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Published: January 28th 2010
Red Mittens Unite
at Celebrations and along the Torch Relay across Canada!Not in a Hurry to Visit Surrey? Maybe You Should Be!
On Thursday, January 21st, the Olympic Torch crossed the BC border after 8,500 torchbearers carried the torch across Canada. 3,500 torchbearers will carry the torch in 200 communities across British Columbia over the remaining 22 days on its final leg towards Vancouver's BC Place Stadium where the Olympic Cauldron will be lit.
Vancouver, 2010 Winter Games’ Host City, and Whistler, the Host Mountain Resort, have partnered with venue cities. Richmond is home to the Richmond Olympic Oval where long track speed skating competitions will be held and West Vancouver's Cypress Mountain will host Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding events.
It was not until the Travelling Canucks started Olympic Pin Trading did we discover that Surrey was also a venue city. It turns out that Surrey is the site of the Games Preparation Centre. The Games Preparation Centre, located on the corner of West Whalley Ring Road and 107 Avenue, a block from the Gateway Skytrain Station, is the Human Resources Hub of the Games. Recruitment and casting for ceremonies participants, general recruitment and training for volunteers, processing and recruitment for short-term temporary games staff, and volunteer drop-in centre are
being handled at the centre.
As a Venue City, Surrey gets to use the Vancouver 2010 Venue City designation, to host Cultural Olympiad events, and host Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relay events.
2010 Winter Olympic Torch Relay
Like over 1000 other communities across Canada, Surrey will be celebrating the arrival of the 2010 Winter Olympic Torch Relay. The Olympic Torch will be greeted by a sea of red mittens at 5:30 on Monday, February 8th at Holland Park. Holland Park, located on the corner of King George Highway and Old Yale Road near the King George SkyTrain Station, will be Surrey's 2010 Celebration Site. The lighting of the Olympic Cauldron will be the highlight of the celebrations followed by fireworks!
2010 Celebrations
Surrey’s 2010 Celebration Site at Holland Park features live broadcasts of Olympic events, RCMP Musical Ride performances, live entertainment on the Surrey House Stage and Celebration Stage, and a Festival Activity Zone from February 12th to 28th. Surrey's 2010 Celebration site, closed on Monday and Tuesday, is open from 3pm to 10pm from Wednesday to Sunday. Friday and Saturday one-hour concerts start at 10pm.
Concerts on Friday and Saturday nights feature:
• Blue Rodeo @
Scenic White Rock
West Coast Totem Poles. 10pm on February 12th.
• Sam Roberts @ 9pm and Jully Black @ 10pm on February 19th.
• Randy Bachman @4pm on February 28th.
Other bands scheduled to perform are: 54-40, Tokyo Police Club, Wintersleep, Hot Hot Heat, Serena Ryder, KS Makhan, Dan Mangan, Doc Walker, The Irish Descendants, Alex Cuba, Jim Byrnes & the Sojourners, Hey Rosetta, Five Alarm Funk, and Delhi 2 Dublin. That's quite the line-up!
There will be family and cultural performances on the two stages, so check out the daily schedule on the
Surrey 2010 Celebration Site website.
Families will have fun participating in Olympic sports and winter activities at the Festival Activity Zone, featuring:
• Sliding Zone
• Skating Rink
• Curling Zone
• Interactive Digital Media Display, sponsored by Simon Fraser University
• Kids World Craft Tent
• Storytelling Tent sponsored by Surrey Libraries.
RCMP's Musical Ride The RCMP's Musical Ride is an impressive show where a troop of thirty-two horses and riders, wearing the traditional red serge and broad-brimmed Stetson hat, execute intricate figures and cavalry drills, choreographed to music. The Dome, one of the familiar Musical Ride formations once featured on the back of the Canadian fifty-dollar bill, and the charge, when lances, with their red and white
pennons, are lowered and the riders and their mounts launch into the gallop, are highlights of the show.
Starting Saturday, February 13th, the RCMP Musical Ride will perform nightly at 8:00pm from Wednesday to Sunday, with matinee performances at 3pm on weekends. The RCMP horse stables will also be open to visitors. Although the Travelling Canucks have seen the RCMP Musical Ride at EXPO 86 and while visiting our nation's capital, the Travelling Canucks wouldn't miss the chance to see the RCMP Musical Ride again!
Something About Surrey
Surrey's History and Future The Semiahmoo Trail, which stretched from White Rock to North Surrey, was one of the first overland trails to be used by Europeans to settle in the Fraser Valley, which was inhabited by First Nations peoples for generations before. Incorporated in 1879, Surrey was named in honour of the County of Surrey in England. In 1910, the BC Electric Railway constructed the Interurban Line, an electric suburb commuter rail route connecting Chilliwack to Vancouver over a rail bridge between Surrey and New Westminster, once the capital city of BC.
Surrey, first settled near Crescent Beach in South Surrey, witnessed unprecedented growth in the 1980s
Seaside Promenade, White Rock
Follow the train tracks for miles along the seashore! and 1990s as a bedroom community. Surrey is BC's second-largest city with a population approaching 500,000 and fastest growing municipality in Metro Vancouver. Surrey is projected to be the most populous city in BC by 2020 with the largest area of any urban centre in Canada - classic urban sprawl. Surrey is linked to the Lower Mainland via the Pattullo Bridge, Port Mann Bridge, Golden Ears Bridge, Expo and Millennium SkyTrain Bridge, and George Massey Tunnel.
