Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and BC is a 10,000 sq. ft. feature exhibition on now at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the establishment of British Columbia as a Crown Colony.

These public programs and events compliment the exhibition:

Thursday Night Café Series
Join other members of the community in a lively, informal atmosphere to take part in discussions on the topic of multiculturalism. Hear from experts and give your point of view. Engage with Forum Theatre and direct the action. This is NOT your typical lecture series. Topics are subject to change. Please check this website again closer to the date.

Doors 6pm
Event 7 - 9pm
Ticketed Event (capacity limited to 40)
Location: Museum Café at the Royal British Columbia Museum, 675 Belleville Street
Adults:  $8 in advance, $10 day of
Seniors / Students with ID / Annual Pass Holders / Friends Members:  $6 in advance, $8 day of
Please note, to receive the discount rate you must purchase your ticket in person and show your ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person or on-line. Day of tickets must be purchased in person at the Admissions Desk. Click to purchase tickets online.
Please note, a $1 service fee is added to cost of tickets purchased on-line. The discounted rate cannot be purchased on-line.

What's for Dinner? Sharing culture through food -
If you loose your food, do you loose your culture? How important is what you eat in making who you are? In this public dialogue event, you are invited to engage with the panelists, share your point of view and discuss current thinking. Perhaps you can even swap recipes. The event will be moderated by CBC radio's Gregor Craigie.

Panelists

Sushil Saini
Sustainable food systems expert, author and public speaker. She has worked as an internationally published food and culture writer, a chef, and a professional food security advocate - Experiences that have contributed to her current research which explores the nexus of food, culture and policy development. Food is an expression of self and identity. In an era of food insecurity, successful policy must answer not only political and economic requirements; but cultural requirements as well. Essentially, cultural relationships with food can be the glue or the hammer that support or destory political/economic food security initiatives. But what does this mean in a globalized food economy which serves smaller yet multi-cultural regions? In exploring the answers to this question, Sushil has developed and coordinated many Vancouver Island based food security initiatives including the Slow Food Canada Heritage Wheat Presidium; a sustainable gastronomy tasting series; educational programs for children; and several large scale events. She is the current coordinator of the Good Food Box program, an economic development program operating on the south Island. She is also completing a doctorate in sustainable gastronomy and teaches at the University of Victoria and Royal Roads University.

Fiona Devereaux
Community Nutritionist Aboriginal Health, Vancouver Island Health Authority. Working with the Coast Salish people in South Vancouver Island for the last 6 years, Fiona has had a focus on food security and diabetes management. Fiona's role in food security has been of the most interest to her and now her position is dedicated totally toward food activities.

Fiona is honoured by the experiences she has had and the amazing people she has meet along the way. Through her work she has been building the opportunity for the community members to share, learn and grow from the traditional food knowledge in their communities. They have all learned more about the spiritual connection traditional foods and traditional food practices have on each person. She wishes to thank everyone for their support, guidance and vision and looks forward to the adventures in the future.

David Mincey
Owner/Chef Camille's Restaurant and co-founder of the Island Chef's Cooperative. David Mincey is passionate about good food.

By integrating social and environmentally responsible practices into his business strategy and operations, David has been able to sustain a successful business by attracting customers with unique, delicious and sustainably produced local ingredients, while also supporting local growers and producers.

David is also the president and co-founder of the Island Chef's Collaborative (ICC), a non-profit group comprised of progressive chefs dedicated to promoting locally grown, high quality ingredients.

The ICC's Farmer Grant Program works to improve the local food system by educating non-member chefs, restaurant patrons and the general public on local, sustainable food production issues. David is committed to improving all aspects of food security. He also engages in policy-level work, representing the ICC on the steering committee of the Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable (CR-FAIR).

Larry Wong
A former president of the Chinese Canadian Historical Society (CCHS) and one of the authors of Eating Stories: A Chinese Canadian and Aboriginal Potluck will share stories behind the creation and writing of this unique book. Larry is the Public Historian for the CCHS Website. You can view his "blog" under "Ask Larry" at the website www.cchsbc.ca

 

Resources:
To learn more about food and culture please refer to this short list of resources to get you started.

Websites:
Sustainable Gastronomy - www.sustainablegastronomy.com
The Island Chefs' Collaborative - www.iccbc.ca
LifeCycles - www.lifecyclesproject.ca
Chinese Canadian Historical Society - www.cchsbc.ca

e-Newsletter
Making Food Matter - www.communitycouncil.ca/resources/newsletters.html

Books
Nancy Turners Books Keeping it Living, the earths Blanket
Eating Stories

To enter the Café: Enter the Museum through the main doors off of Belleville Street. Event greeters will be there to take your tickets.

Parking is available on the streets and is free after 6pm. Metered lots are also available in the area. Follow the link for a map of parking lots in the area www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Plan_Visit/Direct_Park.aspx

Sunday, January 11th, 2009
Closing day for Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and BC, the exhibition, at the Royal BC Museum.

The Free Spirit Players
A cast of characters from BC's past, both ordinary and extraordinary, will play out their stories and answer your questions. Included with museum admission.

Performances every 30 minutes from June 1, 2008 to September 1, 2008.

Performances are on the hour, 11am to 4pm from September 2, 2008 to January 11, 2009.

If you are interested in other events at the Royal BC Museum, visit our What's On page here »

The book, Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and BC, and enclosed travelogue DVD, is available at the Royal Museum Shop and select bookstores. Or order here for delivery.

Royal BC Museum, 675 Belleville Street, on the Inner Harbour
Victoria, BC Canada V8W 9W2
Tel: 250-356-7226  /  Fax: 250-387-5674  /  Email: reception@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca

Open every day except Christmas Day and New Year's Day
Museum: 9am - 5pm (and until 10pm most Fridays and Saturdays, June 6 to September 27, 2008)
IMAX: 10am - 8pm
Shop: 9am - 5pm
Cafe: 9am - 5pm
Archives: Hours of Operation