Collecting the stories of our legacy

Il Nostro Lascito | Our Legacy Project was begun by the LNFI Heritage Committee of the Kelowna Canadian Italian Club to capture the stories of Italian contribution to Kelowna and the surrounding communities. This rich legacy of contribution goes back almost 140 years, to the arrival in 1883 of Giovanni Casorso at the Oblate Immaculate Conception Mission - now known as the Father Pandosy Mission. Our goal was to hear the story of the contribution first hand from the immigrants and descendants of immigrants who lived these stories.

If you would like to stay up to date with Il Nostro Lascito | Our Legacy Project, please email us at KCICNFI@Shaw.ca and we will add your name to our private mailing list.

Meet our first families

For the past 3 years, Don Rampone has been collecting stories of the first Italian Families to come to Kelowna. See them all here. 
The First Video in the Project is Now Available!
A 13:20 Introductory Video to the Project, available to watch in up to 4K resolution
 Il Nostro Lascito | Our Legacy Project is an ongoing one. We will continue to record the stories of our Italian Community and will package these in multiple ways so they can be shared with the public, both through our own channels and the partnerships we have formed with our Community Partners. We will share current stories in progress and provide a platform for interaction with the community so that we can collaboratively shape the stories we will tell in the future. 


Supported in part by a City of Kelowna Cultural Grant
This project was funded in part by Heritage BC
through the Heritage Legacy Fund

OUR STORIES​

THE MANY FACES OF OUR LEGACY


The first goal of our project is to gather stories of all kinds through first hand interviews, experiences and mementoes that together create a mosaic of the Italian contribution to Kelowna and the Central Okanagan. Then, this material will be edited into a number of video short features and vignettes which will be shared with the community both through our own channels and those of our community partners.

PERSONAL STORIES

The foundation of this project is to capture the experiences and history of those who have lived these stories. Whether our interviewees immigrated themselves or are descended from immigrants, they all have contributed to the Legacy. 

historic STORIES

As we gather this material, it will also naturally follow certain historically relevant themes. We will also produce features exploring these themes.
​Future topics we are exploring include contributions to the Wine Industry, the Italian Experience during WWII and the role of Italians in the early development of agriculture. 

CULTURAL STORIES

We also want to chronicle the experience of those that bridged two very different cultures in two very different worlds: the one they left behind and the one they found here. What did they lose by immigrating to Canada and, more importantly, what did we as a community gain from what they brought with them?

OUR production plans

Our Production schedule

We hope to continue production in late April with another round of interviews.

For this round, we will be focusing on the contribution of the earliest Italian families to agriculture in the Central Okanagan. In particular, we will be looking at these and other topics:
  • Farming practices they would have brought with them from Italy
  • The transition from cattle ranching to the planting of ground crops
  • Adapting to their new home
  • Introduction of new crops
  • Their connection with the land from a perspective of sustenance farming
  • Integration with the other early pioneer families
  • Their relationship with the Syilx people. 

Future STories

We will continue to add story ideas to the list, but here are just a few that we're currently excited about:
  • The beginnings of the Okanagan Wine Industry
  • The contribution of Italians to the building of Kelowna
  • Italians and the Railways - The KVR, CP and CN
  • Italians and Irrigating the Okanagan
  • Life for Italians - both here and in Italy - during World War II
  • The Importance of food in Italian Culture - here and at home
  • The Strength of Italian Women
  • Matchmaking and Marriage
  • Italians and Sports in the Central Okanagan
  • Immigration after World War II - Starting Over in a New Home
  • Bridges - helping new immigrants in their new home

    Join our project mailing list

    If you are interested in our project, join our mailing list. If you have a family story to share, let us know!

    ​We will keep you up to date with new production schedules, stories we're collecting and other news. Also, if you have a message for us, you can enter it in the field below

PROJECT PARTNERS

COMMUNITY HELPING COMMUNITY

Il Nostro Lascito Project is made possible through the support of our Community partners. Production costs are kept to a minimum through the contribution of our volunteer production team but funding is required to allow the project to continue to collect these vitally important stories and experiences. 

If you would like more information on how you can help support Il Nostro Lascito Project, either as an individual or corporation, please contact us at kcicnfi@shaw.ca. 

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THE KELOWNA CANADIAN ITALIAN CLUB WOULD LIKE TO THANK THESE COMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT

The City of Kelowna is supporting Il Nostro Lascito Project in part through a Cultural Grant.
 Il Nostro Lascito is funded in part by Heritage BC
through the Heritage Legacy Fund
The Kelowna and District Genealogical Society is a financial supporter of Il Nostro Lascito
The Kelowna Museums Society is a vital partner in helping us tell our stories and is also a financial supporter of Il Nostro Lascito.
The Okanagan Historical Society is supporting Il Nostro Lascito through a Grant
Il Nostro Lascito and the Kelowna Canadian Italian Club are proud to be members of ICAP
THE ITALIAN-CANADIAN ARCHIVES PROJECT
A national network and registered charity. Securing the Italian-Canadian contribution to Canada's narrative, past and present.