If you are unable to attend at the given times, please email: Librarian@kdgs.ca

Come to the Library to chat with genealogists from the Kelowna and District Genealogical Society. Learn how to find more on your family tree, or ask about your next steps if you’ve hit a wall in your research.

There is no charge for this service. 

Genealogist in Residence Schedule 

Downtown Library / ORL Branch (1380 Ellis Street)
2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month from 1 to 3 pm

Westbank Library / ORL Branch (3731 Old Okanagan Highway, West Kelowna, BC. V4T 0G7 located in new City Hall)
GIRs are in attendance from 2 to 4 pm on the last Tuesday of each month.

Drop-in programs, no registration required.

 

Family History Forums

Note: Family History Forums are now via Zoom. Please see below for instructions on how to sign-up.

Family History Forums are a partnership presentation series of the Kelowna & District Genealogical Society and the Okanagan Regional Library. The topics vary but are typically at the beginner’s level in Family History research. All are welcome to these FREE Zoom presentations, but pre-registration is required through the ORL’s Events Calendar, https://orl.evanced.info/signup/Calendar – scroll down to the fourth Tuesday of the month (no FHF in Dec, July or August), 6:30pm and find, “Online Family History Forum.” Click on the event in the Calendar and follow the instructions. Be sure to enter your email address correctly and watch for the email from the ORL to confirm your registration and the Zoom link.

2024

Sept. 24, 6:30pm:  Finding Your Indigenous Roots including Métis and First Nations, presenter, Xenia Stanford. Stuck on finding your indigenous roots? Researching indigenous roots in North America is complicated by the diversity of origin and difficulty in finding records. It Is further challenged by the definition and categorization of who is indigenous. Our goal is not to delve into the political but to focus on helping you research and document your indigenous ancestry in Canada (touching on bordering U.S. states) whether it be First Nations, Metis or other. We will cover the types of resources available and how to access and understand them. With these tools you can dig deeper into your ancestry to see where you came from and prove it. 

October 22: The 1862 Murder of James Webster: Building a Life-story, with Claire Smith-Burns

November 26: The Italian contribution to the building of Kelowna, with Don Rampone

No Forum in December

2025

January 28: Organizing Your Online Research and Digital Files, with Claire Smith-Burns