VHF’s Heritage Hour (formerly Evening Lectures) series offers illustrated talks that look at the history of Vancouver, covering the events, movements and people that have shaped our city. Since the first event in 2012, the series has included a diverse range of subjects and perspectives in over 50 talks from more than 30 presenters. A listing of many of them can be found below.
Heritage Hour talks will continue in person for the fall 2024 season. Join us at University Women’s Club at Hycroft from 7pm to 8:30pm to enjoy fascinating pieces of Vancouver’s heritage with a selection of local speakers.
You can earn 1 Heritage Conservation Education credit per Heritage Hour talk or Lunch and Learn, to a maximum of 3 towards VHF’s Heritage Conservation Certificate.
Thank you to our event partner
Tuesday, September 23rd, 7pm-8:30pm
University Women’s Club at Hycroft Manor
$20/15+tax
Many of us think we know Canadian history. But sometimes we can discover a dark story that has been silenced, buried and lost to time. Historian and award-winning author, Catherine Clement will share the story she uncovered of a monumental yet tragic and largely forgotten chapter in our nation’s and in Vancouver’s past: The quarter century of Chinese exclusion.
About the Speaker:
Catherine Clement is an award-winning historian, curator and author whose work focuses on memory and excavating the stories of ordinary people in extraordinary times. She is renowned for her landmarks public history projects that crowdsource memories and materials to help reveal the forgotten stories of our country’s past.
Image Credit: Catherine Clement
Blood in the Boonies: Crime and Misadventure in Old South Van
Tuesday, October 28th
University Women's Club at Hycroft Manor
$20/$15 +tax
The southeast corner of the city has always had its perilous moments. The working class neighbourhoods that comprised the formerly independent municipality of South Vancouver spread across a steep hill, where one flank dove sharply to a river lined with sawmills. It was the perfect booming ground for harrowing accidents, tragic bridge mishaps, and fatal tram slams. Join local historian Rob Howatson for a chilling journey through South Vancouver, where every road seems to end at Mountain View Cemetery.
Photo Credit: Wayne Worden
About the Speaker:
Rob Howatson is a writer, local history buff and lifelong South Van’er. He caught the heritage bug in 2007 when he discovered a time capsule hidden in the old Sunset Community Centre. (It contained rare Bing Crosby footage!) Rob also works for the City of Richmond at Steveston’s heritage sites.
An Imaginary Line: the HBC, the US, and the Fight against the 49th Parallel
Tuesday, November 25th, 7pm-8:30pm
University Women’s Club at Hycroft Manor
$20/15+tax
How did the Pacific Northwest get divided between the U.S. and the British Empire? Where does British Columbia’s name come from? Why are there two Vancouvers? From 1821 to 1846 the Hudson’s Bay Company attempted to carve a British claim west of the mountains. The result is a gripping story involving Métis emigrants, legacy-hungry billionaires, and a wandering artist. A dive into the little-told tales of the Pacific Northwest.
About the Speaker:
Tom Long has worked in museums and heritage spaces for 25 years, including Fort Edmonton Park, Mangawhai Museum (NZ/Aotearoa), and the Amelia Douglas Institute. He loves storytelling and history and combining the two. He is a Certified Interpretive Guide from the National Association of Interpretation with a particular interest in the 19th century Canadian fur trade. You can find him, his blogs, and his other offerings at northwindheritageconsulting.ca .
From the VHF Archives
Visit our YouTube page for more heritage and history themed videos including previously recorded evening lectures, including Hippie Vancouver: Activism in the ‘60s and ‘70s and its legacy with Michael Kluckner, Chinatown Through a Wide Lens: The Hidden Photographs of Yucho Chow with Catherine Clement, and Japanese Hall 1928-2018: The Extraordinary Story of Community Resilience, Survival and Transformation with Laura Saimoto. Be sure to subscribe and click the notification bell to be notified when we upload new videos.
Yucho Chow photo courtesy of Peter Chow Collection in the Yucho Chow Community Archive. Please note this photograph is for research and study purposes only. Other uses require permission from the families.
