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- Friday - Feb 27 - Chilliwack business owner bets on resale
Friday - Feb 27 - Chilliwack business owner bets on resale
Plus, Mission hospital's ER expansion begins construction nine months after announcement
Emily Edwards
February 27, 2026
🌧️ High 9C
Good morning,
When Ashley Greef opened Emerson Park Resale in District 1881 nearly two years ago, she wasn't sure Chilliwack was ready for a high-end consignment boutique. By noon on opening day, there was a two-hour lineup for the fitting rooms.
Today, our team member William Johnson profiles the former Turnabout veteran who left Vancouver's luxury consignment scene to build one of the district's anchor retailers, bringing curated resale to the Fraser Valley.
– Emily
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News & Features
The boutique that bet on the Valley
On the morning Emerson Park Resale opened its doors in District 1881, Ashley Greef was quietly bracing for disappointment.
She had left a decade-long career at Vancouver’s high-end consignment institution Turnabout. She had a newborn at home. She had walked away from a partnership in White Rock. And she had signed a lease in Chilliwack — a city more than a few people gently questioned.
“Have I made a horrible mistake?” she remembers thinking.
By noon, there was a lineup for the fitting rooms nearly two hours long.
“We didn’t stop,” she says. “It was the craziest day.”
Nearly two years later, Emerson Park Resale has become one of the anchor retailers in District 1881 — a contemporary-to-luxury consignment boutique that feels more curated Vancouver than small-town strip mall. Polished racks of Aritzia and Reformation sit alongside Chanel bags and impeccably authenticated designer pieces. The space is bright, intentional, and unmistakably confident.
But Greef didn’t stumble into resale.
She’s been working in retail since she was 18. Born in Williams Lake to a South African father and Scottish mother, she grew up partly in White Rock and spent time living in England and Lithuania before settling back on the West Coast. Fashion and brands weren’t just an interest — they were an obsession.
Need to Know
🏛️ Hope council voted 3-2 to authorize funding from reserves to complete the Hope Station House project, with archaeological work expected to cost between $160,000 and $315,000 after cultural materials were discovered at the site. [Hope Standard]
🕊️ Chilliwack General Hospital held a traditional First Nations ceremony on February 21 to honour Keegan Combes and unveil new artwork, reaffirming commitment to cultural safety nine years after the 29-year-old died from misdiagnosed methanol poisoning. [Mission Record]
🚒 Abbotsford is replacing Fire Hall No. 6 in Historic Downtown with a larger, modern four-bay facility featuring expanded training space, decontamination facilities, and sleeping quarters, with completion expected by the end of 2027. [City of Abbotsford]
🌍 UFV students and alumni joined Secretary of State for International Development Randeep Sarai for a President's Leadership Lecture on global engagement, emphasizing collaboration across disciplines and borders to address complex challenges. [UFV]
🏥 Construction has begun on an $18 million expansion of Mission Memorial Hospital's emergency department, nine months after Fraser Health first announced the project, increasing capacity from 17 to 41 care spaces with completion expected in spring 2027. [Fraser Valley Today]
🏫 Langley's new middle school in the Willoughby Slope area will be named stɑtl̓əw̓ Middle School, meaning "little river" in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language, supporting truth and reconciliation and language preservation. [Fraser Valley Today]
🌱 The Salvation Army Chilliwack's fourth annual Plant A Row For Us kicks off March 10 at 7:00 PM, inviting gardeners to grow and donate fresh produce to the food bank with free seeds provided. [Chilliwack Progress]
🌿 New from Mateína: A zero sugar, organic yerba mate that delivers clean energy — no crash, no weird ingredients. Just plant-powered fuel that works.*
*Sponsored listing
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🗓 Things to do
Ruthie Dornfeld and Kristian Bugge: Fiddlers Ruthie Dornfeld and Kristian Bugge perform Danish traditional tunes, old-time American melodies, and original pieces at Bozzini's Restaurant on Tuesday, March 3 with doors at 6:00 PM and show at 7:30 PM, tickets available at Bozzini's or by calling 604-792-0744.
Josephine: The award-winning one-woman biographical musical about international superstar Josephine Baker comes to HUB International Theatre on Wednesday, March 4 at 7:30 PM, blending cabaret, theatre, and dance to tell her story as a singer, WWII spy, and civil rights activist, tickets $29-$45.
Mini Wine Signs & Beaded Garland Paint n' Sip: Join Lisa from Tiger Lily Home for a hands-on workshop to design and paint three mini signs plus a beaded garland on Wednesday, March 4 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM at Everything Wine in Abbotsford.
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