A province-wide celebration of British Columbia heritage this month will commemorate historical leisure activities.
Heritage Week, a project of the non-profit advocacy organization Heritage BC, takes place annually in mid-February.
In presenting its 2025 focus, Heritage BC urged communities to explore how hobbies shaped their cultural fabric.
“This year’s theme, Pastimes in Past Times, is a wonderful celebration of heritage — reminding us that it’s far from stuffy,” said Kirstin Clausen, executive director of Heritage BC. “Heritage is about what we value and how we nurture the heart and soul of our communities and daily lives. This year’s theme encourages everyone to connect — whether by attending a heritage-themed trivia night, enjoying a concert in a historic space, exploring the legacy of a favorite sport, or revisiting a traditional hobby.”
Heritage BC officials distributed 2,000 posters to museums, libraries and heritage organizations across the province. Communities like Ucluelet (whose historical society plans a musical storytelling presentation) and institutions like Abbotsford’s Clayburn Village Museum (offering a look at leisure in a company town) are promoting specific events during the period Feb. 17 to 23.
“[Heritage Week] is a chance to reflect on how cultural heritage enriches all of our lives, beyond the communities they originate from,” said Britney Dack, chair of Heritage BC. “Whether it’s the thrill of learning to play mahjong, practicing Ukrainian needle craft, or mastering the pronunciation of Indigenous languages, we all grow and become richer through shared experiences.”
One of the heritage hotspots on the Coast, the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives in downtown Gibsons, is implementing a major audiovisual upgrade that will enhance the facility’s capacity for multimedia presentations. “That’s what we’re focusing on right now,” said Matthew Lovegrove, the facility’s manager and curator. The museum will debut its new system during the upcoming launch of an exhibition by Naycia Baker Hunt on the subject of Squamish matriarch Mary Capilano.
“We’ve got all the panels ready, we’ve got all the artifacts ready,” added Lovegrove, who estimates an opening within the next month. The event will also provide additional publicity for an ongoing showcase of shíshálh documentary photography by Jordan Louie.
Meanwhile, the museum’s curatorial assistant Allie Rose Bartlett has taken responsibility for the Sechelt Community Archives following the retirement of longtime archivist Ann Watson. Bartlett oversees weekly availability of the archival collections, opening the Teredo Street offices to the public each Thursday.
The shíshálh Nation tems swiya Museum in Sechelt remains closed since November while reconstruction and installation work is ongoing.
In Garden Bay a fundraiser is under way for the Sarah Wray Hall headquarters of the Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society. Its auxiliary building, housing an archival collection that includes photos, maps, musical instruments and sporting equipment, requires a replacement for antiquated baseboard heaters. The organization plans to raise $10,000 to purchase and install a mini-split heat pump.
“Better for Mother Nature, better for Pender Harbour’s history!” exclaimed society representatives. (Donors can inquire or transfer funds to [email protected].)
The Egmont Heritage Centre, which comprises collections of Vivian and Easthope marine engines, antique bottles, and Depression-era glass, opens only upon request during the winter and early spring. The facility maintains daily operating hours from Victoria Day to Labour Day.
Artist and entrepreneur Candace Campo, founder of Talaysay Tours, is meanwhile working to coordinate a future monumental event with the shíshálh Nation in commemoration of 100 years of shíshálh people living as a tribe in the village of ch’atelích (present-day Sechelt).
“We prepare and plan to dance and sing in preparation for this momentous day of acknowledgment and celebration of the 100 years of perseverance,” wrote Campo, whose ancestral name is xets’emits’a.
Local organizations seeking to share Heritage Week-themed events can contribute listings online via heritagebc.ca/events-activities/heritage-week/pasttimes.
