Distinctive Destinations: Experience Historic Places is the theme for this year’s Heritage Week, which runs from Feb. 15 to Feb. 21, 2016, with Monday the 15th being National Heritage Day.

Proclaimed each year by the Province of British Columbia, Heritage Week is an opportunity to explore and celebrate the special places that help tell the story of British Columbia.

Visiting one of the more than 2,000 historic places in B.C. that are listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places is an excellent way to learn about and understand our heritage. The register includes distinctive destinations such as Barkerville and Fort Steele, as well as historic places to experience in over 30 communities and regional districts throughout the province.

Non-profit Heritage BC will be celebrating Heritage Week by highlighting many of the historic places around the province that combine heritage and tourism to create memorable experiences for locals and visitors alike.

For more details or to learn of ideas to commemorate Heritage Week in your community, visit: http://www.heritagebc.ca/events/heritage-week/community-events

Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson –

“We are fortunate in B.C. to enjoy many well conserved historic places. I thank those who own, operate and maintain these places so that British Columbians and our visitors can experience and enjoy our rich heritage first-hand.”

Quick Facts:

• British Columbia’s historic buildings, structures and cultural landscapes attract over 200,000 visitors annually from around the globe, creating jobs for British Columbians and supporting sustainable communities. Heritage-related tourism contributes over $170 million annually to the provincial gross domestic product.
• The Province also manages B.C.’s Register of Historic Places, which has over 3,500 listings of provincial and local government recognized historic places – and there are many more that have yet to be registered. To see some of these listings search the Canadian Register of Historic Places, visit: http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/pages/register-repertoire.aspx

Learn More:

Heritage BC: http://www.heritagebc.ca/

Canadian Register of Historic Places: http://www.historicplaces.ca/

Heritage Branch: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/celebrating-british-columbia/historic-places