Quesnel pursues First Nations cultural centre

Apr 23, 2019 | 10:40 AM

QUESNEL – It’s a popular park at the confluence of the Quesnel and Fraser Rivers, but it may be home to something else.

Ceal Tingley Memorial Park is part of a popular walking trail along the riverfronts in Quesnel. But the City of Quesnel recently turned the park over to the local First Nation, the Lhtako Dene. The plan is to convert that piece of property into a cultural centre with a design based on the pithouse villages that were located there thousands of years ago. But it will be a centre for the whole community.

“It will be a combination of display space for repatriated artifacts and a gathering space, a new community theatre space built in,” describes Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson. “It will have a coffee shop, an art gallery, a gift shop. There’s a whole bunch of activities that will be located there, right on our riverfront trail.”

He says it will attract a lot more tourism for those looking for some history of the region. But, while it will be a centre for the entire community, it has greater significance than that.