Memorial Cup heritage tours' low attendance due to lack of awareness, guide says

Photo: Mya Toews

Three Kamloops locals being taught about the old courthouse's past by Kamloops Museum educator Meghan Stewart.

Guided walking tours through downtown Kamloops aimed at showcasing the history of the city during the Memorial Cup have not been drawing many attendees.

The heritage tours have been running daily throughout the tournament.

While the tour provides extensive history about the downtown area, Kamloops Museum and Archives educator Meghan Stewart told Castanet there have been very few people showing up to take part.

She said the largest group she had was on Saturday, when 14 people attended. A number of tours on subsequent days had zero attendees. When Castanet Kamloops attended a tour on Tuesday, three other people were taking part.

Stewart said she thinks the low attendance is due to a lack of exposure and awareness, but she said she's enjoying the experience regardless.

She has been working with the museum since 2019 and said she really enjoys it. She regularly gives tours of the heritage homes in Kamloops.

Stewart said her favourite part of doing the outdoor heritage tours is that she gets to learn and teach about how Kamloops grew up as a community.

The three people on the tour with Castanet Kamloops on Tuesday were local. One of them said he was excited to learn more about his city.

“I’m trying to be a local tourist today — if I was a tourist I would be pretty pumped,” he said.

Highlights of the tour include the Old Courthouse, St. Andrews on the Square and historic buildings built with locally sourced bricks.

“Getting a closer look at these buildings, learning how old these buildings are, is the coolest part,” another attendee said.

The guided tours run daily through Sunday, starting at 2 p.m. at St. Andrews on the Square, 159 Seymour St.