NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
2007TSA0031-000927
July 19, 2007
Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts
VICTORIA – The city of Victoria will host the 2008 National Historica Fair next year as part of BC2008 – the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the colony of British Columbia, announced Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Stan Hagen today.
“This is only the second time B.C. has been chosen to host the National Historica Fair and they couldn’t have picked a better year,” said Hagen. “BC2008 will be an opportunity to reflect on our past and celebrate our future, and we are excited that students from across Canada will be able to share their history, diversity and achievements with us while we commemorate ours with them.”
Historica heritage fairs are held across Canada to help students connect with provincial and national history. Students from grades 4 to 9 use the medium of their choice to bring history to life. Public exhibitions of the projects take place during regional, provincial and national fairs.
“We’re tremendously excited to bring the National Historica Fair to Victoria during BC2008 celebrations,” said 2008 National Historica Fair chair Kris Andersen. “Victoria will be celebrating many anniversaries – the 150th anniversaries of Victoria’s Chinatown and the Sisters of St. Ann, and of course the founding of the Colony. It’s a great time to be visiting the Capital.”
This year, 15 B.C. Regional Historica Fair students made the trip to the National Historica Fair in Lethbridge, Alberta, where they showed off their winning entries and immersed themselves in the history of others. Next year will be B.C.’s turn to make history.
The delegates were selected from more than 32,000 students from 137 schools who participated in regional and local Historica Fairs last May. Winners were selected by a panel of volunteer judges, representing a range of fields including education, history, media, business and local government.
The Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts’ BC2008 secretariat and heritage branch and the Provincial Capital Commission are among the sponsors of the 2008 National Historica Fair.
To learn more about the National Historica Fair, please visit www.histori.ca/fairs/.
For more information on BC2008, please visit www.bc2008.gov.bc.ca.
For information on the ministry’s heritage branch, visit www.tsa.gov.bc.ca/heritage/.
