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How we live our heritage every day

Coquitlam Heritage celebrates its Heirlooms and Treasures show on Saturday, Jan. 19.

The tours take longer now.

Since September, when the Coquitlam Heritage Society launched its Heirlooms and Treasures exhibit, staff have had to schedule extra time to lead visitors through Mackin House.

That’s because the objects on display are opening a flood of stories.

Visitors remember the embroidered handkerchiefs their grandmothers once sewed or the old-fashioned blenders in their kitchens or the antique curling irons that had to be heated over a stove.

They have similar artifacts at home, too, or know a relative who has the family item in their possession — tucked away safe for the next generation.

The show is “evoking a lot of memories,” said operations co-ordinator Abby Brown-John, who on Monday led The Tri-City News through the 1909 home to talk about the latest exhibit. “People are pretty enthusiastic about it.”

Conceived by the society’s executive director Candrina Bailey and curated by Jasmine Moore, with the help of Brown-John, program manager Jennie Johnston and various focus groups held in the summer and fall, Heirlooms and Treasures honours the many traditions passed down to the 140,000 residents who now call Coquitlam home and speak more than 100 languages combined.

Bailey said she often struggles to demonstrate how history is relevant today; however, she said when you ask how people celebrate birthdays or the new year, for example, each person will share a different tradition depending on their background.

The same applies to artistic talents, music, stories, writing, cooking and so forth.

Walking through the multicultural display, visitors can see ornate handmade dresses from Korea and India, and Chinese dance fans in the parlour, which is decked out with performance symbols.

In the dining room are examples of food rituals such as tea ceremonies and new year’s meals (did you know Haitians have pumpkin soup on Jan. 1?).

The kitchen is filled with old cooking pots and pans — many of them still functional — recipe books from around the world and even a meat grinder from Germany.

Upstairs is the textiles room, where quilts, dolls and custom outfits are laid out; visitors can lend a hand by stitching a square for a future quilt.

Grandma’s Room has another participatory exercise, where guests can write on a Post-It note their favourite dish, dance or story and add it to the family tree on the wall — much of which ties back to their ancestors.

The kids’ room has modern and classic toys and furniture including a 200-year-old Babiche chair from Quebec. The master bedroom holds the Love and Connection theme, displaying a silk wedding gown from the 1920s — on loan from Vancouver fashion historian Ivan Sayers — and mother and father’s day fare.

And, at the other end of the home, there’s a salute to Heritage Heroes such as Sayers; Coquitlam archivist Emily Lonie; Antonio Paré (whose late relative was one of the first police chiefs of Maillardville); cycling enthusiast Gordon Hobbis; and Diane Stiglish, whose parents once owned a mushroom farm in Coquitlam.

These are people who have preserved historical collections of which Coquitlam benefits from their efforts, Brown-John said.

The aim of the show, which ends in June, is for visitors “to see themselves in it and to learn about how others celebrate traditions,” Bailey said.

To encourage artifact conservation, society staff also have printed off pamphlets for visitors to take home.

And to link in with their educational programming, staff are presenting regular workshops for the public to take part: Family Treasure, Family Stories is on Jan. 26 while a Chinese New Year dance and cake demo is slated for Feb. 2.

As well, next month, Heirlooms and Treasures will extend into the nearby Place des Arts for an exhibit to showcase personal items passed down to Coquitlam residents (submissions for this display will be accepted until Jan. 24; book a photography time by calling 604-516-6151 or visit coquitlamheritage.ca/callforentry to enter a high-resolution image).

• A celebration of Heirlooms and Treasures is on Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at Mackin House (1116 Brunette Ave., Coquitlam), featuring performances from the Chichaklar Dance Company of Azerbaijani and Iranian folk dances at 1:45 p.m. Exhibit tours will be held and multicultural treats will be served. No registration is required and admission is by donation. Visit coquitlamheritage.ca