News release
For immediate release
ESQUIMALT, BC—The Esquimalt Municipal Archives is hosting an open house where visitors can interact and explore treasures from the past, meet the people who care for them, and enjoy a day of learning and inspiration.
One of the goals of the event is to bring awareness about the power of archives in community development and the services that are available to the public. Residents can contact the archives team to learn about the history of a property or research family history in Esquimalt year-round.
Open house activities include memory mapping for adults and kids; an interactive news corner with scavenger hunt; nostalgic ads and other local business information; historical property research, the creation of a time capsule due to open in 2050 and more.
The event is also designed to inspire new donations to the archives.
“Archives aren't just old photos or fading papers—they are living evidence of our past, holding the wisdom and lessons a community needs to build a stronger, sustainable future”, said Archivist Dr. Dulma Karunarathna. “The archive open house demonstrates how past meets present and history is for everyone.”
The open house is November 19 from 10AM to 2:30PM at 1249 Esquimalt Road, Unit 103.
Another recent archival project is “Making Women Visible: Correcting Gender bias in Archival Photo Records”. Staff share archival photos of unidentified individuals—many of them women—on social media and the township website in efforts to add their stories back into the community’s history. The project has already seen some successful identifications.
People interested in the archives can visit the extensive online database any time. Find the database, contact information and more information about the Esquimalt Municipal Archives at Esquimalt.ca/archives.
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Media contact
Tara Zajac
Manager of Communications
tara.zajac@esquimalt.ca