Friday - Aug. 1, 2025 - Construction underway on new elementary school in Chilliwack

⛅️ High 27C

Good morning!

The long weekend is almost here, and it cannot come sooner. It feels like forever since the last one (Canada Day). It’s also the last one before Labour Day, so it’s time to seize the last days of summer and make the most of them. Due to the holiday, there will be no newsletter on Monday, August 4, but we’ll be back on Wednesday, August 6.

In last Wednesday’s newsletter, I asked you what you thought about the Sean Feucht controversy over his tour’s BC leg, and so many readers responded. I loved reading your replies, and I’ll be doing a story about them for next Wednesday’s newsletter, so stay tuned! If you want to share your opinion, you can share your thoughts in the poll below. All opinions are welcome, and I look forward to hearing from you all!

– Lubna

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Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope 

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

News

12 fun things to do this August

August is here, and it’s the last stretch of summer before Labour Day and the start of school, and it’s probably your last chance to seize the day before the weather turns cold and grey. I don’t know about you, but it seems like this summer passed way too fast, and I intend to make the most of the last few weeks of the season. Here are 12 fun things to do this August in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Langley, and Mission. 

Read the full list here.

Related

Need to Know

🚫 Abbotsford denies permit for MAGA Christian performer Sean Feucht's Aug. 24 event at Mill Lake Park due to public safety concerns over potential protests. [Abbotsford News]

🥧 Aldergrove teen Liam and his mom Kerry Day have built a popular community market selling homemade baked goods that started as a way to develop life skills for the teen who has autism. [Langley Advance Times]

🏠 Mission will crack down on unpermitted secondary suites after the city's small-scale multi-unit housing policy led to parking problems and compliance issues in its first year. [Mission City Record]

📊 Langley's homeless count increased to 243 people in 2025, up from 236 in 2023, representing a 3% rise compared to the regional average of 9%. [Langley Advance Times]

🏀 Fraser Valley athletes Simon Gregory from Abbotsford and Peter Morris from Mission helped Canada win its first-ever maxibasketball gold medal in the 60+ men's division at the World Championships in Switzerland. [Abbotsford News]

🔥 Evacuation alert issued for campsites at Cascade Peninsula Recreation site and the North Cascade Bay area due to the out-of-control Bear Creek wildfire near Harrison Lake that has grown to 90 hectares as of Thursday. [CTV]

🚛 Fraser Valley residents are calling for action against repeated illegal dumping of construction debris on agricultural land despite multiple enforcement orders. [CBC]

🚗 Two similar highway crashes within 40 minutes near Chilliwack on July 23 resulted in drivers being fined for speeding and driving without insurance, with both incidents involving single-vehicle rollovers. [The Progress]

🎉 Congrats to Wendy U. for being the first person to guess correctly the location of Wednesday’s Current Cam as the Cultus Lake Waterpark.

🔬 Chilliwack's Novel Biome prides itself on being at the forefront of FMT and gut microbiome research. They are making significant strides in the emerging field of microbiome medicine. Read more here.*

*Sponsored Listing

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The Agenda

Construction underway for new elementary school in Chilliwack

The BC government announced that construction is now underway on a new East Side elementary school in Chilliwack, adding 500 new student spaces. According to a BC government press statement, construction on the new school is currently underway, and is one of seven schools being added to the region with more than 1,500 new student spaces.

The new schools breaking ground this summer will be located in Chilliwack, Delta, Fort St. John, Richmond, North Vancouver, and Maple Ridge. According to the press release, the government invested $119 million in the new classrooms to support growing school districts.

“Since 2017, the Province has invested more than $6 billion in school construction and renovation, creating nearly 43,000 new student spaces and more than 39,000 seismically safe seats in B.C. schools. As the province grows, government is committed to working with both school districts and municipalities to provide all students with safe, modern and inspiring places to learn,” the BC government statement said.

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🗓 Things to do

Country fair fun: The Abbotsford Agrifair runs August 1-3, 2025 at Agrifair Exhibition Park, 32470 Haida Dr., celebrating the community's agricultural roots with entertainment and food.

Local farmers market: Downtown Chilliwack Community Market takes place every Saturday until October 4, running from 10am to 2pm at Central Community Park. The market features local food, art, and handmade products.

Corn festival celebration: The Chilliwack Corn Festival returns this weekend at Greendale Acres with corn eating and shucking competitions, live music, face painting, and peak-season sweet corn specialties.

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Catch up

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