Celebrating Heritage Week 2019

Join us in recognizing and appreciating Mount Pleasant’s “Living Heritage” in celebration of Heritage Week 2019 in Canada and the theme “Heritage: The Tie That Binds”. 

Heritage exists in both tangible (physical) and intangible (non-physical) forms. Tangible heritage, such as objects and buildings, are easy to see. Intangible heritage, such as beliefs, traditions and uses of space, are qualities that contribute to the cultural landscape of a neighbourhood and are no less important. It is the combination of both tangible and intangible heritage that are at the heart of Mount Pleasant’s distinct village character, commercial identity, affordability and diversity. To discover more visit the Mount Pleasant Community Centre and check out our exhibit in the display case of the main lobby. It is up until March 15, 2019.

This heritage week project brought to you by Jennifer Chernecki, Christine Hagemoen, Alyssa Myshok and Danielle Peacock.

Mount Pleasant Heritage Lives!

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Thanks For Dropping By Our 6th Heritage Lounge

Once again it was great to chat with so many heritage enthusiasts at the recent Main Street Car Free Festival. We had a steady stream of people from both Mount Pleasant and beyond dropping by and expressing their love of our historic neighbourhood. They also expressed concern about its future. Word is going around that a couple of developers have bought up many key buildings in the Heritage Heart, which is home to our distinctive neighbourhood high street, triangle block and many of our much loved small and independent businesses. This vibrant shopping and gathering spot is clearly cherished not only by the local community but by the city at large and folks want it protected.

Our colouring station was non-stop busy and local artist and MPHG member Jennifer Chernecki created a new page of Heritage Hall.

 

And speaking of Heritage Hall it was great to be tucked in between Vancouver Heritage Foundation and the MPBIA in front of one of Mount Pleasant’s grand old heritage buildings.

We want to again express our appreciation for all of the encouragement we received to continue our work of celebrating and advocating on behalf of Mount Pleasant’s rich and cherished heritage. Mount Pleasant Heritage Lives!

Many thanks to Bruce Macdonald for the maps from his popular book Vancouver A Visual History, to Neil Wyles of the MPBIA for spot organization and to the Quebec Manor Co-op for the loan of furniture. Eric Phillips of Grandview Heritage Group not only lent us equipment and helped with set up and take down but he delivered everything in his 1947 vintage chevy truck.

The Heritage Lounge crew this year was Alyssa, Christine, Danielle, Flora and Jennifer.

 

 

 

Celebrating Heritage Week 2018

The Mount Pleasant Heritage Group celebrates heritage in our community 365 days a year…but we always join the rest of the Province the third week of February to celebrate Heritage Week in BC. Every year, organizations in the heritage sector participate in Heritage Week by organizing events that showcase local heritage and involve the public. The theme for 2018 is “Heritage Stands the Test of Time.”

This year we have created a banner that merges a historical image of Mount Pleasant with a modern day one and our theme is: Heritage Stands the Test of Time: And Stays Affordable!

The historical photo, from the City of Vancouver Archives (Major Matthews Collection -AM54-S4-: SGN 1026), looks north along Main Street from 8th Avenue and shows the west side of the 2300 block. This Heritage Week we would like to promote the affordability of heritage buildings for both housing and businesses.

The banner is in the window of Rath Art Supplies, located in the Triangle Building at 2412 Main Street, right in the centre of Mount Pleasant’s Heritage Heart.

It will be up until the end of February, 2018.

MPHG would like to thank the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Area (MPBIA) and Rath Art Supplies for their generous support of this project.

This Heritage Week 2018 project brought to you by Jennifer Chernecki (artistic production), Christine Hagemoen (research) and the rest of the MPHG team.

Our banner from last year, which explains why Mount Pleasant’s streets are named after the Canadian provinces/territories & why Ontario Street is the centre/000 block of Vancouver, is up in the lobby display case of the Mount Pleasant Community Centre.

Mount Pleasant Heritage Lives!

Thanks For Dropping By Our 5th Heritage Lounge!

It was great to again meet so many heritage enthusiasts at the recent Mural Festival/MPBIA Street Party and to have such keen interest in our displays and take away materials about Mount Pleasant’s history.

Our colouring station with pages created by local artists of key treasured buildings was non-stop busy and we also had one by Priscilla Yu of her mural done this year.

 

 

We very much appreciate all of the encouragement we received to continue our work of celebrating and advocating on behalf of Mount Pleasant’s rich and cherished heritage. Mount Pleasant’s heritage lives!

 

Many thanks to Bruce Macdonald for the loan of his maps and for being our in-house historian, Stan of Rath Art Supplies for the loan of an easel and his ongoing support, Charmaine Carpenter and Neil Wyles of the MPBIA for booth support and the loan of Neil’s tent, Pitt Meadows Museum for the loan of their tent and the Quebec Manor Co-op for the loan of furniture.

The Heritage Lounge crew this year was Christine, Colin, Danielle, Flora and Jennifer with lead-in support from Alyssa and take down help from Erin and Laura of the Quebec Manor.

Thanks for Joining Us at the Heritage Lounge!

Thank you to everyone who dropped by the Heritage Lounge. It was lovely to meet so many heritage enthusiasts interested in Mount Pleasant’s history and be part of the Vancouver Mural Festival/ MPBIA street fest.

A feature display this year was ‘My Mount Pleasant: Vancouver’s First Suburb’, put together by the neighbourhood’s grade five heritage ambassador Lauren Lee for BC Heritage Fairs. Everyone was most impressed with her engaging storytelling about our historic neighbourhood and her own heritage home. Click here to see her companion video for Young Citizens.

We had the beginnings of our next project available, which is a colouring book with pages by local artists celebrating Mount Pleasant’s built, cultural, natural and industrial heritage.

Jen Chernecki is colouring James Lloyd‘s illustration of the 1889 Depencier House at 151 E 8th, which depicts the building when it was home to Bain’s Candies and Fine Chocolates. Bain’s was in Mount Pleasant for over sixty years. The Depencier House is currently home to eight 1/2 Restaurant. Jen’s illustration is of the 1889 James Black Residence when it housed the Gropp’s Gallery Collective between 2008 to 2014. The residence is currently home to the James Black Gallery.

Sean MacPherson was on hand to tell about his ‘Remembering Brewery Creek’ project. We are happy to report that he has received a grant from the Chapman & Innovations Fund at UBC to create a website and walking app about the historical creek. We look forward to this new documentation of a key aspect of Mount Pleasant’s history.

Great to have Josh and Finn pouring lemonade for thirsty visitors on a hot day.

Many thanks to Lauren Lee and her family, local artists James Lloyd and Jennifer Chernecki and to Sean MacPherson.

Big thanks as well to Bruce Macdonald for the loan of his maps and photos, Stan of Rath Art Supplies for the easels, the Quebec Manor Co-op for the Lounge furniture and the MPBIA for the canopy.

The Heritage Lounge crew this year was Alyssa, Danielle, Jen and James & Sally.