Surrey Canada Day 2012 information is available here

There was endless entertainment yesterday at Surrey’s Canada Day celebrations and even if you weren’t into the official performers on stage, the people-watching in the crowd of 125,000 could keep you amused for hours.

With two stages and over a dozen acts, the Cloverdale Millennium Amphitheatre was definitely rocking. The performers crossed the spectrum from cultural dance, to pop punk and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. Crowds stood up to dance and cheer while artists shielded their eyes from the sun setting in the West.

Carly Rae Jepson

Sweatshop Union

You Say Party! We Say Die!

Bif Naked

Bif’s performance is worthy of its own post so I’ll have that up shortly.

54-40

The City has even more to come with the two-day Fusion Festival taking place July 18-19th at Holland Park. Headliners include Joel Plaskett and Barney Bentall.

Holland Park will also host 17 days of celebrations, concerts and activities during the 2010 games. It will be a gathering place to watch big screens for events and ceremonies as well as celebrate the games throughout our entire region.

This morning we headed out to the Cloverdale Millennium Amphitheatre for Surrey’s Canada Day festivities. As Western Canada’s largest Canada Day celebration it doesn’t disappoint. There are aisles of food vendors, from Jamaican patties to crepes and perogies, a craft area for kids, sustainability zone, interactive displays, midway games and rides, and two large stages filled with entertainment until tonight.

This morning we walked around to check things out, grabbed a smoothie from the Jamaican ‘Mi Juicy’ cart, and enjoyed the opening ceremonies. Mark Donnelly (who often does the anthem at Canucks games) led the crowd in singing O! Canada and the Mayor introduced local MLAs, MPs, and council members before everyone devoured a giant cupcake-cake of the Canadian flag.

We’re heading back now to catch performances by Kuba Oms, Jeremy Fisher, Carly Rae Jepson, Sweatshop Union, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Bif Naked, and 54-40. The entire festival is FREE of charge and will end with fireworks at 10:15pm.

The rest of my photos are available on Flickr and John, who takes much better shots, has his up on Flickr as well.

Tomorrow is the 142nd birthday of our nation and it seems as though every village, town, municipality, city and community in our region is celebrating.

Photo credit: Our Enchanted Garden on Flickr

Vancouver

North Vancouver

West Vancouver

Burnaby

Port Moody

New Westminster

Richmond – Steveston

Delta

Surrey

White Rock

Langley

Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows – Mission
[Hat tips to Fraser Valley Pulse for these listings]

Abbotsford

Chilliwack

Squamish

If you’re feeling really patriotic, check out O’ Canada House on Barclay street (which is now a B&B). It’s where a version of our nation’s anthem was written, right here in downtown Vancouver.

Whatever your plans include tomorrow, be sure to slather on the sun block as it should be pretty toasty outside and stay tuned for my coverage from Surrey.

I was browsing my favourite Vancouver History site the other day and came across a mention that Robert Burnaby has more landmarks named after him than any other BC pioneer. With so many streets, parks, and monuments dedicated to those who helped shape our region I decided to look a bit further into Burnaby’s past to see what made him rise above the rest.

Photo credit: Derek K Miller on Flickr

Robert Burnaby was from Woodthorpe, Leicestershire, England and arrived in BC in the 1850s to survey New Westminster, upon the request of Col. Richard Moody (who also made him his secretary).

“Richard has got Mr. Burnaby now as his “Private Secretary” which will I trust be a great comfort to him, as he had no help before, and the letters of all kinds were innumerable.” — 3rd March, 1859, From the Letters of Mary S. Moody [source]

He was a businessman, dealing with affairs in Victoria as well as exploring areas in the Lower Mainland, in particular the region around Burnaby Lake in 1859. In 1892 the municipality of Burnaby received its charter of incorporation, and was named in his honor by Moody. According to the City’s website, “he has given his name to a city, a park, a lake, a hill, a Vancouver street, a mountain range in McKenzie Sound, an island and a narrows in the Queen Charlotte Islands.” Burnaby also spent time serving in the BC Legislature in Victoria.

Photo credit: Marina on Flickr

You can explore the various landmarks, including the city, or even Robert Burnaby Park to enjoy his legacy. The park features a baseball diamond, dog off leash area, casual picnic area, playground, outdoor swimming pool, tennis, walking and hiking trails, disc golf course. Also, according to entertainment podcaster Marina Antunes, the park was also the home to the “Cabin in the Woods” and various sets for New Moon and Battlestar Gallactica.

For more information about local namesakes, I would recommend checking out the book Namely Vancouver: A Hidden History of Vancouver Place Names or browsing the Hall of Fame on the Vancouver History website.

Summer to us means packing up John‘s big blue backpack and heading down to the beach. We walk through forest trails that open up into sprawling sandy shores and rest for hours in the open air. Snacks include fresh fruit and water, while we either read books or use the headphone splitter to enjoy the latest sonic mixes John has on his iPod (from podcasts to our favourite albums).

The other day we had our first official beach day of the year and we decided to shake things up a bit and head out to Cates Park in North Vancouver. We had access to a car, which made our decision to venture outside of downtown an easy one, but you can also get there by transit. This recreational area along the Burrard Inlet, across from Burnaby and just near Deep Cove, is truly a gem.

At first glance it’s a boat launch, grassy picnic area, concession, sandy beach (with small rocks), and trail network. However there’s also a lot of history at this particular location including signs of the old Dollarton Mill burner (read a little bit about ‘Cates‘ in one of my previous local history posts).

Source: DeepCoveBC.com

First Nations tradition and culture is also highlighted through totem poles and a war canoe on site at Cates, whose ancestral name is Whey-Ah-Whichen (which means ‘faces the wind’). “Whey-Ah-Whichen is the Tsleil-Waututh name for this place which defines Indian Arm from Burrard Inlet. The Squamish know it as Atsenách. The point was named after Lieutenant Rocke of HMS Satellite, which patrolled the Northwest Coast in the 1850s.” [source]

The beach seems quiet and calm even when the park is packed with groups and families having cookouts and picnics. Also, it’s a great shoreline for beachcombing and exploring tidal pools. One of my beach pass times is rock balancing (on a very small scale mind you) but it was also the perfect place for that.

There are kayak rentals, playgrounds, a Wally’s Burger stand, and I would highly recommend exploring the Malcolm Lowry Walk. The park also has a dog off-leash area and in the summer it’s the home of a concert series, running every Saturday night this year from July 11 – August 22.

Photo credit: Mike Todd on Flickr

Exploring more of the beaches the Metro Vancouver area has to offer made me wonder — which is your favourite beach in the region? Could it be Iona? Belcarra? Crescent/Blackie Spit? Jericho?… Feel free to leave your answer below.

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