After an intense summer of wildfires, Lytton River Festival aims to bring life to the community

After an intense summer of wildfires, Lytton River Festival aims to bring life to the community

This year's event will highlight Chinese Canadian history in B.C.'s Interior

Despite uncertainty throughout the summer, organizers say the Lytton River Festival will go ahead.

"We always find a way," said Nonie McCann, one of the festival organizers. She added that local businesses were hit hard by the wildfires, describing it as a "very, very tense time with no income."

She said the event, which kicks off with a pancake breakfast at 8 a.m. PT Saturday, will host activities for all ages, with live music, cultural presentations and artisan vendors.

What makes this year different, she explained, is an emphasis on history in Lytton.

Activities offered this year aim to educate guests in an interactive way.

Festival-goers can pan for gold in the river with a guide, honouring the village's history as a gold rush destination in the 19th century.

The gold rush also brought the first significant wave of Chinese immigrants to the village, before the Canadian Pacific Railway brought even more to the B.C. Interior.

That part of Lytton's history is getting extra attention this year.

Lorna Fandrich opened the Lytton Chinese History Museum in 2017, after learning the property she owned used to house a Chinese temple.

The wildfire that burned through the village in 2021, killing two people, destroyed the museum. Fandrich said she wasn't sure if she would be able to reopen.

However, donations of cash and artifacts streamed in at an almost overwhelming rate. Now the museum operates much the same as it did before being rebuilt in 2025, she said.

"I can tell those same stories."

Fandrich shared what she called a reflection of "the Chinese story."

The Chong family opened a shop in Lytton in 1885 and the family ran it for more than 100 years — until 1987.

"Everybody in town knew them over those years," recalled Fandrich.

She said during that era, the Chinese Canadian experience often involved arriving with few economic resources, finding a way to make things work, and becoming a major part of their community.

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Roughly 6,500 of the 9,000 railway workers employed to construct the B.C. portion of the Canadian Pacific Railway were Chinese Canadians, according to the province.

They were paid $1 a day and were responsible to pay for food and housing, while white workers' wages ranged from $1.5 to $2.5 per day and they didn't have to pay out of pocket for provisions.

When Chinese workers arrived to work on the railway throughout B.C., they often arrived without their families.

"Many of the people that came in the early days for the railway or the mining had a fairly lonely life here in B.C. and Canada," Fandrich said.

The museum's presence will go beyond a vendor space this year. It will offer activities for children and families, such as calligraphy lessons and Chinese-inspired crafts.

The village is also providing tours with local historian John Hogan.

"This festival brings some life to our community again," said Fandrich.

Festival organizers say there's still space for more vendors and guests, adding that everything is free.

"You just need to give us a shout, come and show up," said McCann.

Arden McLeod, from Vancouver, is an associate producer with CBC News. He has a passion for community storytelling, local news, and reflecting the values of B.C. He graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology's broadcast and online journalism program. You can reach him at Arden.McLeod@cbc.ca.

With files from Daybreak Kamloops