You're invited to join Vancouver Heritage Foundation at Cecil Green Park House for our Fall Fundraising Gala to kick off our annual fundraising campaign. The evening will feature a heritage presentation, a silent auction, 50/50 draw, and a few other surprises, all while enjoying some delectable canapés and a selection of fine wines and beers.
SOLD OUT! The City of Vancouver’s Broadway Plan encompasses a huge chunk of the city with an incredibly diverse built form. On this set of walks, we will be exploring the history and heritage of various neighborhoods within the plan’s extensive boundary. This walk will focus on the area around Scotia and 6th Ave.
What stories do the oldest brick building in Vancouver Chinatown hold? The historic Wing Sang Building was built by the merchant Yip Sang to house his businesses. Over time, it expanded into a 6-storey home for him and his extensive family to live in for nearly 100 years, along with a large commercial space. Learn about the rich history of the home of the Chinese Canadian Museum and the building's transformation from 1889 to the present. Join us on a special 90-minute Wing Sang Building Guided Tour, where you will be given exclusive access to additional spaces both inside and outside the building.
One of the most ambitious heritage redevelopment projects in Canada’s history, The Post revitalized a historic Vancouver icon ensuring its preservation and transforming it into a vibrant destination in the city’s centre. Constructed between 1953-58 and occupying an entire city block, the former Main Post Office is an exceptional example of International Style architecture in western Canada. Tune into this lunchtime chat to learn about the revitalization of this Vancouver landmark constructed between 1953-58 and how its seismic upgrade, restoration, and sensitive rehabilitation were completed in a manner to conserve the heritage value of the building’s central podium while modernizing the site to facilitate its new office and commercial use.
Join VHF for our first Professional Development Day for Educators of the 2023/24 school year! Spend the day exploring Vancouver's Chinatown and its many stories with a morning at the newly opened Chinese Canadian Museum (CCM) for a special Wing Sang Building tour and Chinese and Indigenous Histories workshop, lunch from a local restaurant followed by an afternoon making connections on a walking tour through the vibrant cultural historic neighbourhoods.
This October, celebrate Queer History Month by learning just how far back that history goes. Join Glenn Tkach at Hycroft to discover an erased history that is foundational to the making of Canada - the untold story of a unique queer subculture that thrived in Western Canada in its earliest days. Meet the fairies, the passing women, and the punks and jockers who built the earliest settlements of the Pacific Northwest and join legendary Canadian explorer David Thompson himself, as he is guided though the Canadian wilderness by a fierce Two-Spirit warrior.
Masquerade parties have provided escapist fantasies for centuries. People have enjoyed military heroes and villains, the tragic and the comic, and the divine and the profane. Join us at Hycroft this October for an evening of conversation with Ivan Sayers, who will discuss masquerade costumes from his collection for the 1890’s to the 1990’s, showing the original garments, supported with selected publications and slides.
The core course of the Heritage Conservation program and Heritage Conservation Certificate, Heritage 101 is a comprehensive workshop that provides an introduction to heritage conservation with broad relevance for owners, design and construction professionals, municipal staff and the interested public.
Heritage Consultants Donald Luxton and Judy Oberlander will explore the history of heritage conservation, the guiding charters and conventions, and the regulatory environment at City Hall. Important topics will be covered including why heritage conservation is significant economically, culturally and environmentally and its impact on communities. Presentations on key topics, a site observation exercise and group work will all be part of this collaborative experience with lots of discussion.
From the smaller numbers of the 1980s and 90s through the boom of the 2010s, there are now over 220 breweries in BC, including more than fifty in Vancouver alone. In this illustrated talk, Simon Fraser University archivists Melanie Hardbattle and Richard Dancy will discuss how the SFU Archives is working with today’s craft brewing community to establish the BC Beer History Archive, ensuring that records documenting the past four decades don't meet the same fate. They will talk about the Archives' acquisition activities in this area, how to access holdings already processed, and future plans for making Vancouver's long brewing history more widely accessible for research and enjoyment.
What stories do the oldest brick building in Vancouver Chinatown hold? The historic Wing Sang Building was built by the merchant Yip Sang to house his businesses. Over time, it expanded into a 6-storey home for him and his extensive family to live in for nearly 100 years, along with a large commercial space. Learn about the rich history of the home of the Chinese Canadian Museum and the building's transformation from 1889 to the present. Join us on a special 90-minute Wing Sang Building Guided Tour, where you will be given exclusive access to additional spaces both inside and outside the building. This Remembrance Day special will highlight stories of Chinese Canadian veterans featured in the exhibitions.
Statements of Significance (SOS) are tools that articulate the heritage values and character-defining elements of historic places (whether buildings, groups of buildings, landscapes, districts, or structures), and are mandatory documents to formally recognize historic places at local, provincial and federal levels. They are also an important part of conservation planning and are used to guide the how change can happen in historic places in a way that safeguards heritage values.
This in-person workshop at Heritage Hall, led by heritage consultant Elana Zysblat, will explore the formal structure of SOSs and attendees will gain greater insight into the types of heritage values, how to evaluate historic places, and the key principles of writing the SOS.
wait list = Event is currently at capacity. There is a wait list for the scheduled event in case of cancellations. Please email mail@vancouverheritagefoundation.org to be added to the waitlist.
notification list = Event and wait list are currently at capacity. People on this list will only be notified if future dates are confirmed.
Please be aware that designated VHF photographers will take photographs and/or live recordings at events. These materials are the sole property of Vancouver Heritage Foundation and will not be sold or otherwise redistributed, however they may be utilized without notification in Vancouver Heritage Foundation communications including, but not limited to, print materials and social media. If you have concerns about how your likeness may be utilized, please speak with Vancouver Heritage Foundation staff.
Details on how to join the Zoom events will be sent to registered participants in their confirmation receipts and reminder emails. Please ensure you enter a valid email address when registering. If you have not received the Zoom link before the event day, please check your spam folder or contact us at mail@vancouverheritagefoundation.org.
Those wishing to purchase tickets for multiple events can do so by calling our office during business hours at 604 264 9642 ext. 1.
For in-person events, we are unable to provide refunds or credits for cancellations received less than four (4) weeks prior to the event. For virtual events, we are unable to provide refunds or credits for cancellations received less than two (2) weeks prior to the event. We cannot provide refunds or credits for non-attendance.
We reserve the right to cancel an event due to insufficient enrollment or extreme weather. If an event is cancelled for any reason, VHF’s liability is limited to a refund of the event fee or a credit note.
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VHF is currently offering some events and workshops in a virtual format as we continue to return our regular programming to in-person events. Please be sure to check which type of event you are registering for when you sign up. Should an event be unable to be held in-person due to unexpected and/or uncontrollable circumstances, VHF reserves the right to reschedule the event to a virtual format if possible.
Please note that the VHF office is now open by appointment. Contact us in advance of stopping by to ensure a staff member is in to assist you. The staff team are fully operational, mostly working remotely but with a regular presence in the office. If you have any questions regarding upcoming events, please contact us via email.