Behind the QEII Hospital, tucked at 10424 96 Street, there is a homestead that most Grande Prairie residents have driven past without stopping. This summer is a good reason to stop.
The Reverend Forbes Homestead is hosting its annual afternoon teas every Tuesday and Wednesday through July and August 2026, starting July 8. The doors open at 2 p.m. each tea day. A classic teatime spread scone, jam, butter, and a choice of tea, coffee, or juice, it costs $10 per person. After the tea, guests get a guided tour of the homestead.
Advance booking is required. Call the Grande Prairie Museum at 780-830-7090 to reserve your spot.
The full schedule
July 8 and 9. July 15 and 16. July 22 and 23. July 29 and 30. August 5 and 6. August 12 and 13. August 19 and 20. All teas begin at 2 p.m.
Who Agnes Forbes was and why this matters
The afternoon tea tradition at the Forbes Homestead is not a modern tourism invention. It traces directly back to Agnes Forbes, wife of Reverend Alexander Forbes, who lived and worked in the Grande Prairie region during the early settlement era of the 1900s.
Agnes was a pioneer and community caregiver at a time when the Peace region was still being settled. She and Reverend Forbes welcomed neighbours and travellers into their home when there was very little else out here no hospital, no established services, no safety net beyond the people around you. Agnes offered tea, conversation, and often medical care to people passing through or in need. That combination of hospitality and practicality was not unusual for women in her position, but the consistency and depth of her contribution to the early community made her someone people remembered.
The homestead that bears the Forbes name has been preserved and is now operated by the City of Grande Prairie as a heritage site. Hosting afternoon tea there is not nostalgia for its own sake it is a direct continuation of something Agnes Forbes actually did, in the same place, more than a century ago.
What the homestead actually is
The Reverend Forbes Homestead is one of the few surviving pioneer-era structures in Grande Prairie. It sits behind the QEII Hospital at 10424 96 Street a location that means most people in the city have been within a few hundred metres of it hundreds of times without visiting.
The guided tour that follows each afternoon tea walks guests through the homestead's history, the Forbes family's role in the development of the region, and what daily life looked like for early settlers in the Peace Country. For families with children, for new Grande Prairie residents who want to understand where the city came from, and for anyone who has simply never gone in, the tour adds significant context to a building that looks small from the outside and contains considerably more history than its footprint suggests.
What if you cannot make the tea dates
The homestead is open for drop-in guided tours Wednesday to Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. until August 30. No booking required for drop-in tours. No tea service, but the full guided tour is available.
Practical details
Cost: $10 per person, includes scone, jam, butter, and choice of tea, coffee, or juice, plus guided tour.
Dates: Tuesdays and Wednesdays in July and August, starting July 8. All sessions at 2 p.m.
Location: 10424 96 Street, Grande Prairie — behind the QEII Hospital.
Booking: Required. Call 780-830-7090.
Drop-in tours: Wednesday to Saturday, 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., no booking needed, until August 30.
More information at cityofgp.com/museums.
Sources:
City of Grande Prairie, Summer Teas Brew Again at the Reverend Forbes Homestead, June 15, 2026 (cityofgp.com)
City of Grande Prairie, Reverend Forbes Homestead page (cityofgp.com/parks-recreation/facilities-venues/reverend-forbes-homestead)
