Ching Ming at William Head (Metchosin)

Name: Ching Ming at William Head (Metchosin)
Start: 2026-05-02T14:00:00-07:00
Location: William Head Institution

Schedule

Sat, 02 May, 2026 at 02:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

William Head Institution | Victoria, BC

Register at: [email protected] before April 18th. Space is limited.
During World War I, the British recruited Chinese workers to serve in non-combatant roles at the Western Front. They became the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC).
CLC workers were shipped across the Pacific to William Head (outside of Victoria), then transported across Canada to the Atlantic and onwards to Europe. At the time, William Head was the site of a quarantine station.
Some CLC workers died in transit going to, or returning from Europe, and are buried in William Head Cemetery, now on the grounds of William Head Institution, a correctional facility.
Ching Ming is a traditional Chinese celebration where ancestors’ graves are tidied, and offerings of gratitude and reverence are made. CLC workers buried at William Head have no family to perform these gestures for identities were eroded and relationships lost.
Ching Ming becomes an opportunity to acknowledge CLC ethnicity – the attribute that resulted in them being recruited in the first place and subsequently treated as coolies. The festival is a means by which ALL Canadians can come together to recognize inequities of the past and celebrate our resilience as a people.