Heritage Hour | Spring 2026
Heritage Hour | Spring 2026
Share this event
VHF’s Heritage Hour (formerly Evening Lectures) are a series of talks focused on local heritage. Join us at University Women's Club at Hycroft this spring from 7 pm to 8:30 pm to enjoy fascinating pieces of Vancouver’s history with a selection of local speakers.
Ticket sales for each event close the day prior to the event at 5pm.
Join us for an evening of conversation at Hycroft as we kick off our celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the Places that Matter project. Created in 2011 to celebrate Vancouver's 125th anniversary, it now includes and helps to recognize over 100 community-nominated sites, highlighting some of the people, places and events that tell the stories of Vancouver's history.
VHF's Community Engagement Manager, Jessica Quan, will moderate a discussion with community members John Atkin, Imogene Lim and Naveen Girn that explores the beginning of Places that Matter, as well as the ongoing importance of the project.
About the Moderator
Jessica Quan is a lifelong Vancouver resident with a passion for connecting with communities. Jessica has been with Vancouver Heritage Foundation since 2012, and her current role is Community Engagement Manager. She is the keystone manager of Places That Matter, Vancouver’s register of community nominated heritage places and stories that are not acknowledged through traditional heritage recognition avenues.
About the Speakers:
Dr. Imogene Lim, 林慕珍, is a retired anthropologist and a descendant of head-tax payers from Cumberland’s and Vancouver’s Chinatowns. She is a founding director of the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC, and the Chinese Canadian Museum Society of BC.
John Atkin is a civic historian, author and heritage consultant. He offers an interesting and offbeat insight into the city’s architecture, history and neighbourhoods through a series of unique and popular walking tours. These combine his interests in urban planning and development, a love of architecture and a fascination for the curious
Naveen Girn is a recognized leader in community engagement and stakeholder relations, with a focus on fostering collaboration and trust across diverse sectors. Naveen is co-host of The Nameless Collective Podcast, which uncovers untold stories from Vancouver’s past, and often speaks at public events and to the media about intercultural dialogue, community history, storytelling, and community engagement.
Tuesday, March 24th | Preserving Fronds, Not Fonds: Conservation and Digitization of a Fern Album
From digitizing Council minutes to a curious fern album donated to the City of Vancouver Archives in 1938, the latest piece of scanning equipment acquired by the Archives opens the possibilities of what can be digitized.
Join us in a conversation with City of Vancouver Archives staff as they discuss the interesting technical challenges that are involved with these projects. Using a early 20th century fern album, they will speak to the considerations, challenges and work that goes on behind the scenes to make digitized records accessible to researchers.
About the Speakers:
Heather Gordon is the City Archivist and responsible for overall strategic planning for the Archives and its day-to-day operations.
Bronwyn Smyth is an Archival Assistant who provides access to the Archives’ holdings.
Dorcas Tong is the Digital Conservator who is responsible for overseeing and facilitating the preservation program at the Archives.
Mandy Roddick is the Digitization Technician who, with a background in graphic design and photo editing, has meticulously digitized nearly 140,000 images over the course of 14 years at the Archives.
Tuesday, April 21st | The Francophone Pioneers of the Lower Mainland
From the very earliest decades of European settlement in the Lower Mainland, Francophones played an active part in the social, economic and religious development of the area. From Gastown to Langley, including, of course, Maillardville, familiar names will be encountered, right up to the new Francophonies that more recently augment this linguistic group.
About the Speakers:
Originally from Ottawa, Maurice Guibord has resided in Vancouver for 35 years, where he obtained a Masters in History from SFU. His curiosity about the lack of information in B.C. historical publications on the Francophones that played an active part in the development of the province led to his present position as Executive Director of the Société historique francophone de la Colombie-Britannique.
Tuesday, May 26th | Chinese Canadian Architects and the Vancouver They Built
Despite the various threads in the narrative about Vancouver’s architects and architecture, there has been a lack of research focusing on the collective experiences of Chinese-Canadian architects within the city’s architectural and social history.
In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, this talk traces the legacy of Chinese-Canadian architects in shaping Vancouver’s urban landscape, exploring how architecture serves as both an artistic expression and a social function.
About the speaker:
Edith Yiting Pan (PhD, Architecture, Cambridge) is a Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellow in the Humanities at SFU, specializing in 19th- and 20th-century construction history and architectural heritage.
PLEASE NOTE: 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 additional information on VHF's policies, please visit our Policies page prior to registering.
If you would like to make a donation in addition to your registration, the amount will be tax deductible and you will receive an official tax receipt for donations of $20 or more. Our Registered Charity number is 891765968.
GST# 89176 5968 RT0001
Location
University Women’s Club at Hycroft