Our history
Founded in 1979, the Kamloops Francophone Association is made up of members from all different communities in the Kamloops region and surrounding areas including Chase, Knutsford, Logan Lake and Merritt.
Having the francophone language and culture at heart, it was in 1979 that the Francophone Association was founded. This date underlines the inauguration of the very first organisation that was situated on victoria street in Kamloops.
We celebrated our 40th anniversary on February 9th, 2019. This event marked the start of a year of celebrating the francophone community in our region. 40 years later, the francophones and francophiles are still in this area for the same reasons, the need to spread the french language and culture.
How it all started…
The first president of the association, Mr. Gérald Vézina, likes to tell the following anecdote: “In the beginning, we were four francophones; Radio-Canada representatives came to see us because they wanted to establish a transmission line in the Kamloops area of the French state TV channel. We were interested, but they said, “You do not even have an association! “Yes, yes, we have one! Their bluffing led them to found “Le Réveil francophone de Kamloops” in 1979. Four years later, the association changed its name to become the Francophone Association of Kamloops.
With few resources and a lot of volunteer work, Francophones in Kamloops organize social and recreational activities such as dancing, Christmas meals and Canadian dinners; they also give a place to the French language in events of the English-speaking community with floats in municipal parades, translation in hockey tournaments and appearances on community radio. The Francophone Association of Kamloops is also involved in cultural and educational matters: links are established with the immersion program and in 1989, the preschool program is launched.
In 1991, the AFK became the owner of a house at 348 Fortune Drive. Major renovations are needed. All the basement must be redone to develop a daycare; part of the first floor must also be transformed to build the association’s office and a meeting room. From mid-September to mid-December, no less than 29 volunteers will devote more than 1,200 hours to carry out these various jobs and the daycare will finally be inaugurated in January 1992.
The Association worked hard with the BC Francophone School Board and the local Francophone community, in order to create a francophone school in Kamloops. The Collines-d’or school finally opened in September 2001. Computer science also made its entry into the Association in the early 2000s: Francophones have access to computers and the AFK has its website.
In 2004, the AFK celebrates its 25th anniversary. On this occasion, the AFK takes the opportunity to highlight the important involvement of its members as well as the hard work of volunteers and staff. Finally, if the Association still exists, everyone agrees that it is thanks to this great love story for the French language and culture.
To learn more about the impact of Francophones in the Kamloops area, contact the AFK at 250-376-6060.