The Central Okanagan Heritage Society is continuing to present speakers for everyone interested in heritage and history.
For 2015 the society has lined up two women with impressive credentials to share their specific area of expertise. On Tuesday October 14, Carolyn MacHardy will present: Kodaking and being Kodaked: Lady Aberdeen’s 1891 photographs in The Guisachan Album.
In 1891 Lady Aberdeen took a series of Kodaks of her new property at the Guisachan Farm in what is now Kelowna. This presentation will look at a number of these photos and discuss them in terms of the Aberdeens’ family life at Guisachan.
Most of these photos have never been seen before as they are kept in a private family album. Carolyn MacHardy says: “I suggest that The Guisachan Album, which was not meant for public consumption, reveals information about the Aberdeens’ first venture in the Okanagan which adds greatly to our understanding of the meaning which Guisachan held for the Aberdeens.”
Carolyn MacHardy is associate professor of Art History and Visual Culture in the Department of Critical Studies at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus, where she teaches courses in 20th century Canadian and European art history and a course on contemporary global art history.
And then on October 21, Tracey Read speaks about the Calgary Stampede and the tradition of fairs in Western Canada.
The first European immigrants transplanted aspects of their national cultures when they settled in the West. One important example is the tradition of annual fairs which for years had provided community engagement, social activity and contributed to the development of agricultural practices and promotion of industry. Many western fairs have impressively long histories. The IPE in Armstrong celebrated 115 years in 2014.
Read will speak about annual fairs, particularly the Calgary Stampede, and their contributions to the history and mythology of the developing West. Read worked for 18 years at the Calgary Stampede in roles including Heritage manager and Centennial manager. Her book “Celebrating the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede” was published in 2005.
For more information on this speaker series please contact Janice Henry executive director, Central Okanagan Heritage society 250-861-7188.
