The Honeymoon Bay Community Hall will become a museum for a day as the Honeymoon Bay Community Society gets ready for their Heritage Day celebration, set for May 24.
The annual event sees residents and former residents of Honeymoon Bay bring their old treasures to the community hall to be displayed. The relics paint a picture of the history of Honeymoon Bay, as well as some more personal stories. The Honeymoon Bay Community Society is always looking for more residents to add to that tableau.
“[The criteria] is pretty wide open, its an opportunity for people to bring in their treasures,” Guy Patten, who has organized Heritage Day in previous years, said. “We like to call it ‘old relics bringing in their old relics,’ and that’s pretty much what it is.”
This year, Heritage Day is being sponsored by Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) Area F director Ian Morrison, who will have his own table set up at the event to talk to guests about his work with the CVRD and other groups.
Coffee and other refreshments will be served at the event as well, and the “curators” of Heritage Day rarely shy away from sharing the stories behind their treasures, making the event as social as it is historical.
“A lot of the people bringing in their old relics really care about their history, and the ones that care are very talkative,” Organizer Jean Atkins said.
“It’s set up to be like a show and tell at school,” Patten added, “only it’s for old farts.”
In previous years, the old relics on display have included old equipment from the fire department, handmade wooden kayaks, toys and photographs, and have ranged from the 1800s to the mid-1900s.
“One year, a resident took all of his old army medals — and his dad’s army medals — to the show,” Atkins said.
“We’ve had people bring in their family heritage as well,” Patten added. “One guy has a family that’s been in Honeymoon Bay since the 1800s.”
Honeymoon Bay Heritage Day takes place just prior to the Cowichan Lake-wide Heritage Days due to a scheduling conflict at the Honeymoon Bay Community Hall.
Heritage Day is scheduled for May 24 from noon to 3 p.m. The Honeymoon Bay Community Hall is located at 10022 Park Drive. To get involved and show off your old relics, call Jean Atkins at 250-749-1643.