Greetings from Fort Vancouver, WA!
Fort Vancouver was established along the banks of the Columbia River in 1825 as a fur trading post for the Hudson’s Bay Company. The fort served as the regional headquarters for the Hudson’s Bay Company in the British territory known then as the Columbia District. Every fall on select (and limited) dates, the fort opens its gates in the evening for a lantern tour. We’ve been trying for years to make one of their lantern tours, but have never been able to make it due to busy work and life schedules. This year the stars aligned and we were able to take the entire family on the tour.
The fort was set back in time to the period of 1846. The workers at the fort and the villagers (all played by local volunteers) were preparing for a Fall celebration and dance. Each of the buildings within the fort had short vignettes bringing that period to life. Participants of the tour were divided into four groups and each group was led by a Park Ranger dressed in period attire. The Park Rangers were very informative providing information and context prior to escorting us into each vignette.
There were a total of six vignettes prepared for the tour: an accounting vignette for the clerks of the fort, a woodworking vignette in the fort’s wood shop, a trading post vignette in the fort’s fur warehouse, a blacksmith vignette in the fort’s metal shop, a kitchen and wait staff vignette in the primary kitchen of the fort, and lastly an upper class tea party vignette in the fort’s main residence. Each of the vignettes were a few minutes in length, but that’s all it took to bring the period to life. It was so much better than just walking through a static museum (or fort in this instance), a big thank you to all the volunteers!
We had a fantastic time at the Fort Vancouver Lantern Tour. Even the weather cooperated. It was threatening to rain the entire evening, but held out long enough for us to finish the tour and get back to the car before it started coming down.
Watch the video below to see more of our Fort Vancouver Lantern Tour. Check it out!
Best wishes,
Mumzies & Papa