The Squamish Culture and Heritage Festival Fri. Nov 23 and Sat. Nov 24: Quest University Canada
SQUAMISH, BRITISH COLUMBIA- The inaugural Squamish Culture and Heritage Festival is set to get underway on Friday, November 23 at 6:30pm at Quest University Canada.
To kick the festival off, Rudy Reimer, an archaeologist who hails from the Squamish Nation and currently teaches at Simon Fraser University, will present his original research related to indigenous local settlements dating back more than 5000 years. As well, Quest University instructor Steve Quane will present an informative discussion about the geological foundation of the Sea to Sky Corridor.
On Saturday November 24, starting at 9:30am, the festival will offer a series of lively presentations and interesting displays by various groups and businesses, including Telus, London Drugs, the Squamish Chamber of Commerce, Bear Aware, the Britannia Mine Museum, the Squamish Environment Society and many others. There will be activities for all members of the family, including the Cedar Valley Waldorf School activity centre. A large group of grade 5, 6 & 7 Squamish Elementary French Immersion students will display and discuss their research on topics ranging from the earliest explorers and settlers who arrived in Howe Sound to more recent social and economic developments.
Among the presenters on Saturday will be Thor Froslov, who will talk about the establishment of the Brackendale Eagles Provincial Park and the annual Brackendale eagle count. Hans Brandvold, whose family built the Diamond Head Chalet in Garibaldi Provincial Park in the 1940s, will present footage shot on a hand-cranked movie camera, depicting an epic construction effort during which supplies were painstakingly hauled up the mountain by horses and on family members’ backs. Lesley Keith’s maternal grandmother, Minnie Armstrong was a year old when she arrived in Squamish in February 1889. Lesley’s presentation will bring to life the compelling record of a bygone era depicted in her recently published book The Squamish Valley Before the Highway: A Story of Squamish through Photographs. In 1993 Corinne Lonsdale established a historical milestone by becoming Squamish’s first female mayor. With 25 years of experience in public office, Corinne will offer unique insights into one of the community’s most formative historical periods and candid opinions about the district’s future directions. Trevor Mills, an archivist with the West Coast Railway Association and an expert on Squamish railroad history, will host a popular slideshow about local railway operations based on photos taken by his father, PGE locomotive engineer Bert Mills. Those are just a few of the presentations available at the festival on Saturday.
In addition, Rick Harry, who recently received the Order of B.C., will host a carving workshop. Diana Billy will offer an indigenous herbal medicine and cedar basket weaving workshop, while Alice Guss will conduct a traditional wool weaving workshop.
Visitors to the festival can take public transit, or drive to Quest and park beside the soccer field at the university. A shuttle will take them the rest of the way up the hill on Friday evening and Saturday during the day. A festival shuttle will also be available from the front of the Shannon Retirement Residence and the Squamish Adventure Centre at 9:00 am on Saturday. For more information about festival events and scheduling log onto the Squamish Historical Society website at www.squamishhistory.ca or our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/squamishhistory.ca
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