Heritage Chilliwack

10/08/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us Tuesday night for our October Heritage Chat featuring genealogist Marlene Dance.

Marlene shared a fascinating introduction to the history of the United Empire Loyalists — who they were, how they came to be, and the surprising number of early Chilliwack settlers with Loyalist connections.

She also explored how and why Loyalist descendants eventually made their way west, and offered some practical guidance on how people can begin researching their own family histories to discover whether they may have Loyalist ancestry.

There were some excellent questions and conversation from our members, making for a very engaging evening.

A big thank you to Marlene for sharing her knowledge, experience and enthusiasm for genealogy and local history with us — and to everyone who came out and helped make the evening such an enjoyable.

10/05/2026

Discover hidden family connections in Chilliwack history — join our Heritage Chat with genealogist Marlene Dance on October 6, 2026, 7:00–8:30 p.m. at Chilliwack Landing Sports Centre. Marlene will explore fascinating links between Chilliwack’s pioneer families and the United Empire Loyalists. https://wix.to/L5pTaTt

📍 Chilliwack Landing Sports Centre
📅 October 6, 2026 | 7:00–8:30 p.m.

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10/04/2026

What a wonderful day for Chilliwack history!
Thank you to everyone who joined us today for Uncovering Chinatown, Heritage Chilliwack’s Culture Days celebration and the official recognition of our four new Chinatown Heritage Plaques.
These plaques have been several years in the making and mark the former locations of Chinese-Canadian-owned businesses in Chilliwack’s historic Chinatown North. Seeing people stop, read the plaques, join the walking tours, explore the Archives and take part in the day’s activities made it especially rewarding to finally bring this project into the public realm.
A project and event like this takes many hands, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make today possible.
Special thanks to Councillor Jason Lum for joining us; Lise Oakley from Good Creative for designing the plaque; Merlin Bunt and Michael Berger for sharing their knowledge on our guided walking tours; Elisa Chang, who provided the Chinese translations for the plaques; Gidney Signs for bringing the plaques themselves to life; and the Chilliwack Museum and Archives for opening the Archives and sharing materials connected to Chilliwack’s Chinese-Canadian history.
Thank you as well to Hongjoo Kim from the Chilliwack Museum & Archives, Tourism Chilliwack for their tremendous practical and promotional support, and the Chilliwack Foundation, whose grant helped make the Chinatown Heritage Plaque Project possible.
And finally, a huge thank you to our Heritage Chilliwack committee members and volunteers who planned, organized, set up, welcomed visitors, ran activities, poured coffee, answered questions and packed everything away again at the end of the day. Events like this simply don’t happen without people willing to pitch in.
Today was about more than unveiling plaques. It was about bringing a largely overlooked piece of Chilliwack’s story back into view and encouraging people to look at familiar downtown streets a little differently.
There is still more of this history to uncover—and we look forward to continuing the story.

10/03/2026

There’s still space in our historic downtown tour this afternoon. We’ve also got free Starbucks coffee and crafts at Central Community Park. Come join us!

09/30/2026

September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — a day to honour the children who never returned home, the Survivors of residential schools, and their families and communities.

Here in Chilliwack, we acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Stó:lō people.

For Heritage Chilliwack, this day is a reminder that understanding our shared history means making space for truth, listening to Indigenous voices, and recognizing the experiences, resilience, and contributions of Indigenous peoples — past and present.

Today, we reflect, we listen, and we continue to learn.

09/26/2026

Kudos to Ms. Ford for taking the initiative to preserve this historic building.

A New Westminster resident proposes a community-led approach to restoring one of the city’s historic homes: https://bit.ly/3T7mpQJ

In her letter, Ford outlines the challenges facing the long-vacant property, as well as the heritage value identified in a 2026 heritage assessment. She proposes exploring whether a group of community members could come together to purchase, stabilize and restore the house — not primarily as an investment, but as an opportunity to save an important piece of New Westminster’s heritage.

Ford’s letter invites others who may be interested in such an approach to come together and explore whether there is enough community interest to take the idea forward.

09/22/2026

Discover Chilliwack’s Chinese-Canadian history at Uncovering Chinatown — a free Culture Days event on October 3, 2026 (11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.) in Downtown Chilliwack. Explore four new heritage plaques, join guided downtown walking tours, view archival displays, and enjoy family-friendly activities. Bring friends and family for a day of history and community. Learn more and register: https://wix.to/QSZgZdL

The Chilliwack Chinatown Plaques project was made possible through the generous support of the Chilliwack Foundation.

08/31/2026

We hope you'll join us for another Heritage Chat! Tuesday, September 8 7PM in the Chilliwack Landing Sports Centre.

Join returning speaker Brian Antonson for an entertaining journey through 150 years of Western Canadian railway history, inspired by his book Whistle Posts West.

06/01/2026

Love your old home? Let’s share its story.

Heritage Chilliwack is looking for historic, unique, and old character homes or buildings in Chilliwack to feature on our 2026 Home Tour, taking place Saturday, October 3, 2026.

Your home does not need to be grand, perfect, or fully restored. We are looking for places with character, craftsmanship, charm, history, or simply a wonderful local story to tell.

The Home Tour is Heritage Chilliwack’s main fundraiser, helping support our grant programs, including heritage designation support and classroom field trips/local history education.

If you have a special home — or know someone who does — we would love to hear from you.

Email us at [email protected]
And please share this post or tag someone with a special Chilliwack home!

05/31/2026