Virtual Evening Lecture Recordings
Online
$16+tax
Join us from the comfort of home to enjoy fascinating pieces of Vancouver’s history with a selection of speakers. These illustrated lectures take a look at the history of Vancouver, covering the events, movements and people that have shaped our city from a diverse range of perspectives.
Recordings from past VHF virtual evening lecture are available. A link will be sent for each virtual evening lecture following your purchase and the video will be available for viewing on YouTube up to a month after your purchase.
Past Talks
- May 21 – It All Started with 22: A Look Back at Fifty Years of Heritage in Vancouver – John Atkin and Jeannette Hlavach
- October 22 – Forgotten Stages: The Lost Theatres of Vancouver – John Atkin and Tom Carter
- November 26 – Places of Belonging: Looking at Chinese Societies in Vancouvers’ Chinatown – Larry Chin
- March 28 – Linking Time: Contemporary Cemetery Design within Historic Settings – Bill Pechet
- April 18 – (Re)Making home away from home: South Asians’ 120 Years in Vancouver – Dr. Satwinder Kaur Bains
- May 16 – White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver – Henry Tsang
- October 24 – The Queer Frontier – Glenn Tkach
- October 31 – Halloween: Costumes, Customs and Clothing in the 20th Century – Ivan Sayers
- March 15 – Hippie Vancouver: Activism in the ‘60s and ‘70s and its legacy – Michael Kluckner
- April 26 – Women’s Labour History in Vancouver – Bailey Garden
- March 2 – Vancouver’s Stained-Glass Heritage: Artists & Studios, 1889-1940 – Jim Wolf
- April 6 – Race, Regulation and Resistance: Understanding Vancouver’s South Asian community history – Milan Singh, Naveen Girn, Paneet Singh
- May 4 – Building BC: The Photography of Leonard Frank and Otto Landauer – Michael Schwartz
- September 28 – BC’s Black Pioneers: Economic, Political and Social Influences – Fran Morrison
- October 26 – Lower Mount Pleasant: Industry, Immigrants and Institutions – Christine Hagemoen
- November 30 – All Aboard! A virtual tour of Vancouver’s neon past and present – John Atkin and Angus McIntyre
- March 3 – A Century of Planning Vancouver: From Bartholomew to City Plan – Michael Kluckner
- October 27 – Chinatown Through a Wide Lens: The Hidden Photographs of Yucho Chow – Catherine Clement
- November 17 – Vancouver After Dark: Stories of the City’s Historical Nightspots – Aaron Chapman
- December 1 – The Changing Landscape of Vancouver’s Private Gardens, 1890-2020 – Adrienne Brown
- February 26 – Vancouver’s Hidden Heritage Building: The Resurrection of the Heather Pavilion – Donald Luxton
- April 9 – Japanese Hall 1928-2018: The Extraordinary Story of Community Resilience, Survival and Transformation – Laura Saimoto
- April 30 – The Francophone Pioneers of Vancouver: A Little-known History and Legacy – Maurice Guibord
- October 1 – “Just what is it that makes the modern house so different, so appealing?” – Greg Bellerby
- October 29 – The History and Legacy of the Vancouver Park Board – John Coupar & Terri Clark
- November 26 – “Land of Destiny”: A History of Vancouver Real Estate – Jesse Donaldson
- February 27 – Stanley Park: Digging Deeper and Rethinking Cultural Heritage – Rena Soutar (Cha’an Dtut) & Geordie Howe
- March 20 – Squat City: An Informal History of Squatters in Vancouver – Daniel Francis
- April 24 – Themes, Subthemes and Memes: Telling History in a Different Way – Donald Luxton
- September 18 – Private Property, Public Regulation, and the History of the Arbutus Corridor – Douglas Harris
- October 9 – Vancouver’s Police Museum: Stories from 240 E Cordova – Rosslyn Shipp & Elizabeth Peterson
