Heritage Week Celebrated By Langley Centennial Museum

For decades, Langley Centennial Museum has been welcoming visitors through its doors to explore the past and celebrate our culture. In February, LCM will invite the public in - and out on special excursions - to learn about the Township of Langley’s history and share its stories in celebration of Heritage Week.

The week runs February 17 to 24, and a series of events and tours will be hosted by the museum throughout the month, to pique a variety of interests in those aged 16 and up. 

Heritage Week events get underway on Saturday, February 8 with Built For the Future: Structures in the Cemetery. The session will illustrate how cemeteries, which have always functioned as sites for storing and honouring the dead, currently serve a vital role as community resources for history, recreation, and ecological good health. The event runs from 1:00 to 3:00pm.

Missing family members are often hard to track down, but Find Granny in the Archives will help participants understand the unlikely places that sometimes open a window into the past. The course will be held Saturday, February 15, from 1:00 to 3:00pm.

Photography revolutionized the information age, and its development from early recording to the digital age will be examined at the museum on Saturday, February 22, 1:00 to 3:00pm, in Photographs and Photographers.

Celebrate Heritage Week by joining heritage expert Fred Pepin on a visit to the historic landmarks found in the community of Murrayville. The Historic Murrayville Bus Tour will be held Tuesday, February 18 from 10:00am to 3:00pm, and will include insight into several significant buildings in the area, as well as lunch. Pickup is available at the W.C. Blair Recreation Centre or Langley Centennial Museum.

One of the buildings featured on the tour will be the Montessori School. “It is housed in an old garage and blacksmith shop and is a fine example of a heritage building that's still perfectly functional, and can accommodate a school,” said tour guide Pepin, a member of the Langley Heritage Society, which works to preserve and promote the use of the community’s heritage sites.

Another historic Langley Township community will be in the spotlight when Langley Centennial Museum presents the Historic Fort Langley Walking Tour and Tea.

Museum Curator Kobi Christian will lead the lively and exciting stroll while discussing local lore and legend, shedding light on the area's historic buildings, businesses, and people. The tour will finish at the Blacksmith Bakery, located on the original site of the circa 1910 Reid's Blacksmith Shop, where guests can warm up with a fresh cup of coffee or tea and enjoy a small sweet. The walking tour starts at Langley Centennial Museum and runs from 10:00 to 11:30am on Saturday, February 22. It will be held rain or shine and umbrellas will be provided if necessary.

Heritage Week events will wind down with a Fort Langley Cemetery Tour, guided by historian and author Warren Sommer. On Sunday, March 1 from 1:30 to 3:00pm, participants can explore what the past has to tell us and the secrets that lie in the cemetery, as they learn about early settlers and interpret the meanings behind cemetery art.

Langley Centennial Museum is located at 9135 King Street in Fort Langley. Visit museum.tol.ca.