HMCS ALBERNI Memorial and Museum to close doors after this season
Published 5:30 pm Saturday, March 7, 2026
The Alberni Project Society (TAPS) and its main programming division, the HMCS ALBERNI Memorial and Museum (HAMM), is announcing the final season of its downtown Courtenay operations with an unusual exhibit focused on children entitled “SILLY OLD BEAR: The Story of the Real Winnie the Pooh.”
This exhibit is scheduled to be open on June 1 and will close on Remembrance Day 2026. The public is encouraged to participate in this exhibit by lending personal Winnie the Pooh items, including Disney and E.H. Shepard designs, books, toys, and other items.
In addition to this new exhibit, the annual ANZAC Month exhibit will be revised to make it more portable for use in HAMM’s mobile exhibits and loan program. “GALLIPOLLI: Legend Of The Anzac” will run from April 1st through April 30. A special event is planned for Anzac Day, 21 April 2026, in the museum’s main hallway.
Filling out the 2026 Season, HAMM will make its last appearance at Open Cockpit Day at the Comox Air Force Museum in August. TAP will continue this tradition of participation in the future. The final event at HAMM will be held at the Memorial on Remembrance Day at sunset, as part of the annual Bells of Peace ceremony. As in years past, the public is invited to participate in this Remembrance event.
The closure of the veterans’ memorial is due to the loss of visitors and revenue since reopening following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Visitor traffic to the Memorial has dropped by 85 per cent, while local corporate sponsorships, community foundation funding, and business grants have dried up,” says a release from HAMM.
“Where HAMM was once self-supporting, the growing financial losses (and) public safety concerns have resulted in the Society making this very difficult decision,” the release says.
The Memorial has been operating on grants from the Comox Valley Regional District and the Province of British Columbia, which have covered almost 40 per cent of its operating expenses. The remainder has been absorbed by the HAMM staff.
Though HAMM may be moving into storage for a few years while the search for a more suitable property in the Comox Valley is pursued, TAPS will continue its school outreach programming, mobile exhibits available to museums in B.C., and will reorganize the veterans’ programming halted by the museum’s closure.
Those who would like to contribute to The Alberni Project Society to assist with the costs of storage, or ongoing building fund, can contact the Society’s President, Bob Sackett at bob.sackett@alberniproject.org.
