BC Folklore Society

The British Columbia Folklore Society is a not-for-profit society established in November 1994 for the express purpose of bringing together and preserving the traditions of our Province. It is administered by an executive board made up of writers, storytellers, musicians, singers and folklore field-workers.

Part of the Society's concerns are, of course, to promote public awareness and public appreciation of the folk traditions of British Columbia. Volunteers and members of The British Columbia Folklore Society are undertaking the task of preserving our heritage by recording family traditions and folkways through tape- recorded interviews. Donations of folklife artifacts, books, and records, have been given into the keeping of the Society. These donations and field recordings are the foundation of the Society's reference library, museum holdings, and archives.

Old traditions from the family, the workplace, and the countryside are very much in evidence all around us, and newly introduced traditions constantly evolve to add to our folk heritage. New settlers to B.C. bring their family traditions and folkways with them when they emigrate, and many of these traditions and folkways are then adapted to fit in with the local society. But, whether they evolve or remain in their original form, always they become part of the heritage of our Province and add to the traditions that establish our identity. Many of these traditions are oral and, like our physical, material heritage (the collections of artifacts that can be seen in museums throughout the Province) our oral traditions need to be collected, recorded, and preserved. Without them our physical heritage amounts to little more than the dry bones of our past; the fleshless skeleton of our folkways.

Revised February 23, 2012 by KS.

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