Do freemasons hold open houses?

I am just wondering becuase some one I know was invited to what was said was an open house to find that he was the only one that attended. They then served him dinner and give him a tour around the house and such. Do freemasons normaly hold open houses like that? Was this intended for him to become a member?

yes I believe they do I have been invited to a couple of them twice here in Ontario and once in Vancouver.

Edit to add I have never gone to them. I have some family members who are members.

[edit on 6/3/2006 by Sauron]

All you have to do is ask and you can generally get a free dinner out of it everytime!

Not only do they hold open houses, but some even hold events. The local lodge in my area held a mozart presentation, and it was really well done. No pressure to join or anything, and everyone in the community was invited to see the beauty of a lodge that is easily 50+ years old.

Yes we do hold open nights!

My lodge holds them once every few months.

If you are ever in WA drop me a line!

What do masons do anyway? Why is it so secret? And how do you get to the top levels?

It's not terribly secret. Our Lodge meetings are simply "closed" in the same way as a company board meeting. Anyone can come to dinner afterwards and talk about it. This is one of the most trumped-up misconceptions stemming from anti-Masonry.

The "top levels" thing is also a popular misconception. Each Grand Lodge is administered independently. There is no elite cabal or central leadership apart from God (who tends not to trouble Himself with the mundane issues involved with running a Lodge). If anyone would claim otherwise, I challenge them to present a single shred of evidence to support their view.

I'm with roark on that one.

The only "Top Levels" that I know about are the Grand Lodge team - normal people from the Lodges that are elected to their positions by other members to represent Freemasons across the state.

The only secrets of freemasonry are the methods of identification between bretheren. Kinda mundane really.

sounds like the mennonites...when i was younger I went to their church and was always invited over to dinner. (maybe they are undercover masons