trust historical places day selfie contest with entries accepted up until July 31, 2020.
In prior years the contest required visitors to take a selfie at a historic place and post it on social media, but due to the novel coronavirus pandemic the parameters have been expanded to include a digital component so visitors can participate from home, said Jordan Kerr, a University of Victoria summer co-op student working as the museum’s co-ordinator.
“This means people can recreate historic photos, photoshop themselves into historic places or even use the historic site as a zoom background — just as long as it is posted on social media, use #HistoricPlacesDay and tag the historic site and National Trust,” she said.
National Trust describes the campaign as a summer celebration that profiles and promotes Canada’s historic places from coast to coast.
All participating sites can be found on the website, including Wells and Barkerville.
National Trust is also holding a July Giveaway where visitors can post on the historic places day website about what a historic site means to them for a chance to win various prizes from VIA rail Canada, National Geographic, Canadian Geographic and more.
Both the selfie contest and the July Giveaway finish on July 31, 2020.
Wells Museum is also hosting its annual auction starting Saturday, July 25, online through its Facebook page this year so people can participate from the safety of their own homes.
The auction goes live at 10 a.m. and will close Aug. 8, 2020 at midnight.
Over a year ago, the museum launched an Adopt a Historical Photo project as a fundraising campaign to help keep history alive.
With a minimum donation of $50, donors receive an 8x10 print of a selected photo, a copy of Wells: The 1930s, a catalogue booklet of all the photos than can be adopted, a one-year membership to the Wells Historical Society, a certificate of adoption and personal acknowledgment on the museum’s website.
The project did well during Christmas with people ordering gifts, Kerr said.
Presently finishing up her bachelor of arts degree with a double major in history and sociology, Kerr has been doing research about navy spouses in Victoria and their experiences through the years.
Her position is the only paid one and the museum is run by Wells Historical Society volunteers, she added.
“The museum is normally open in the summer from June until mid-August. This year our opening corresponded with Barkerville.”
Hours are Friday to Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.