Surrey Attractions • The Peace Arch, located on the Canada and U.S. Border, is located in a Provincial Park that lines the 49th Parallel with its beautiful lawns and gardens, The Peace Arch, dedicated in 1921, was the first commemorative arch on an International Boundary. The Arch commemorates the lasting peace between Canada and the United States.
• Historic Cloverdale, located at 176th Street and 57th Avenue, is the small historic town centre of Surrey when it was an agricultural and railroad community. The Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair, Fraser Downs Racetrack & Casino, and Surrey Museum are all within walking distance of the town centre, which features equestrian tack shops, western wear, and country antique shops. The new Surrey Museum, located at 17710
- 56A Avenue features artefacts, images, and interactive displays to highlight Surrey's history.
• The Cloverdale Rodeo & Exhibition welcomes North America's top cowboys and thousands of fairgoers on the Victoria Day long weekend. The Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair features 150 acres of family-oriented entertainment, including agricultural/horticultural exhibits, West Coast Lumberjack show, tradeshow, parade, and midway.
• The Historic Stewart Farm at Elgin Heritage Park, on 13723 Crescent Road, features a beautifully restored 1894 farmhouse, pole barn, Bunkhouse, Hooser Weaver Centre, and heirloom gardens in a pastoral setting on the Nicomekl River. Tours by period-style costumed guides, woodstove cooking, heritage crafts, and old-fashioned parlour games are highlights.
• Crescent Beach is a quaint beach village. The Travelling Canucks enjoy strolling down the gravelled walkways of Crescent Beach and rock hunting. Blackies Spit, one of the best bird watching areas in Canada with almost 200 species of birds, is a sandy spit, surrounded by tidal marsh and Eelgrass beds. An important stop for migrating and wintering waterfowl and shorebirds as they make their way up and down the coastline of North and South America, fall migrants start arriving in late August and September, with spring migrants arriving in mid-March and gone by the
Waterfront Station
Downtown transportation hub - SkyTrain to Surrey! end of May. The sand bars are a favourite resting place for Harbour Seals and their pups.
• Surrey Sport and Leisure Complex at 16555 Fraser Highway, is Surrey's newest and largest aquatic facility. It features a 52 metre competition pool, leisure pool with a 160 ft water slide, spray water toys, and "Rip Tide Rapids", 72 person swirl pool, and 10,000 sq. ft fitness centre.
• Softball City, located at 2201 - 148 Street, is a premier Sports and Entertainment complex consisting of four championship calibre diamonds, surrounding a 120 seat fully licensed restaurant with 200 seat outdoor patio on 27 beautiful acres of park.
How to Get to Surrey From Vancouver, head to Waterfront Station and hop on the Expo Line to get to the King George SkyTrain station. It's a two- zone ticket if travelling on weekdays before 6:30pm. If you start your journey after 6:30pm or on weekends, you can travel to Surrey with a one-zone Translink transit ticket.
Attractions Around Surrey
To be honest, we seldom stop in Surrey en route to White Rock, Crescent Beach, Fort Langley, Harrison Hot Springs, and Minter Gardens in Chilliwack, which are favourite day trips to the Fraser Valley.
White Rock White Rock, a pretty seaside community with Washington's Mount Baker in the background and the shallow, warm waters of Semiahmoo Bay at its feet, was named for a 486-ton granite boulder found on its beach near the promenade. With small cliffside dwellings overlooking the waterfront, famous pier, and one of the best socializing beaches, we enjoy walking along the promenade and pier on sunny summer and autumn days. Restaurants line Marine Drive so there is an amazing choice of eateries.
White Rock's history is tied to the railway that linked British Columbia to Washington State. The rail tracks that run alongside the promenade at the beach opened up White Rock and Crescent Beach to tourists coming from Vancouver and New Westminster in the early 1900s. The small White Rock Museum and Archives, located in the historic Train Station, provides a glimpse of the local history and culture. It's free and well worth a peek!
Fort Langley and Burnaby Village Museum The Hudson's Bay Company set up Fort Langley in 1827 as part of its network of fur-trading posts across Canada. Today, visitors to Fort Langley National Historic Site of Canada can walk in the footsteps of British Columbia's pioneers. The Travelling Canucks recommend a visit since we enjoy the interactive exhibits and talks with knowledgeable costumed interpreters. Nestled in an agricultural setting, the village of Fort Langley offers historical charm and two museums in addition to the Fort Langley National Historic Site. It's well worth a visit!
Vancouver's streetcar system in the 1890s featured an Interurban Line from Vancouver via Burnaby to New Westminster (former Capital of BC) and the Fraser Valley. On the way back to Vancouver from Fort Langley, the Travelling Canucks recommend visiting the Burnaby Village Museum where you can stroll down the streets of their 1920s BC Electric Railway tram stop community. The village offers period costumed townsfolk giving demonstrations in their homes, businesses and shops, some heritage and some replicas, including a blacksmith's shop, a print shop, a garden at the farmhouse and a General Store. Take a ride on the restored 1912 CW Parker carousel - one of Canuck Junior's favourites!
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