- October 30 – Granville Street: 1886 to Today – Commerce, Entertainment and Historic Buildings – Aaron Chapman & Michael Gordon
- February 21 – Stanley Park Sites and Stories: Then and Now – Adrienne Brown
- March 28 – Rum-runners and Border Wars: Prohibition in BC – Daniel Francis
- April 25 – Ten Myths About Vancouver: The Real Stories – John Atkin
- September 19 – Shaughnessy’s Backstory – Michael Kluckner
- October 24 – What a Mess: False Creek, the Industrial Waterway – John Atkin
- November 7 – Kitsilano Indian Reserve: Contact to Today – Douglas Harris
- February 16 – Selling Vancouver to Tourists: 1890 – 1960 – Michael Kluckner
- April 5 – How Streetcars and Real Estate Shaped Vancouver – John Atkin
- May 29 – The Crescent: From the CPR and the Garden City to Today – Adrienne Brown
- October 18 – Sawmills and Opera Houses: The Origins of Chinatown – John Atkin
- November 1 – The Legacy Sites and Stories of the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games – Jason Beck
- November 29 – Who was Major Matthews? – Heather Gordon
- January 21 – Vancouver as a Sustainable City – Dr. Tom Hutton
- March 4 – Challenges & Trends: Public Engagement for Community Planning – Dr. Maged Senbel
- April 15 – Arts & Crafts Movement of the Pacific Northwest – Larry Kreisman
- September 30 – Gentrification, Heritage & the Future of Vancouver – Michael Kluckner
- October 21 – Samuel Maclure in Shaughnessy – Jim Wolf
- November 4 – Vancouver’s Vaudeville: the Great White Way – John Atkin & Tom Carter
- February 19 – How Chinatown became a National Historic Site – John Atkin & Jeanette Hlavach
- March 19 – History of electric car – John Stonier
- April 16 – Marriage of architecture and gardens – Christine Allen
- September 17 – Big Bands in Vancouver – Dal Richards & John Mackie
- October 15 – 1913’s 100 year building boom – John Atkin
- November 5 – COV’s Archivist’s picks, new acquisitions & the challenges of archiving digitizing records – Heather Gordon
- January 17 – History of Exterior Paint Schemes – Donald Luxton
- February 21 – History of Neon Light in Vancouver – John Atkin
- March 6 – History of Stained Glass – Jim Wolf
- September 25 – Vancouver’s early transit system – Henry Ewert
- October 2 – Architectural History of Vancouver – Donald Luxton
- October 30 – Catalogue Homes in Vancouver – John Atkin
A packed audience at Hycroft Manor for Dal Richards and John Mackie in 2013.
Dal Richards and John Mackie chat about big bands in Vancouver in 2013.
Audience member at one of the 2014 evening lectures at Hycroft Manor.
Author and artist Michael Kluckner spoke about gentrification that began as early as the 1950s in Vancouver during his 2014 lecture.
John Atkin launches the 2012 spring evening lecture series at Hycroft with a talk on the history of neon in Vancouver.
Donald Luxton gives a presentation on the resurrection of the Heather Pavilion in 2019.
Dr. Tom Hutton gave a lecture on Vancouver as a sustainable city in 2014.
Drawing Room in Hycroft Manor
Atrium in Hycroft Manor
A packed audience at Hycroft Manor for Dal Richards and John Mackie in 2013.
Dal Richards and John Mackie chat about big bands in Vancouver in 2013.
Audience member at one of the 2014 evening lectures at Hycroft Manor.
Author and artist Michael Kluckner spoke about gentrification that began as early as the 1950s in Vancouver during his 2014 lecture.
John Atkin launches the 2012 spring evening lecture series at Hycroft with a talk on the history of neon in Vancouver.
Donald Luxton gives a presentation on the resurrection of the Heather Pavilion in 2019.
Dr. Tom Hutton gave a lecture on Vancouver as a sustainable city in 2014.
Drawing Room in Hycroft Manor
Atrium in Hycroft Manor