Between neighbours: Okanagan Italians during World War II

November 29, 2019
It was a fascinating - and sometimes tragic - story. On June 10, 1940 hundreds of Italian men were rounded up from across Canada and sent to Internment Camps as enemy aliens. In many cases, they were naturalized citizens who had lived in Canada for many years. We looked at what happened elsewhere and focused on the Italian Community here in the Okanagan. What happens when a war comes Between Neighbours?
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A PDF of the entire presentation (without videos) is available below. 
kcic_nov_presentation.pdf
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Books and Videos Referenced in the Presentation:
Website from Villa Columbus - a wonderful resource!
http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca/villa/home
The video Piazza Petawawa on Vimeo:  vimeo.com/96100674
​Books:
Injustice Served by Raymond Culos
​Beyond Barbed Wire: Essays on the Internment of Italian Canadians

Our Roots: The Founding of KCIC

October 25, 2019

​It was a wonderful chance to look back at KCIC’s beginnings – as we invited original members and others to share their stories of Our Roots: The Founding of KCIC. Celeste Bazzana, Vince Bertucci, Romi Marcanio ,Flori Pucci, Emma Rantucci, Pietro Calissi and Clelia Bertolami took us back over 50 years to the beginning, a shared idea of Italian culture, support and friendship that took form in a barber shop.
To quote Bob Hope – Thanks for the Memories.

An evening with lynne bowen

September 27, 2019
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KCIC was thrilled and honoured to welcome noted BC historian and author Lynne Bowen for a fascinating look at the history of Italians in BC. Lynne took us through this touching story of Italians finding their place in their new home, with a special focus on the Okanagan Valley. 

Learning about Myra's Men

May 25, 2019
In May, we welcomed Dr. Maurice Williams, author of Myra's Men. Dr. Williams took us on a tour of a worker's camp up in Myra Canyon and then joined us at the KCIC Clubhouse for the story of how Italian workers helped make the historic Kettle Valley Railway. We focused especially on the contribution they made to the amazing stonework found in the Myra Canyon section.