Tour the first floor, enjoy hot cocoa, and participate in fun games while waiting for the magical moment when the mansion lights up for the holidays! In partnership with HARD.
Enjoy the Christmas décor and view the first floor at your own pace during a self-guided tour where docents and staff can answer your questions. In addition, we have something special scheduled for each Saturday — See the full program list in the rest of our calendar.
Continue your holiday shopping at our Pop-up Gift Shop! Local artisans offer the most unique options, so come see what gifts you can check off your list!
It's the season for cider, cookies, and crafts! In addition to visiting our history and art galleries, you can pop in to the museum on Saturdays in December to make a salt dough ornament and other festive crafts while enjoying hot cider and cookies in our little elves workshop.
Enjoy the Christmas décor and view the first floor at your own pace during a self-guided tour where docents and staff can answer your questions. In addition, we have something special scheduled for each Saturday — See the full program list in the rest of our calendar.
It's the season for cider, cookies, and crafts! In addition to visiting our history and art galleries, you can pop in to the museum on Saturdays in December to make a salt dough ornament and other festive crafts while enjoying hot cider and cookies in our little elves workshop.
Enjoy holiday music by members of the Hayward Community Chorus and guitarist Jos Van Der Wilk. Then make your own Santa Searcher to help catch a glimpse of St. Nick!
Enjoy the Christmas décor and view the first floor at your own pace during a self-guided tour where docents and staff can answer your questions. In addition, we have something special scheduled for each Saturday — See the full program list in the rest of our calendar.
It's the season for cider, cookies, and crafts! In addition to visiting our history and art galleries, you can pop in to the museum on Saturdays in December to make a salt dough ornament and other festive crafts while enjoying hot cider and cookies in our little elves workshop.
Ever wonder why there are so many urns on top of headstones? Notice all those pointy obelisks and floral motifs that adorn burial markers? Have you ever seen a headstone resembling a tree trunk or a log? Each communicates a different sentiment, idea, and identity. Start your morning with a walk through Lone Tree Cemetery and learn about cemetery iconography, symbolism, and the cultures that elevated them.
Registration requested. Meet at Mausoleum 2, behind the cemetery office.
Looking to add a little more joy to your October Celebrations or a gift for someone special? Then drop by the Pop-Up Shop offering unique and one-of-a-kind Dia de los Muertos themed folk art and jewelry. Come support local artisans!
Our Tell Your Own Story writer's workshop was a success, and now we get to hear the fruits of their labor! Join us at the Museum on the second floor to hear our participants tell their own stories. Stop by and lend an ear. You may be inspired to join our next workshop!
Hayward/South County Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) Chapter invites you to a Voter Information and Registration Event. BWOPA partners with The Links Incorporated Eden Rose Chapter, the Hayward-South County NAACP, and the League of Women Voters of the Eden Area. Light refreshments will be provided.
The presentation will include information regarding:
Why your vote is important
An overview of elections: National, State, and Local
The pros and cons of Assembly and Senate bills
How you can get out the vote
Voter information question and answer session
On-site voter registration
Free | Registration Required
Summer is here, and it is time for our annual Independence Day Celebration at Meek Mansion! The Blues Bottle Band will brighten the day with live music, so bring your family and a picnic to Meek Park. Local artisans, artists, community groups, and organizations look forward to chatting with you and sharing information about their projects on the south lawn. Walk through Meek Mansion to learn more about the Meek family and their place in history, and, of course, participate in outdoor activities, historical games, and fun crafts for the whole family. We hope to see you there!
Free
As we all know, the Hayward area is known for being a great place to grow fruits and vegetables, so much so that we often have more on our trees and in our gardens than we know what to do with! Lucky for us, there is ForestR. ForestR is a nonprofit organization that offers many programs, but fruit tree gleaning is their specialty. Join us on June 1st to hear more about ForestR’s programs and how their fruit-gleaning service can help redistribute the overabundance your fruit tree produces.
Free | Registration Required
Writer Naomi Shibata will share how documenting family stories began as a gift to her mother and evolved into a means of connecting five generations of her family. She will discuss lessons learned along the way, as well as how she worked with novice writers to help them turn oral histories into the written word. For interested attendees, we will offer a four-part writing workshop that begins in June and concludes in September with a reading of the participants stories.
Do you have family photos that show moments in time worth being remembered for generations to come? Maybe some birthday party pictures from Valle Vista or family picnics at Kennedy Park? Informal snapshots of granny in her garden or your school buddies on the playground? Bring them to the HAHS Museum on this day to be scanned and digitally added to our collection. You keep the original! Please limit to 12 photos per person.
Start your day with a morning walking tour of the burials sites belonging to some notable Haywardians! This 1.5 hour tour will visit the final resting places of the Rodeo King of the West, an Indy 500 winner, the town’s namesake, and many more. The tour will also examine some interesting grave markers and discuss local legends. This tour requires a slight walk uphill and will navigate some uneven paths.
