Public Events Calendar

Due to the popularity of the inaugural event last year, we are holding TWO teas in 2025. One is on Sunday, May 4th, and the other is on Saturday, May 10th, both from 1-3 pm at the Larson House Museum at 6003 Exchange St, McFarland, WI. Reservations are required and are being accepted right now. To make your reservation, contact Gail Aaroen at gtaaroen@hotmail.com.

Mothers, daughters, grandmothers, granddaughters, aunts, nieces as well as fathers, sons, grandfathers, grandsons, etc. are invited to experience an English Tea Party in the elegant ambiance of this beautiful Victorian home.  The fascinating history of tea and tea parties will be explained as participants partake of tea, lemonade and sweet and savory treats.  Those attending are encouraged to wear their Sunday best clothing and fancy hats.  We have a wide selection of period appropriate hats on site for you to borrow for the event.

The fee is $25, a real bargain for this unique experience. All proceeds benefit the McFarland Historical Society.

We are also in need of volunteers to bake one of the confections to be served at the teas.  Volunteers will be assigned a traditional recipe from the Society’s “Taking Time for Tea” book edited by Judy St. Clair.  Contact Gail Aaroen at the email above for information.

To raise funds for the Larson House Museum gardens, gardener Gail Aaroen and a team of volunteers dig extra perennials from the garden. After washing off the soil, they replant in sterilized potting soil and sell the plants from the LHM driveway. This is a hugely popular plant sale that you won’t want to miss!

Plants include flowering and non-flowering plants suitable for full-sun to part-shade. Many Wisconsin native species are available.

The Strawberry Shortcake Social is an annual event at the the Larson House Museum at 6003 Exchange Street and features McFarland’s best strawberry shortcake! The strawberries are freshly picked and the shortcake is homemade.

The event also boasts a variety of live entertainment acts, lawn games and free tours of the Larson House.  Beverages and hot dogs are also served with all proceeds benefiting the McFarland Historical Society.  Hundreds of people come back year after year for this family-friendly event.

The upcoming social will be held June 22, 2025 from 1 to 5 pm. Our slate of entertainers this year includes:

1-3 pm — Singing duo “Susie and Randy,” featuring Luanne Platte

3-5 pm — The Jackie Marie band

In August, MHS member Ron Larson often leads guided walks around downtown McFarland. These walks cover such topics as railway history, cemetery tours, and beautiful historic homes. The walks are free and open to everyone! Stay tuned for a list of 2025 dates.

In conjunction with the 2024 McFarland Community Festival, the McFarland History Museum held an “Early Days of McFarland” event at 5814 Main Street. We have not yet decided if we will repeat this event in 2025.

The History Museum, Norwegian Log Cabin and Early Farming displays were open to the public. People of all ages attended and participated in a variety of fun activities.

Our 2024 event featured several live music groups, as well as demos of butter churning, corn shelling, wool spinning, and ice-cream making. Potawatomi native and McFarland resident Art Shegonee presented an exhibit that included a full-sized teepee and beautiful native regalia and Ho-Chunk family photos. Channel 3 did two live interviews with us about the event.

Our Very Victorian Christmas is a popular free event that takes place at the Larson House Museum (LHM) every Sunday in December from 1 to 4 pm. The Larson House Museum is a Queen Anne style Victorian home built in 1898 and furnished to represent the 1920’s when electricity first came to McFarland. It’s a great place to bring out-of-town guests that are visiting for the holidays.

Take a guided tour and enjoy the unique trees and decorations in every room of this photogenic gingerbread house. Don’t forget to grab a survey sheet and vote on your favorite room!  Complimentary beverages and cookies are served in the kitchen after your tour.

The first Saturday of December, the LHM is also open from 10 am to 4 pm as part of McFarland’s “Christmas in the Village.” Along with free tours, fancy treats and hot beverages are served to guests. Christmas music is played on the piano from 10 am until 3 pm. A reading of “T’was the Night Before Christmas” is given at 3 pm, followed by Christmas carols around the living room tree.

Admission is free and donations are welcomed. A Very Victorian Christmas is also a great opportunity to pick up some last-minute gifts, which often include succulent arrangements by Wes Licht, gourd Santa ornaments by Thelma Allen, t-shirts, and wrapped gift baskets.

Between 2022-2024, we have held a number of murder mystery evenings at the Larson House Museum. These events require a reservation and involve 8-20 costumed participants, in addition to a few volunteer servers and actors. Characters are assigned by the Murder Mystery Committee. Guests come up with appropriate costumes and arrive at the lovely Larson House at the date and time specified on their invitation.  Costumes do not need to be elaborate and anything you need can easily be purchased at a thrift store.

During these mysteries, our “John Larson” manikin has suffered horrible deaths by poison in his champagne, an exploding chocolate Easter egg, a candlestick to the head, etc.  Themes have involved various decades and countries (e.g., 1960s France), with food and background music to match. Guests enjoy elaborate and tasty food served to all in the dining room, champagne, wine, or non-alcoholic beverages and an evening of fun as everyone tries to solve the “who done” it mystery.

The McFarland Historical Society has an Annual Meeting each March (usually the first Sunday) from 1 to 3 pm, in the Training Room at the McFarland Municipal Building at 5915 Milwaukee Street. All are welcome–you do not need to be a MHS member! The Annual Meeting features a guest speaker on a topic related to local history, as well as the presentation of our annual Volunteer of the Year award.