Black History Month kicked off in Vancouver Feb. 1, with a celebration at city hall including a tap dancer, musicians, poets, a proclamation from Mayor Gregor Robertson and remarks by MC Vision Vancouver Park Board commissioner Constance Barnes.

The event was also used to stage the unveiling of two commemorative stamps from Canada Post, one honouring jazz piano legend Oliver Jones, who’s still alive and playing, and a second recognizing Joe Fortes, the city’s first official lifeguard who died in 1922.