It is time again to celebrate the man who initiated the Crowning of British Columbia as a colony, announced Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts, Stan Hagen.

"James Douglas was a visionary, a sensible leader and a humanitarian," said Hagen. "His reputation for fairness made him a natural choice to be the first governor of the colony."

Douglas Day has been celebrated in the Township of Langley since the 1920s, and a banquet has been held annually on Nov. 19 for the past 60 years. The event pays tribute to pioneering families who helped shape the face of Langley, and is named after Governor James Douglas, who created the Crown colony of B.C. from Fort Langley on that day in 1858.

In 2008, B.C. will celebrate BC150 Years, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Crown Colony of British Columbia. Every community in B.C. is invited to participate in this year-long celebration of B.C.'s cultural diversity, community strength and achievement.

"Not only is this an opportunity for us to honour Sir James Douglas, it is a time for all British Columbians to start looking toward the future," said Hagen, "and to decide how we will be celebrating next year."

BC150 Years will be an opportunity to celebrate the province's Aboriginal heritage. A noteworthy event in that celebration will be the North American Indigenous Games hosted by the Cowichan Tribes. From Aug. 3-10, 2008, more than 20,000 participants and spectators will come to B.C.'s Cowichan Valley to celebrate Aboriginal cultures from across North America.

The BC150 Years online events calendar is now available on the BC150 Years website. Event organizers who are planning individual BC150 years events can now register to be affiliated with the official BC150 Years celebrations by clicking the link on the event affiliation page, where they will be redirected to the Tourism BC website to fill out an online application.

For more information on BC150 Years events in your community, please visit www.BC150.gov.bc.ca.