Get your walking shoes ready! VHF is excited to announce our return to in-person walking tours this summer. From June to September, join us on a stroll around Vancouver's historic neighbourhoods with our beloved walking tour guides on Saturday mornings and select afternoons! Historian John Atkin will explore some neighbourhoods just a bit off the beaten track, Christine Hagemoen will share some lesser-known stories from Mount Pleasant, and Rob Howatson heads south to highlight points of interest in Fraserview. 

• Walking Tours will take place rain or shine on select Saturdays starting at 10AM, as well as select afternoons at 1PM, June through September. Each tour will be two (2) +/- hours long and may take a one-way or circular route. 

• There is a maximum capacity of 20 people per tour and need 10 registrants to run. Registration is required in advance for all walking tours and ID must match the ticket. Unregistered people will not be permitted to join on the tour date. Do not seek out the group on the tour day in hopes of joining as this will disrupt the tour; if you are not able to attend your tour, due to liability reasons an unregistered replacement showing up in your place will not be accepted.

• Tours take place in public spaces through Vancouver, BC. Participants will encounter a variety of terrain including uncontrolled road crossings, gravel, stairs, slopes, etc. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at mail@vancouverheritagefoundation.org.

• Further details, including start and finish points, will be provided to registered participants. 

• Tickets will be available for purchase until 5pm the day before each tour.

June 18 - SOLD OUT | Lower Mount Pleasant: Immigrants, Industry and Institutions with Christine Hagemoen
Though it is hard to tell today, this area of Mount Pleasant–north of Broadway, west of Main St., east of Cambie–was once primarily residential and home for a multi-cultural community of families and individuals. Small pockets of the original dwellings, buildings, and businesses still exist and serve as a tangible reminder of the varied history of this part of the community. On this walk, we’ll explore the surprisingly rich history of this area and learn some of the stories of the families, workers, legacy businesses, and social groups who once called this unique part of Mount Pleasant home.

June 25 - SOLD OUT| Where Have I Been Walking: Glen Park with John Atkin
Between Fraser and Knight Street north of King Edward Avenue the area around Glen Park is an interesting mix of Craftsman bungalows, Vancouver Specials and some interesting infill projects situated in an area once known for its Chinese market gardens and Scandinavian community.

July 9 - SOLD OUT| Secrets of Southeast Mount Pleasant with Christine Hagemoen
The history of this area is informed by the streets that divide it. This walk will explore how these thoroughfares shaped the businesses, industries, and residential development of this part of Mount Pleasant. Explore quirky streets and alleys, discover “fossils” in the neighbourhood’s hardscape, learn about the area’s built and natural history, and meet some of the interesting people who once made their homes and livelihoods in this neighbourhood. 

July 16  - SOLD OUT | Where Have I Been Walking: Knight Street and 49th Avenue with John Atkin
An eclectic mix of housing types can be found on both sides of Knight Street from 1940s bungalows, Vancouver Specials our modern heritage of 1970s homes as well as more recent construction.

July 23 - SOLD OUT | Fraserview: The Real Story of the War Vets' Pleasantville with Rob Howatson
Soldiers returning to Vancouver after WWII were shocked to discover that there was nowhere for them and their young families to live. They occupied the second Hotel Vancouver at Georgia and Granville Streets while Ottawa scrambled to provide affordable housing. One such effort was the CMHC’s Fraserview sub-division: 1,100 “apple box houses” hastily assembled across the city’s south slope on elegantly curving streets. Visit the remnants of this 1950s suburb and see what went wrong and what went right in Canada’s largest, detached-home, social housing project.

August 6 - SOLD OUT| Life's a Ditch: Grappling with the Fraser's North Arm with Rob Howatson

One of South Vancouver’s most prominent features is a narrow branch of the Fraser River that mariners lovingly call The Ditch. Long a source of seafood for local Indigenous communities, the waterway irrigated the city’s first farms in the 1800s, fed logs to mills in the 1900s and is today prime waterfront property for an increasing number of residential developments. Join lifelong “South Sloper” Rob Howatson for a gentle stroll along the foreshore and sluice its history for glittering story nuggets.

August 13 - SOLD OUT | Where Have I Been Walking: Below 45th Avenue with John Atkin
Long blocks of houses exhibiting a number of popular revival styles from the late 1920s with the more exuberant recent construction projects provide a feast for the eyes. Of note are the surviving Tudor revival homes designed by R.T. Perry for the Kerrisdale Home Building Company. 

August 20 - RESCHEDULED FROM JULY 30 | Where Have I Been Walking: Above the Grandview Cut with John Atkin
Above the Grandview Cut Packed into the area between the Grandview Cut, Broadway and Nanaimo is a delightful and quirky collection of early houses mixed in with old and new renovations along with more recent construction projects.

August 27 - SOLD OUT | Where Have I Been Walking: Revival Styles, Bogs and Post Modernism with John Atkin    Explore the streets west of Dunbar Street to the edge of Pacific Spirit Park with its revival house styles, interesting new construction and the city’s only remaining bog.

September 10 - 10 AM & 1 PM AVAILABLE | Fraserview's Shifting Shores with Rob Howatson
Vancouver’s southern edge was once far from city hall’s prying eyes and thus a loosely-run frontier for farmers, mill owners, and squatters. The Fraserview neighbourhood was tolerant of eccentrics who wished to build giant boats in their backyards or convert chicken coops to dance halls. Life by the river was easy, tough, fun and dangerous – sometimes all on the same day. Join lifelong “South Sloper” Rob Howatson to hear South Vancouver stories and explore a shoreline that still offers glimpses of a noisy, smoky, wild past, even as it transitions to a master-planned future.

*Please email mail@vancouverheritagefoundation.org to be added to the waiting list for sold out tours*

Christine Hagemoen, a 4th generation Vancouverite, is a Mount Pleasant based historical researcher, writer, and photographer. She is the You Should Know columnist at Scout Magazine and has written for Photo Life and Geist magazine. Christine recently published the first book in a series of guides titled Mount Pleasant Stories: Historical Walking Tours. 

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. 

Rob Howatson is a writer and local historian specializing in South Vancouver’s past. He currently works for the City of Richmond at the Steveston Heritage Sites.

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.