Heritage on Bowen

HeritageBC Week 2024

We acknowledge that all people in our community contribute to our rich cultural heritage.

2024 Heritage Week is February 19 – 25. The theme is “Layer by Layer”.

Heritage Week is an annual event that takes place during the third full week in February. It celebrates and showcases local heritage across the province.

Every year, Heritage BC launches Heritage Week by choosing a theme and sending official posters to libraries, schools, municipal offices and politicians across the province. We support and promote organizations who host local heritage events for their communities, and encourage municipalities to issue proclamations formalizing the week.

Heritage is the layering of stories that describe the uniqueness of a community’s past and present while informing the future. This year’s Heritage Week: Layer by Layer, invites us to dig deeper into our community’s past and explore the many layers and stories that our unique community holds. Take some time this week to learn something new about the many “layers” of the place we call home.

When? February 19 – 25, 2024

Where? Events in communities all around BC. On Bowen Island, see the heritage elements that will be included in our Family Day Celebration held February 16 – 19.

Who? Anyone can participate!

Why? Heritage Week is held to recognize the histories that make the foundation of our community, connecting citizens through shared values and creating a place of pride and social well-being.

Ways you can participate in Heritage Week in BC:

• Attend an event
• Host an event
• Advocate for heritage

Bowen Community Heritage Register

The Bowen Island Community Heritage Register was adopted on January 11, 2021. This Register was developed in cooperation with the Bowen Island Heritage Preservation Association and the Bowen Island Museum and Archives, along with feedback from community members.

Bowen Island Municipal Heritage Strategic Plan

The Bowen Island Heritage Commission developed Bowen Island’s Heritage Strategic Plan for consideration by Council through interactive public engagement website.

The work program for the Heritage Strategic Plan outlines the functional framework for developing this Plan. Phase 1 of the work plan involved reviewing current work and has now been completed (see report here).  We are currently in Phase 2 (see engagement plan).

The final deliverable of the work program is the Heritage Strategic Plan, which will guide the heritage priorities and actions of Bowen Island Municipality over the next 5 years.  This plan will be built upon a community vision and address the objectives of:

• Establishing criteria for determining heritage value
• Maintaining a Heritage Register.
• Establishing policies and procedures for evaluating land use and planning matters with heritage implications
• Undertaking and supporting activities for the advancement of heritage within the municipality
• Annual evaluation and reporting on the progress of the plan

The foundation of the Heritage Strategic Plan will consist of a thorough review and analysis of the state of heritage conservation on Bowen Island.  The general public and key stakeholders will help establish the heritage vision through a community engagement process. 

Heritage Initiatives on Bowen Island

Bowen Island’s local community members have joined together for direct action to protect local heritage. In the 1970s and 1980s the Bowen Island Park and Store Use Society formed and successfully protected the Old General Store (now the library) from demolition.

In 1967, a small group of Islanders formed the Historians group to gather local historical information about the island. Two years later, they formed the Bowen Island Museum & Archives charitable organization. They hosted their first exhibit in 1997. Over time, these collections have formed the basis of the Museum & Archives permanent collection and building with regular public exhibits. They are a membership-based volunteer charitable organization.

In 1989 Bowen Island Heritage Preservation Association (Bowen Heritage) formed to save the historic Davies Orchard cottages from demolition. Today, Bowen Heritage works with Metro Vancouver to protect and restore Davies Orchard and cottages. They run one cottage as their local office and another as a living museum, offer a heritage Walking Tour, care for Orchard trees, and grow a Heritage Demonstration Garden.  They are also a membership-based volunteer charitable organization.

The Bowen Island Heritage Commission was formed in late 2015 to assist with the Heritage Planning Strategy and to advise Council on heritage issues. They meet about every other month. Their members are composed of local community members, many of whom are longstanding members of the arts council and the two primary heritage organizations on the island.

Memories of Bowen Island is a 2013 student project from Bowen Heritage, it features interviews portraying accounts of life on Bowen Island in the Steamship Era, accompanied by photos from the Bowen Island Heritage Preservation Association Photographic Archives.

Bowen Fables is a series of short shadow puppet films that were produced through community workshops. The films use archival images from the Bowen Island Museum and Archives and local stories as a starting point for exploring the creation of local legends. The series was created by Daniella Sorrentino (Mobile Film Camp) and puppeteer Elizabeth Nankin.

Heritage Week celebrations in the past