Hope Brigade Days

Brigade Days History

It was in the fall of ‘48 when the Hudson Bay Company decided to expand and strengthen their communications link between the pacific coast and the British Columbia interior. So Fort Hope was established at the foothills of the Cascade mountain range, at the point where the wild Coquihalla river runs into the mighty Fraser, where the canyon turns into the valley.

It would be 80 years before Fort Hope was incorporated to become the Village and another almost 40 years to become the Town of Hope. Finally, in 1993, the town amalgamated with some outlying areas to become the District Municipality of Hope.

Meanwhile, in 1969, then councillor Ken James started a plan to commemorate the early pioneer days in an annual festival known as Hope Brigade Days, celebrated on the weekend after Labour Day in September.

Whatever political and administrative changes have occurred over the years, at the junction of Highways 1, 3, 5 and 7, you still find Hope. The Coquihalla and Fraser rivers still flow together and the mountains are as scenic as they appeared back in ‘48 (1848, that is).

We are still looking for content from Brigade Days 1999, and would like to promote Brigade Days 2000. If you have any information, please email Mike at brigadedays@rainbowcountry.bc.ca.