The Happy Hans Cuckoo Clock in The Platzl in downtown Kimberley is set for preservation work thanks to a Heritage Legacy Fund 2023 grant.

In response to a record-breaking number of proposals, and following a rigorous assessment and adjudication process, 28 heritage projects will be receiving $400,000 in grants. This funding is made possible through Heritage BC’s Heritage Legacy Fund which provides grants for heritage conservation, awareness, planning and Indigenous partnership projects around British Columbia.

The 2023 grant recipients were selected by three juries of five members each with a deliberation process supported by Heritage BC staff. With a total of 63 applications requesting over $1.3 million in support, the decision-making process to award $400,000 was challenging and emphasized the extreme needs of the Heritage sector in British Columbia. It also highlights how vitally important the Heritage Legacy Fund is to the organizations and communities it supports.

Kirstin Clausen, Executive Director of Heritage BC said, “each year the Heritage Legacy Fund enables organizations to complete heritage-focused projects”. “The projects embrace the values of diversity and best practices for the heritage sector and are remarkable for how they are connected to place making for communities.”

“The Heritage Legacy Fund is the only dedicated heritage conservation and awareness grant available in British Columbia,” says Britney Dack, Chair of Heritage BC. “We are pleased that these worthwhile projects will be able to be completed. We are however, also concerned that the Heritage Legacy Fund cannot come close to meeting the need around heritage conservation and awareness.”

It is a strategic goal of Heritage BC to work with the Province of BC so that the Heritage Legacy Fund can make sustained and meaningful investments in British Columbia’s tangible and intangible cultural resources. Heritage is a relevant part of modern-day conversations and the heritage sector understands that our values and interests are powerful tools that can help communities achieve goals of cultural diversity, inclusion and equity, combating climate action and contributing to housing solutions.

Along with the preservation of the Happy Hans Cuckoo Clock by the Kimberley & District Chamber Of Commerce, other projects in the Kootenays receiving funds are: Kootenay Lake Historical Society, receiving funds for safety upgrades to S.S. Moyie in Kaslo; Rossland Heritage Commission’s repair and restoration work at the Calvary and Columbia cemeteries; and Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre’s Rossland Foundations Mapping Project.

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