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 2026 season – see below for the upcoming speakers and topics! 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, October 20th, 7pm - 8:30pm
University Women's Club at Hycroft
$20/15+tax
In the early 1960s, Vancouver’s city planners became concerned with housing affordability and the need to create new housing options to ensure that people would remain in the city rather than move to the growing suburbs. Many architects posed a range of designs to city planners, from tall apartment towers, to townhouses, and narrow single-family dwellings. Yet, despite a range of styles and designs being proposed, the Vancouver Special utterly dominated the 1960s and 1970s. This talk discusses why people were drawn to the Vancouver Special, what it offered homeowners as an affordable option for living in the city, and the ways it helped Vancouver become more cosmopolitan.
About the Speaker
Dr. Jennifer Chutter is an interdisciplinary scholar who conducts her research on the traditional and unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples. Her research explores how post-war home-making, domesticity, urban planning, and domestic architecture are shaped by the legacy of colonial ideas of land use and belonging. She has presented her research internationally at numerous conferences. Her PhD research explored the importance of the Strathcona Property Owners and Tenants Association (SPOTA) preserving their neighbourhood as a site of belonging and connection to each other, the land, and their personal histories. Her MA research discussed the significance of the Vancouver Special as a localized design that changed the residential landscape of the city.
Real Enough: The Unlikely Story of Doug and the Slugs
Tuesday, November 24th 7pm - 8:30pm
University Women's Club at Hycroft
$20/15+tax
In celebration of their new book, “Real Enough: The Unlikely Story of Doug and The Slugs”, join one of the band’s founding members Simon Kendall and historian Aaron Chapman in an entertaining discussion of Doug and the Slugs' career over the past 5 decades featuring readings from the book, music, mirth and much besides…
Cover image of ‘Real Enough: The Unlikely Story of Doug and the Slugs’ by Simon Kendall and Aaron Chapman published by Anvil Press.
About the Speakers
Simon Kendall has spent over 45 years composing, performing and producing an eclectic array of music for concert performance, theatre, television, radio, cinema, and dance. A founding member of ‘Doug And The Slugs’ since 1978, he’s spent 15 years as the band’s music director and goofy gargantuan keyboardist. They released 4 gold albums and performed from New York to the North Pole as one of the decade’s premier Canadian touring acts. Simon has spent time in film and theatre, music-directing plays and composing for film and TV, and since 1994 he has enjoyed a freelance career performing and recording with numerous artists. He’s played on over 100 albums and currently divides his time between producing, recording, performing and composing.
Aaron Chapman is a writer, historian, and musician with a special interest in Vancouver’s entertainment history and crime history. His books include Vancouver after Dark: The Wild History of a City’s Nightlife, and Live at the Commodore, a history of the Commodore Ballroom, both of which have won the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award. He was also one of the co-writers of Vancouver Confidential (Anvil Press). In 2020, he was elected as a member of the Royal Historical Society. He lives in Vancouver, where he has been a Doug & the Slugs fan since he was a Slugling.
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
- January 20th – Putting Vancouver on the Map: 15 Years of Places that Matter
- March 24th – Preserving Fronts, Not Fonds: Conservation and Digitization of a Fern Album – City of Vancouver Archives
- April 21st – The Francophone Pioneers of the Lower Mainland – Maurice Guibord
- May 26th – Chinese Canadian Architects and the Vancouver They Built – Yiting Pan
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September 22nd – 1910: The Uncovering – A Film Screening and Talk – Chad Townsend and Morgan Brewster
- April 10th- Learning Heritage: An Evening with Robert Lemon
- May 20th – The Hollywood Theatre: A Development Love Story – Michelle Barila
- September 23rd -Uncovering a Lost Chapter of Canada’s History: An Evening with Catherine Clement
- October 28th – Blood in the Boonies: Crime and Misadventure in Old South Van – Rob Howatson
- November 25th – An Imaginary Line: the HBC, the US, and the Fight against the 49th Parallel – Tom Long
- 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