Submitted by Mary, Heritage Interpreter​

Quick: what do you think of when I say, “maritime”? Boats, maybe? Sailors? What about…finger knitting? Or recycled plastic sculptures?

Well, if you happened to wander over to the Richmond Maritime Festival at the Britannia Heritage Shipyards on August 8^th and 9^th, you’d have seen all of the above, along with live music, cannery mermaids (!), face painters, model boats, and more.  The festival was a hit with adults and little ones alike; from where I was, I could see nothing but smiles all weekend.

I was lucky enough to be sent over to the festival as part of the outreach team last weekend, along with my lovely friend and fellow interpreter Abigail, and our wonderful volunteer Kitty. Oh, and of course – Malcolm and Winston, our trusty salmon friends and mascots. Between playing beanbag toss with kids and introducing our site to all those interested, us ‘cannery workers’ were sure kept busy!! Meanwhile, at the other end of the festival, others on the Cannery team were busy running a Wild Salmon BBQ as a fundraiser for the society, serving tender salmon filets and coleslaw with chips to top it off. A special thanks to Save-on-Foods and Canfisco for their generous support!

Although I had been to the Maritime Festival before, this was the first time that I had gotten to participate as a representative of an organisation, instead of as a visitor. Tiring? For sure. But rewarding? Definitely. It’s easy to see the impact of events, such as the Maritime Festival, on the local community. It brings people together, it makes people happy, and I, for one, was thrilled to help the Gulf of Georgia Cannery play a part in that process.​

Posted by m.horita

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