A heritage festival featuring the quintessential Canadian folk group Tiller’s Folly will mark the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin’s 25th anniversary in August.
Tiller’s Folly is famous for its original songs about the people and events of British Columbia’s history.
“The museum’s 25th anniversary and heritage festival is an opportunity to spotlight the museum for the community and tourists alike,” says society president Mike McDonough.
The festival taking place Sunday, Aug. 7 will include a cake cutting and commemorative plaque unveiling ceremony at the museum and a heritage festival in Boitanio Park complete with a community picnic.
The heritage celebration will include musicians, entertainers, artisan demonstrations, performing artists, traditional children’s games, free birthday cake and other heritage activities from the cultures that make up the various settler and First Nations traditions of the region.
The city’s museum was moved from its former Broadway Avenue location to its present location at the corner of Borland Street and Fourth Avenue on Aug. 7, 1991.
The present museum was the city’s former health clinic and has since been refurbished and upgraded to accommodate a growing number of artifacts and indoor and outdoor displays.
The Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin is home to the province’s B.C. Cowboy Hall of Fame and an impressive collection of vintage and antique saddles.
The museum society has also planned a number of celebrations leading up to the Silver Jubilee starting with celebrating the City’s 87th birthday with a tea in March.
The museum will have a Silver Jubilee float in the Stampede Parade and an information booth set up at the Stampede Street Party.
As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations the Museum of the Cariboo Chilcotin and Williams Lake Central Business Improvement Association are also teaming up on an intergenerational book project where children and youth interview seniors to create original local historical biographies. The deadline for submissions to the book project is June 30.
Prizes for the book project and readings of some of the stories will take place during the heritage festival in August.
In celebrating the museum’s 25th anniversary the museum society hopes to build greater community awareness about the museum, community pride in local history and heritage, and increase local visits to the museum, McDonough concludes.