The 108 Mile Heritage Site plans to celebrate its 50th anniversary in style this summer.
A landmark attraction of the South Cariboo community, the heritage site is located on the shores of the 108 Mile Lake and features a dozen historical buildings from the Cariboo Gold Rush. Kelly Carnochan, president of the 100 Mile House & District Historical Society, which operates the site, says she and the other society members have big plans to mark their anniversary on Saturday, July 26.
“Our actual anniversary is July 25 but we’re going to have our event on the 26th. If everything goes according to plan, it’s going to start off in the morning around 10 with our regular heritage market and lots of events for the 50th,” Carnochan says. “We’re looking at doing some old-fashioned games for the kids like sack races, tug of war and a three-legged race, to name a few. There are more ideas coming up in our brains.”
The goal is to make this celebration memorable, with ideas ranging from staples of heritage site celebrations, like bouncy castles and local vendors, to more unique and ambitious ideas, like filling the old Clydesdale Barn with animals again to serve as both a petting zoo and a way to bring the structure back to life.
They plan to invite local quilters to set up a display of old-fashioned quilting, open the school house with some old-school classes going on, possibly open up the heritage site’s chapel to offer a service. They’d also like to have cowboy poetry, a gold panning demonstration and have a blacksmith on site demonstrating their craft.
“We’re looking at doing a dinner and an outdoor barn dance and then possibly a drone light show as well,” Carnochan said. “There’s lots of things in the making, if we can make it all happen and get the funding for it.”
The dinner and dance portion of the evening will be a ticketed event, but the rest of the celebrations will be free for the public to enjoy.
A display will highlight the history of the site since 1975, along with informational booths sharing the history of each structure and how they came to be at the site.
To run such a large event, the society is putting out a call for additional volunteers from the community.
“I know it’s a little close to our July 1 (Canada Day) event but that’s when our anniversary falls,” Carnochan said. “I think it’s always nice when community members can volunteer because it helps keep community activities alive. Without volunteers, you won’t have the same successful events.”
Anyone interested in volunteering for the 108 Heritage Site’s 50th Anniversary Party, or for any of their events, is invited to email them at heritagesite108@gmail.com or call Carnochan at
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