For Heritage BC’s “Stir the Pot” theme, a powerful local lens is the way food has long served as both a sacred responsibility and a social glue in Stó:lō communities—nourishing bodies, yes, but also affirming relationships: with the river, with salmon, with family, with guests, and with future generations. In Stó:lō life, food is inseparable from place—especially the Fraser River—and from teachings about reciprocity and care. Foods like salmon (alongside many other harvested foods) are not...

Heritage Week 2026 invites us to “Stir the Pot” and to explore how food connects us to land, culture, memory, and community. In Chilliwack and across the Fraser Valley, that story cannot be told without recognizing the contributions of early Chinese vegetable farmers around the turn of the 20th century. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Chinese immigrants played a vital role in shaping British Columbia’s agricultural landscape. Facing significant legal and social barriers including...

If you grew up here, you probably remember when “eating local” didn’t stop at harvest season—it just moved into the freezer. Frozen food might not sound romantic, but it’s one of the biggest behind-the-scenes shifts in our food story. It changed what farmers could sell, what families could afford, and how a place like Chilliwack—so rich in berries and produce—could feed people well beyond the Fraser Valley. Before freezing became common, local food was deeply seasonal. Canning and preserving...