The Cariboo Friendship Centre is celebrating 40 years in Williams Lake this Tuesday and is inviting the community to join the celebration.

Coffee, tea and bannock will be served from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hearth Restaurant in the Friendship Centre on Third Avenue across from the Paradise Cinemas.

Various displays will be set up to track the development of the Friendship Centre from humble beginnings in the basement of a home to the major resource it is today for aboriginal people.

Executive director Marg Ahdemar says the grand opening ceremonies begin at 2 p.m. with presentations by Mayor Kerry Cook, Anaham Band Chief Joe Alphonse, Toosey Band Chief Francis Laceese and Williams Lake Band Chief Ann Louie.

She says the public is also invited to attend the annual general meeting at 7 p.m., also at the centre.

The Friendship Centre has a board of directors.

Ahdemar says the constitution requires the board to have between eight and 15 members and that two thirds of the board members are First Nations.

She says they currently have nine board members and are looking for more people who may be interested in serving on the board.

Today the Cariboo Friendship Centre employs 90 people and runs three economic development ventures, the Hearth Restaurant, craft shop, and a building and maintenance company.

The centre also manages 70 housing units for low income individuals and families and is in the process of building a 33-unit low cost housing complex that has been in the works for four years, Ahdemar says.

The centre also runs 12 other counseling and support programs including an emergency shelter, a house for women in transition, and various support and recreational programs for infants, children, youth, women, elders, and people who are dealing with residential school abuse issues to name a few.

People can learn more by attending the Cariboo Friendship Centre’s 40th anniversary celebration.