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BC HERITAGE FAIRS NEWS & EVENTS

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Vimy Live and Virtual

Two more accounts on the topic of Vimy: the first is from Heritage Fairs Alumnus Julie who describes her visit to the battle site and the second is an article on the new Vimy app created by students at a high school in Smith Falls, Ontario.

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Prince George Regional Fair

This week we would like to introduce you to the Prince George Regional Heritage Fair and its coordinator Emma Church. The first fair hosted in Prince George was in 1995, although Emma Church did not become personally involved with Heritage Fairs until 2000 when she participated in the Regional Fair as a French Immersion student. After […]

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South Vancouver Island Regional Heritage Fair

This week we would like to introduce you to the South Vancouver Island Regional Heritage Fair and its coordinator Helen Edwards. The first Regional Heritage Fair held in Victoria was in 1996 at the historic Craigflower Schoolhouse on Admirals Road in Saanich. By the second year, the Fair had already grown so that it moved […]

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Still More Resources to Teach the Battle of Vimy Ridge

Historica Canada has a new teaching resource entitled “Think like a Historian: the Battle of Vimy Ridge” in English and “Pensez comme un histoirian” in French. Designed for middle and high school students, they should be a useful support for teachers to explore the curricular concept of evidence with its videos and lesson plans for studying photographs, letters, and newspaper articles of the time. They do not, however, support teaching the controversy around the interpretation and mythologizing of Vimy.

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Rivers to Sea Regional Heritage Fair

My name is Lorenda Calvert and I am the regional coordinator for the Rivers to Sea Regional Fair hosted at the Burnaby Village Museum. The Rivers to Sea Regional Fair hosts students from Burnaby, New Westminster and Port Coquitlam. This year we are hosting our 13th annual Regional Fair. My first introduction to Heritage Fairs […]

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The Many Stories of Vimy Ridge

The 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, 9-12 April, has yielded a rich collection of stories and controversy that can both engage students and give them opportunities to “do history” as they tackle the competing narratives.

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Regional Fair Series

Starting Friday April 7th we will be debuting a new blog series called ‘Getting to Know Us’ where we will be introducing you to our regional fairs and their coordinators. Keep checking in every Friday to get to know our regions, fairs and coordinators better.  

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Imagining Futures

The Heritage Fairs program will play an important part in Heritage BC’s annual conference in Victoria, May 4-6. The conference title asks participants to imagine futures. So it is fitting that it should feature the BCHFS that has amongst its core principles encouraging “young people to see history around them” and “forging connections between youth […]

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BC Heritage Fairs Society Seeks a New Coordinator

The BCHFS is seeking a Provincial Coordinator who will be an inspiring leader, an effective administrator, and a proponent of the leadership potential in young people. This contract position will commence as soon as possible and no later than April 30, 2017.

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BC Book Prize Nominees Announced

It is Spring Break and time to read one of the great non-fiction books on the BC Book Prizes shortlist (see it here).   The seven prizes are presented annually at the Lieutenant Governor’s BC Book Prizes Gala in the spring, as well as a presentation to the winner of The Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary […]

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Conference Registration for the BC Historical Federation is Open

From May 25 to 28 the annual conference of the BC Historical Federation, Chilliwack: Land, Water, People, takes place in the Fraser Valley city.

Celebrated educator Gwen Point, chancellor of the University of the Fraser Valley, gives the keynote. Workshops include former Heritage Fairs coordinator, Jane Watt.

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Blog of the Month of March: The Otter – La Loutre

For March the history blog of the month is The Otter – La Loutre. Any website that mixes articles on the history of the  guinea pig with one on pipeline history is hard not to like. The Otter fills a real gap for social studies teachers. There is so little readily available that gives nature […]

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What do You Know about Canada’s HERstory?

We are a few days late for International Women’s Day but any day is a good one to shine a light on women’s history. The creator of the quiz What do You Know about Canada’s HERtory? is Merna Foster. She was awarded the 2016 Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media (Pierre Berton Award) for her work promoting women in history. You may know her for her go-to website and books for Heritage Fairs projects on women’s history.

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Thinking Historically about Canada 150: Summer Institute

From July 17 to 22, the Historical Thinking Summer Institute will take place at the Canadian War Museum and Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa. Teachers, museum educators and historians are invited to explore the theme of “Thinking Historically about Canada 150” with dynamic presenters.

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Introducing the 2016 Governor-General’s Award Winners

Video interviews of the 2016 winners of the Governor-General’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History are now on-line. Topics range from family and school history projects to national history such as Vimy Ridge and Indigenous issues with an emphasis on historical thinking.

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Unwritten Histories: February Blog of the Month

The winner of the history blog of the month for February is Unwritten Histories. Blog creator and historian Andrea Eidinger writes regular posts both entertaining and insightful on a variety of topics in Canadian history, some quirky, some quintessential. The main audience is adults interested in history, notably social studies teachers. However, the website’s weekly […]