Meet in front of Mausoleum 2 (located behind the cemetery office)
Panel Moderator and Visual Artist Vanita Lee-Tatum
The African American influence has been paramount in visual and performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, architecture, culinary, and other forms of cultural expression. For centuries, Western intellectuals denied or minimized the contributions of people of African descent to the arts as well as history, even as their artistry in many genres was mimicked and/or stolen. However, we can still see the unbroken chain of Black art production from antiquity to the present.
In partnership with the Hayward Arts Council and the Hayward Public Library, the Hayward Area Historical Society is proud to host a panel of black artists as they discuss their art as representative of lived experience, preservation of black history, and as a mode of empowerment.
Panelists include Khristel Johnson [Textiles, Quilt], Mark Sublett [Mixed Media], Saleem Gilmore [Author/Cartoonist], and Russell Foote [Photography].
Registration is requested. Free parking available in the garage adjacent to the library.
HAHS and the Hayward Public Library are partnering to host Dr. ShiPu Wang, Coats Family Chair in the Arts and Professor of Art History at the University of California, Merced, as he discusses the exhibition and book Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo. Dr. Wang, curator of this forthcoming nationally touring exhibition, will talk about the artwork, stories, and connections of these three exceptional Japanese American women, one of whom, Hisako Hibi, called Hayward home prior to World War II.
Registration requested. Free parking available in the garage adjacent to the library. Refreshments provided courtesy of the Eden Township JACL.
Let’s light up the houses, celebrate the season, and walk through Meek Mansion during special evening hours. In partnership with HARD.
Let’s light up the houses, celebrate the season, and walk through McConaghy House during special evening hours. in partnership with HARD.
Officially started in 1870, Lone Tree Cemetery is the final resting place for many of the Hayward Area Pioneers, including William Hayward himself.
Join us for a morning walking tour of some of Lone Tree Cemetery's most interesting graves! We will take you to the burial sites of notable Haywardians, take a look at fascinating grave markers, discuss local legends, and explore cemetery symbolism.
In partnership with Lone Tree Cemetery
Tour is sold out! Please stay tuned for a March 2024 tour date.
Join HAHS Board President, Tom Lorentzen, as he leads a discussion reflecting on the 60th anniversary of the JFK assassination.
Space is limited - please call (510) 581-0223 to reserve your spot. Space is given on a first come, first served basis.
You are invited to discuss ideas of home, belonging, and environment created in Hayward in the 20th Century. Each conversation will feature individuals who made history through sustained local action and community work. Their histories are exciting and unique yet remain little known. We can learn from these experiences and find inspiration to address present-day challenges.
We also want to inspire and guide Haywardians who have important stories to preserve for families and community. You can attend all three events, or any of your choosing.
Light refreshments will be served. This series is free to the public. Parking in city lots next to the library is free of charge. More information about the project is available at www.haywardhistory.org.
Presented by CSUEB Department of History in partnership with the Hayward Library and the Hayward Area Historical Society. This project was made possible with support form California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
You are invited to discuss ideas of home, belonging, and environment created in Hayward in the 20th Century. Each conversation will feature individuals who made history through sustained local action and community work. Their histories are exciting and unique yet remain little known. We can learn from these experiences and find inspiration to address present-day challenges.
We also want to inspire and guide Haywardians who have important stories to preserve for families and community. You can attend all three events, or any of your choosing.
Light refreshments will be served. This series is free to the public. Parking in city lots next to the library is free of charge. More information about the project is available at www.haywardhistory.org.
Presented by CSUEB Department of History in partnership with the Hayward Library and the Hayward Area Historical Society. This project was made possible with support form California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
You are invited to discuss ideas of home, belonging, and environment created in Hayward in the 20th Century. Each conversation will feature individuals who made history through sustained local action and community work. Their histories are exciting and unique yet remain little known. We can learn from these experiences and find inspiration to address present-day challenges.
We also want to inspire and guide Haywardians who have important stories to preserve for families and community. You can attend all three events, or any of your choosing.
Light refreshments will be served. This series is free to the public. Parking in city lots next to the library is free of charge. More information about the project is available at www.haywardhistory.org.
Presented by CSUEB Department of History in partnership with the Hayward Library and the Hayward Area Historical Society. This project was made possible with support form California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Join us for a day of community celebration at Meek Estate Park! Get a peek inside this local landmark and learn more about Meek Family history. Enjoy historic games and crafts, patriotic activities, local artists and artisans, and local community booths. Purchase a bite to eat from the Cherryland Community Association, and stay for the music of the Blues Bottle Band. Fun for the whole family!
In 1963, officials in Alameda County began hearings to discuss the forced removal of Russell City, an unincorporated area home to predominantly Black and Latino residents. Sixty years later, the City of Hayward formally recognized the impact of the forced removal and issues a formal apology to Russell City residents.
Award-winning filmmaker Mimi Chakarova’s feature-length documentary The Apology follows the stories of two dozen Russell City residents and their descendants while exploring the significance of making amends for a past that shouldn’t be forgotten.
