Display Building No. II
Restoring the Glory
In 2009, local supporters, Gord Peters and his wife Diane, collaborated with the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba to make it their personal mission to restore the glory of this proud symbol of our heritage of agricultural excellence and an iconic representation of Brandon and Westman’s agricultural history.
Thank you to all of our donors and supporters. This project would not have been a reality today if it hadn’t of been for your dedication and generosity.
Red Ribbon Donors
Government of Canada
Province of Manitoba
Gord & Diane Peters
City of Brandon
Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba
Blue Ribbon Donors
ATCO Group
Cando Contracting Ltd
CN Rail
Ron & Vera Helwer & Family
White Ribbon Donors
Bayer CropScience
Manse Binkley & Anna Hunt-Binkley
BMO Bank of Montreal
Brandon Sun
Bruce & Leslie Campbell
Canadian Tire-Grant Wallace
Cancade Co Ltd
Canexus Chemicals
Charlie and Laurel Clark
Enns Brothers Ltd
Heritage Co-op
Horizon Builders Ltd
Kelleher Ford Sales Ltd
KOCH Fertilizer Canada ULC
Mazergroup Ltd.
Estate of E. Donn Mitchell
Murray Auto Center
Ray & Bev Redfern & Family
Thomas Sill Foundation
TD Bank Financial Group
Yellow Ribbon Donors
Barb and Darryl Andrews & Family
BDO Financial Services
Brandon Area Community Foundation
Drew Caldwell
In Memory of John Cameron
Canadian Pacific Railway Company
Keith & Katherine Cleaver
Cochrane Stock Farms: Stan, Pat, Kyle, Darby, & Family
Wayne Ellwood Couling Estate
D& B Sprinklers
Dairy Farmers of Manitoba
Reg Forbes
Perri Gardner & Garry Rainnie
Guild Insurance Brokers Inc.
Gord & Brenda Hansen & Family
Bruce Henderson, Ryan Henderson, Henderson Kochan Wealth Advisory, BMO Nesbitt Burns
Don & Becki Kille
Ron & Mona Kille
Doreen & Daryl Knight
Ron & Barb Kristjansson & Family
Larry Maguire
Brent Miller & Family
Brent & Rena Mills
In Memory of Molly Nevin
Odanah Truck Line Inc
Don & Sandra Penny
Hani Riad & Karen Oliver
Stiles Masonry Ltd
Tim Hortons
Westoba Credit Union
Linda Williamson
Jay Winburn
Mel & Kay Wolfe & Family
John & Kate Zeke
Green Ribbon Donors
In Memory of Bessie Anderson
Gerald & Ann Barnes & Family
Benjamin Moore Community Foundations of Canada
Bolley Family
Brandon Business Interiors
D.A. (Dan) & Lena Campbell
In Memory of Keith Campbell
In Memory of Gordon & Audrey Church – The Church Family
Excel-7 Ltd.
Sheila & Gordon Ferguson
Wayne & Eleanor Gordon
Myrna & Doug Graham
Russell & Mona Green
Darrell Hack
Don & Carol Hawking
Jac Hiebert
Hugh & Martha Jameson
Dan & Sue Karashowsky
Steve & Laurie Kovach
Flora and William G. Lockhart
Manitoba Summer Fair Patrons
Richard & Gail Martinook
Mazer Family
Meighen Haddad LLP
Susan McMillan & Family
George & Maxine Moore
New Look Gardens & Landscaping
Terry & Linda Payne & Family
Profile Paving Ltd.
Jim & Debbie Quintaine
Albert & Michelle Rimke & Family
In memory of Carol Stiles
The Green Spot
Trails West Inn
Whetter Family
Rhonda Woytkiw & Family
Zenith Paving Ltd.
Friends of the Dome
Russell & Cathy Dayman
Sharon Dixon
Dyregrov Robinson Inc
Grand Valley Produce Ltd
Knight-Line Farms, Mark & Amanda Knight
Lockhart Plumbing & Heating
McCarty Construction
Ken & Helen Mitchell
Susan F Proven
South Brandon Carroll 4H Beef Club
The Brandon Garden Club
The Girls Paint & Paper
Dome Supporters
Valerie Batt
Jennifer Beard
Bonnie M Campbell
Dorothy Broomhall
Wayne & Melanie Buhr & Family
Karen Burton
Jan Chaboyer
Travis Chastko
Lindsay & Warren Cowling
Sandi Cullen
Donfield Farms Ltd.
Doors Open Brandon
In Memory of Gordon Ferguson
Morgan Fiske
Joan Foxton
Bob & Joyce Gordon
Betty Gregory
Bill & Dawn Henderson
Dayle Hughson
Luella Joy
Lily Killingbeck
In memory of Janessa Krieser
In Memory of Doug Lawson
David & Arlene Leech
Randy MacDonald
Ken and Helen Marshall
Holly Martinook
Blair & Lois McRae & Family
Susan Mitchell
James Montgomery
Mossup Family
Edith Munroe
Ellen & John Murray
Daughter of Darwin in Memory of Molly Nevin
Norm & Trudy Hemstad
Oak River Women’s Institute
Rob O’Connor
Angela Pearen
Shirley & Arthur Peters
Wendy Petersen
Sandy Lake Homescapes
Agnes Sayer
Dick & Lynn Scott
Vernon & Gwen Sinclair
Rena & Tim Stackhouse
Florence Strachan
Megan Svistovski
In Memory of Glen and Marilyn Thomson
Laura Wallis
Nola Warnica
Rhonda Wlock
Cindy Yacyshen
Dennis & Diane Yanchycki
Marion & Tony Zdebiak
History of the Dominion Exhibition, Display Building II (Dome Building)
From 1879 to 1913, the Dominion Exhibition, a national agricultural exhibition, was held annually across Canada. This was a prestigious and important event that communities competed fiercely for their fair to be designated the distinction of the “Dominion Exhibition” from the federal government.
In 1913, Brandon’s bid to host the Dominion Exhibition was successful and the infrastructure to host this esteemed event would be constructed. The city of Brandon was recognized for its community’s progressive attitude and the agricultural excellence of the region.
Reports indicated that over the 10 days of the fair, there was 200,000 visits. The fair opened on July 13, 1913; local hotels were filled to capacity and the overflow had to be boarded in the local roller rink. Brandon’s streetcar system opened just in time and during fair week, trailers were attached to the cars to help move the crowds. The 1913 Fair was a spectacular success and deemed “the best ever.”
During the years following the Dominion Fair, Display Building No. II saw many uses, from swine displays to hockey games and petting zoos, and more recently as a cold storage space for the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. The building has been in continual use for nearly a century.
In 2009, the Heritage Canada Foundation listed the domed building as one the most endangered structures in the country. Parks Canada, on its website, described the building as a “rare surviving example of the late 19th and early 20th century type of exhibition halls” built for agricultural fairs. The well known “Dome Building” was constructed for the hosting of the Dominion Fair in Brandon in 1913, and is the only surviving building in Canada constructed for this series of Fairs. Renovations began the same year and were completed in the spring of 2018.
The restoration and redevelopment of Dominion Exhibition Display Building No. II preserved an important part of the agricultural history of our community and our country. The restored building is a cultural and tourism asset for Westman. It houses a large agricultural hall that can be rented out for events such as conventions, weddings, markets, etc. The building is also home to offices of local businesses including the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba.