A few of the projects on display at the Heritage Fair at the Schubert Centre (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

By Liam Verster

History, Culture, Heritage

Canadiana, local history showcased at Vernon Heritage Fair

Apr 21, 2023 | 1:00 PM

Students from throughout School District 22 have put together projects for the return of the annual Vernon Heritage Fair.

Organized by the North Okanagan Optimist Club, the event allows students between Grades 4 and 8 to create projects on a range of Canadian topics.

“It’s a similar format to a science fair, where the students create a project, but ours is all based on Canadiana,” Janice Mori, president of the North Okanagan Optimist Club, told Vernon Matters.

“History, characters, important people, geography. Just about anything that has to do with Canada.”

The projects on display at the Heritage Fair, held at the Schubert Centre Friday, April 21, ranged from individuals like Sir Frederick Grant Panting, to broad topics like the gold rush and feminism, to the history of Canada’s coins, to events like the landing on Juno Beach.

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“There is no specific [focuses] like only Canadian history or only Canadian Nobel Prize winners. As long as you can defend your choice,” Jane Sutton, Optimist Club member and co-chair of the Heritage Fair, told Vernon Matters.

“I think the kids are a lot more enthusiastic if they have their own choice.”

A few of the students interviewed individuals with knowledge relating to the topics they chose, which have resulted in some very interesting projects.

“They interviewed some expert from Simon Fraser [University] or interviewed the actual person that they’re doing the project on,” Sutton stated.

“I talked to one fella this morning and he interviewed the uncle of a hockey player that he had done his project on and found out a little bit more because he couldn’t get hold of the hockey player as he’s busy in the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” Mori added.

There were also some local topics included in the projects, including the Luc Girouard cabin, Silver Star Mountain, Vernon Towne Theatre and the Vernon Winter Carnival.

Projects on display at the Heritage Fair (photos by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

Projects on display at the Heritage Fair (photos by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

Projects on display at the Heritage Fair (photos by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

The 33 projects were made by students from schools across the district, all of which were recognized at events held at the individual schools earlier in the year.

The organizers added the Heritage Fair offers students a great opportunity to expand their knowledge outside the classroom.

“Just having to do research, and it’s not just something they Googled and copied, it’s something they actually researched and written,” Sutton said.

“There is Canadian history in schools in elementary so it’s a great project for the teachers to grab onto,” Mori added.

The pair added all the projects involved reading, writing and researching, but also public speaking and presenting as the students will be showcasing the projects to judges throughout the day, as well as to members of the community at the open house held from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday evening.

The judges will review the projects and speak with the students, then select the top 20 projects which will be able to participate in the region-wide Heritage Fair in Kelowna. From there, the projects may be selected for the provincial Heritage Fair, which this year will be held in Prince George.

The top selections of the local Heritage Fair will be announced just before the end of the open house.

Mori noted the Heritage Fair had not run the past three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that it was great to see the kids return.

“The reason we’re involved is that our whole focus is to bring out the best in kids. All of our projects that we do, no matter if it’s a scholarship or if it’s a Heritage Fair or Unplug and Play in the park, we just try to bring out the best in kids,” Mori stated.

“So a project like this is definitely hitting that focus and giving children a chance to excel. Maybe they’re not the child that’s going to be out on the soccer field scoring goals, they might be the more studious type of students and they have a chance to excel at something and try something different.”

“Perhaps it will spark their interest for future career endeavors. There are historians in the world and they have to start somewhere so maybe we’ll have started a little historian,” Mori added.

Sutton noted they used to have up to 44 submissions before the pandemic and hope to bring the number of participants back to that level next year.

The organizers also wanted to thank the teachers, parents and guardians for guiding and assisting the students as they put together their projects and learn more about Canada’s history and heritage.