Space is limited! Please RSVP for this viewing by emailing staff@stillirisefilms.org.
RocQuel Johnson, Vice President of the Hayward/South County Black Women Organized for Political Action, will speak about Black Resistance and Political Enfranchisement.
African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression in all forms, and resistance has achieved triumphs, successes, and progress. Black people have sought ways to nurture and protect Black lives and the autonomy of their physical and intellectual bodies through many avenues such as education, media, and legislation/politics. Black-led institutions and affiliations have lobbied, litigated, legislated, protested, and succeeded. Black resistance strategies have served as a model for every other social movement in the country; thus, the legacy and importance of these actions cannot be understated.
HAHS is proud to present RocQuel Johnson, Vice President of the Hayward/ South County Black Women Organized for Political Action, who will speak about Black Resistance and BWOPA as they work towards their mission to activate, motivate, promote, support, and educate African-American women about the political process, encourage involvement, and to affirm the commitment to solving problems affecting the African-American community.
RocQuel Johnson
RocQuel Johnson has over 23 years of extensive experience facilitating early community engagement work centered around difficult conversations. She has successfully developed direct partnerships, award-winning brand communications, negotiations, and collaborations with communities, government, and elected officials. As Vice President for the Hayward/South County chapter of BWOPA, she helped establish a Covid-19 vaccination education and awareness campaign in unincorporated Alameda County. RocQuel is also a board member of the Black Maternal Health Innovation Lab and has supported new policies centered around equitable Black maternal health for the women of Fresno County and has facilitated several Black maternal forums, including with BWOPA during Black Maternal Wellness Week. She is currently a Communication Specialist with Blue Shield of California Foundation.
Join us for special evening hours at Meek Mansion in conjunction with this HARD event! Experience Meek by twinkling holiday lights as you navigate through these festively decorated spaces. More information about this event can also be found at HARD’s website.
Join us for special evening hours at McConaghy House in conjunction with this HARD event! Experience McConaghy by twinkling holiday lights as you navigate through these festively decorated spaces. More information about this event can also be found at HARD’s website.
Holiday Bowl was the largest bowling center in Northern California, featuring 40 AMF-equipped bowling lanes, a full-service restaurant, and an expansive cocktail lounge and much more! First opening its doors in 1958, the Sommer family operated the bowling ally until closing its doors in 2005.
Join us for an online presentation with Jim Sommer about the history and memories of Hayward’s beloved bowling alley.
Registration for live attendance is now closed. The recording will be uploaded to our YouTube channel shortly following the live presentation.
Blues Bottle Band
After a two year hiatus, Independence Day at Meek is back! The Blues Bottle Band will brighten up the day with live music so bring your family and a picnic to the park. Then walk through the Meek Mansion to learn more about the family that once lived in this beautiful house as well as their place in history. Community groups and organizations look forward to chatting with you and sharing information about their projects on the south lawn. Most importantly, join us for lots of fun outdoor activities, historical games, and crafts for the whole family.
In partnership with the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District and Cherryland Community Association.
Save the date for this online presentation with Prof. Sherman Lewis! Dr. Lewis will speak about his newest book The Rise and Fall of Hayward’s Route 238 Bypass, which details the story of how Hayward’s Route 238 bypass ultimately never came to fruition. The book is available through Amazon, or an eBook version is available on the Google Play Store.
Registration for this program is now closed. A recording will be available at our YouTube channel in the near future.
Get into the spirit of the season! Visit both Meek Mansion and McConaghy House and see these local historic homes decked out for the holidays.
Meek Mansion is located at 17365 Boston Road in Hayward, inside Meek Estate Park.
McConaghy House is located at 18701 Hesperian Blvd in Hayward, next to Kennedy Park.
$5 Suggested Donation | Self-guided tours | No Santa visits this day | More information
Get into the spirit of the season! Visit both Meek Mansion and McConaghy House and see these local historic homes decked out for the holidays.
Meek Mansion is located at 17365 Boston Road in Hayward, inside Meek Estate Park.
McConaghy House is located at 18701 Hesperian Blvd in Hayward, next to Kennedy Park. Santa will be visiting McConaghy on this day only from 12:00 to 2:00 PM.
$5 Suggested Donation | Self-guided tours | More information
Get into the spirit of the season! Visit both Meek Mansion and McConaghy House and see these local historic homes decked out for the holidays.
Meek Mansion is located at 17365 Boston Road in Hayward, inside Meek Estate Park. Santa will be visiting Meek on this day only from 12:00 to 2:00 PM.
McConaghy House is located at 18701 Hesperian Blvd in Hayward, next to Kennedy Park.
$5 Suggested Donation | Self-guided tours | More information
Join us for this free event as we light Meek Mansion, celebrate the season with some fun activities, and enjoy some refreshments. Meek Mansion will be open and decorated inside and out for the season!
In partnership with the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (HARD) and Cherryland Community Association.
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