Monday, July 31, 2023 - Fairs and festivals: What’s up in August

Monday, July 31, 2023 | 🌤 High 26C

Good morning!

I was teasing Tyler the other day about how soccer seems to be a year-round sport for him. Just when one league ends another starts. Soccer is not for me, but like Tyler, I prefer to stay active by participating in an activity. You couldn’t pay me to go for a run (well maybe), but I find it a chore. I always find myself looking at my watch counting down to when I’ve reached my goal. It’s not fun.

But if I’m participating in an activity that involves running you won’t hear me complain. My husband and I recently took part in a boxing class with some friends in Fort Langley. It was probably the most well-rounded workout I did in some time and boy did we feel it the next day. But none of it felt like work at the time. I need to make time for more of that in my life. I’m curious about how you stay fit. Let me know in today’s poll below.

And thanks to subscribers like Gwen and Laura for making The Current possible. Learn how you can do that same here.

WORTH KNOWING

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

⚠️ Here’s the current smoke forecast / Check the BC Wildfire Dashboard here

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

NEWS

Fairs and festivals: What’s up in August

Every August, fairs and festivals mark the last weeks of summer.

In the Fraser Valley, these celebrations take the shape of rodeos and midways, carnivals and concerts. In every one, the urban and rural threads of each community appear.

Cowgirls run barrel races next to bouncy castle villages. A film festival sets up in Abbotsford days after the corn festival comes to a close. Thumping techno music echoes through the Fraser Canyon.

• Today, Grace writes about August’s lineup of fairs and festivals.

Need to know

🚐 HandyDart will resume Monday with all Fraser Valley transit services returning next week; BC Transit is offering free riders during August [BC Transit]

🔥 The Hunter Hill and Davis Lake wildfires north of Mission remain under control, while the Chehalis River fire continues to burn out of control at 767 hectares in size [BC Wildfire]

💧 All lawn-watering will be prohibited in Metro Vancouver beginning Friday [Metro Vancouver]

🚊 Langley City will borrow $15 million to purchase land and improve a section of Fraser Highway ahead of the arrival of SkyTrain [Langley Advance Times]

🚒 Several families were displaced by a fire in a Chilliwack housing complex Thursday night [Fraser Valley Today]

🛠 A large digital sign along Highway 1 in Abbotsford in getting replaced [Abbotsford News]

⚽️ Can the new Langley-based Vancouver FC draw an audience? [The Third Sub]

⚖️ Owners of a Harrison gift shop are being sued by an Indigenous wholesaler for allegedly using an artist’s designs without permission [Global]

🗳 A proposal for a new five-storey supportive-housing project in Abbotsford will head to public hearing [Abbotsford News]

⚖️ A prolific offender returned to a Chilliwack courtroom after breaching their condition sentence [Chilliwack Progress]

🚒 A Chilliwack townhouse was safely evacuated after a fire Saturday [Chilliwack Progress]

🩺 A Langley nurse’s license was cancelled after she breached professional boundaries with a client [CTV]

🌈 Thousands attended the Fraser Valley Pride celebration in Mission [Mission Record]

👨🏻‍🚒 Firefighters were called to battle flames on Chilliwack’s Little Mountain Saturday [Fraser Valley Today]

🚔 The children of a BC-wide amber alert were found and returned to their father [CTV]

The Agenda

Airport grass

Abbotsford International Airport probably isn’t going to win the City of Abbotsford’s ugliest lawn competition.

The city has been urging residents to restrict their water usage, shorten showers, and only water their lawns once a week, if that. But it also owns the airport, where one Current reader observed that a large patch of grass has not been suffering during the hot spell.

A large well-watered lawn in a sea of brown prompted inquiries to The Current from one observer. We asked the city whether its airport was following the rules. They said that portion of the airport is not maintained by the city and that it has “followed up to ensure Stage 2 water restrictions are being followed.”

A city spokesperson said that anyone wanting to snitch on a water waster (they used more polite language) can use an online form found here.

Willowbrook Connecter/208 Street improvements coming

The Willowbrook Connecter/208 Street widening project has been given the green light by Langley Township council.

Council voted 7-2 in favour of the $33 million project. Couns. Margaret Kunst and Kim Richter were opposed.

The work will include road widening improvements on the Willowbrook Connector from 64 to 68 avenues and 208 Street from 68 to 72 avenues.

The project will be funded by external debt that the Township expects to primarily recover from highway development cost charges.

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