Vernon historian digs up footage of the winter carnival from 60 years ago

Carnival in the 1960s

With the 64th Vernon Winter Carnival underway, Castanet is taking a look at carnivals from long ago.

Vernon historian and videographer Francois Arseneault converted old film footage to a digital format of carnival in the early 1960s.

Bob Brewis shared the footage shot by his father Keith, said Arseneault.

"Parades are fun to watch and give us a sense of what was happening in the day. Fashion, social issues, tourism, public awareness all wrap themselves up in colourful floats, costumes and music," said Arseneault. "The background details are often fascinating themselves."

Clips from Silver Star and Polson Park are also included.

The video spans years from 1962 to 1964.

Arseneault is always looking for more information on the vintage footage he digs up, and encourages people to add their input in the comments section on his Youtube page.

He has an extensive collection of vintage footage, and he is looking for more.

Anyone who may have old 16 mm or 8 mm film footage of the Vernon and Okanagan area is invited to email Arseneault at [email protected].