Providence Farm and Leadership Vancouver Island invite the public to a 150th anniversary celebration of the Sisters of St. Ann settling in the Cowichan Valley.
The event, which will feature cake, coffee and community, will take place at the Providence Farm General Store on Sunday, June 1, from 1-3 p.m., with speeches scheduled for 1:30.
The Sisters of St. Ann purchased the 400-acre farm in 1864. The farm was first a boarding school for young girls (1864-1876).
A number of other changes happened over the years until the school was closed in 1964 and moved to the current Queen of Angels School site.
From 1978 to 1979, meetings took place with the Sisters to discuss building a community at the old St. Ann's School and Farm, and by July 12, 1979, agreement was made to establish a registered charity named the Vancouver Island Providence Community Association.
In 2009, the Sisters of St. Ann gifted VIPCA the property and Providence Farm continues to operate today as a working, therapeutic, organic farm serving adults and seniors with a variety of mental health challenges, developmental and intellectual disabilities and age-related illnesses.