Heritage in Schools

All meals (including a morning snack, lunch and an afternoon snack) are included in the price. Proceeds support VHF’s Heritage in Schools Program which provides field trip grants, online resources and professional development for educators.

The day will begin at Ba Le (701 Kingsway) for a morning coffee and snack with the owners. We will walk to Anh and Chi (3388 Main Street) with a guided walking tour with Andy Pham on the way, followed by lunch at Anh and Chi and a reading of “The Little Girl” with author H.P. Fraser. The day will finish with an afternoon snack, a presentation on the Royal BC Museum’s (RBCM) resources, artist talk with Chrystal Phan, then sharing of more Vietnamese Canadian histories and opportunities for discussion.

Please note that the day’s tour will involve walking within the area between Fraser and Main Streets. The walk between Ba Le and Ahn and Chi is approximately 6 blocks. Participants will need to provide their own transportation. Travel options (vehicle, car share, transit), parking and suggestions will be provided.

“The Little Girl” by H.P. Fraser is available to purchase in advance with your Pro-D registration and will be distributed at the event. Books will also be available on the day of for exact cash only ($20/$30).

About the Speakers

Hieu Pham-Fraser

H. Pham-Fraser has worked as an educator for over twenty seven years. She has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education, and diplomas and certificates for English Language Learning and reading intervention. She has taught in elementary, secondary and university settings. She currently works as a principal supporting schools in the Metro Vancouver area.

Pham-Fraser wrote The Little Girl because she saw a need for all members of our societies to understand that name is identity. Many groups and institutions put pressure on individuals to change or anglicize their names. After watching this simple, everyday imposition negatively affecting her students, she made the decision to share her own story. The book has already helped elementary, secondary, and university students critically think how they welcome others who don’t look like them, speak like them, or have the same cultures as they do. Pham-Fraser believes that anti-racism work starts within us first and that stories can open our minds and hearts to what is possible. She lives in Richmond, B.C., with her son, husband, and their beloved dog, Cocoa.

Andy Pham

Andy came to Canada as a young child with his parents after they all escaped Vietnam on boat in 1980. After living in Vancouver for most of his life before a brief couple years in the cold tundra that is Portage La Prairie, he cherishes Vancouver, his home, as a city rich in culture and heritage. He believes there are untold stories abound in Vancouver waiting to be discovered.

Andy works in the real estate industry in commercial mortgages as Vice President, Asset Management, with BentallGreenOak, a global integrated real estate company. At the company, he is proudly an executive member of the Asian Network, which helps to promote and grow Asian professionals.

Andy has many interests in the community. He serves as a Director on the Boards of the Pacific Canada Heritage Centre – Museum of Migration and the Appraisal Institute of Canada – B.C. Chapter. He is also the President of the Mortgage Investment Association of B.C. and a member of the Appraisal Institute of Canada President’s E.D.I. Council. And from time to time, he hosts on Lac Viet Public Education Society radio.

Chrystal Phan

Based in her hometown of Victoria, BC, artist Chrystal Phan creates paintings that share personal stories around the challenges that arise as her Vietnamese refugee family attempts to fit into Canadian society. Her goals are to bring Asian Canadian faces into fine art spaces in ways that are not exotic, magical, or otherwise orientalized and to draw attention to the ways in which Canadian identity is formed and guarded that can keep racialized Canadians from ever feeling completely and truly ‘Canadian.’