Volunteers needed for inaugural Chilliwack Heritage Festival

Folks who want to preserve and celebrate Chilliwack’s local heritage are being invited to help organize the inaugural Chilliwack Heritage Festival.

The festival, which is scheduled for September 2022, will be a gathering of cultures, showcasing the history, achievements, families, and heritage of First Nations and the pioneers who settled in Chilliwack. Over two days, the music, lifestyle, food, and culture of First Nations and Chilliwack’s settlers will be presented by existing community groups with roots from the past, participating with their own displays, booths and speakers.

The Chilliwack Heritage Festival Society (CHFS) is now looking for a number of volunteers to help out.

“The CHFS board of directors has openings for two individuals who have a love of Chilliwack’s heritage and the energy to make this first festival a success, as well as ensuring it becomes an annual forum for Chilliwack’s rich history,” said Carsten Arnold, one of three directors on the board along with Debora Soutar and Merlin Bunt.

The two directors at large will also assume one other role as either the sponsorship and fundraising co-ordinator (acquiring, maintaining, and fulfilling sponsorship opportunities with local businesses, and creating fundraising opportunities all within the Chilliwack community), or the production and logistics co-ordinator (site planning, set up and take down of the site, emergency and safety, security and parking).

In addition to the board openings, the CHFS is also looking to fill the following volunteer positions:

• Activities co-ordinator - Create and manage activities which are appealing and ties into the overall theme of the festival

• Volunteer co-ordinator - Recruiting, training, and organizing all of the volunteers necessary to run the festival

• Vendor co-ordinator - Marketplace and other vendors recruitment and management

• Community co-ordinator for Chilliwack Proper, Fairfield Island, and Little Mountain

• Community co-ordinator for Sardis, Vedder Crossing, and Promontory

• Community co-ordinator for Atchelitz, Yarrow, and Greendale

The role of every community co-ordinator is to build the team in their specific areas, communicate with community leaders to guide, design, acquire relevant display materials, and organize their booth which showcases their community’s heritage.

The festival is scheduled for Sept. 17 and 18, 2022 at the Pioneer Village Museum area, next to Chilliwack Heritage Park. It was supposed to take place in 2020, but was delayed for two years due to the pandemic.

The CHFS was formed by a group of community leaders dedicated to preserving Chilliwack’s unique local heritage.

For more information or for contact info, visit chilliwackheritagefestival.com.

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