Eagle-watching, Bhangra classes, and other things to do in the Fraser Valley in November

American author Louisa May Alcott once declared November a disagreeable month, but the Fraser Valley is doing its part to prove her wrong with a bevy of activities. 

Fraser Valley residents can get outdoors at the reimagining of Harrison River Valley’s supremely popular bald eagle festival or visit an agriculture workshop designed to get young farmers out in the fields. Those hoping to escape from, rather than embrace, the elements can cozy up indoors with a three-day film festival and a local holiday movie. There are places to stretch the mind, imagine new solutions to global problems, and support neighbours in need. 

November will also see locals taking a moment to remember the sacrifices of Canada’s soldiers, 110 years after the start of the First World War. People wanting to join with the community to remember the cost of war will find a collection of Remembrance Day events at the bottom of the story as well.

Langley

This month Langley hosts a variety of activities including those for fans of farming, philosophy, and trying to slow climate change.

Land-linking workshop

Farmers and landowners are wanted for a networking and learning session in Langley on the first Saturday in November.

The Young Agrarians and the Langley Sustainable Agriculture Foundation are hosting a networking event for people who have land and people who want land on Saturday, Nov. 2 from 9am to 4pm. The day will start with a land-linking workshop that aims to bring future farmers and landowners together. (Attendees will get a land-access webinar link before the session.) The workshop will be followed by a networking lunch, and a water management seminar in the afternoon.

Admission is free. Details and registration are online.

Planetary Maintenance Engineers

Author, journalist, and historian Gwynne Dyer will be in Aldergrove on Wednesday, Nov. 6 to talk about one of the major challenges facing society today: climate change. And more specifically, how people can play an active role in reducing the amount of heat in our atmosphere.

Dyer will reference interviews from his book Intervention Earth to explore geoengineering solutions to climate change. He will look at the role of “planetary maintenance engineers”—people who can use artificial methods to keep climate change at bay until emissions decline.

The lecture will take place at the Aldergrove Kinsmen Community Centre at 6:30pm on Wednesday, Nov. 6. Admission is free. Details online.

Philosopher’s Corner

Kwantlen Polytechnic University is celebrating 25 years of its TALK program with a series of courses and events for life-long learners. As part of the program, the university hosts a Philosopher's Corner in Langley, Surrey, and Richmond for the public to come and discuss a variety of topics, including the purpose of modern marriage, what it means to be a good citizen, and artificial intelligence.

Each event includes a 10-minute presentation outlining some of the most interesting or controversial points of discussion on the topic. Then, attendees can weigh in with their own thoughts, with a moderator keeping track of the speakers.

The next Langley Philosopher’s Corner is at the City of Langley Library on Thursday, Nov. 28 from 11:30am to 1pm. The discussion topic will be Dostadning: the gentle art of Swedish death cleaning. Admittance is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Details online.

Abbotsford-Mission

In Abbotsford and Mission, residents can celebrate their town on the silver screen, take a lesson in gratitude, or get moving with Bhangra.

The Power of Gratitude

TedX Abbotsford is harnessing the power of gratitude at its next speaker series on Friday, Nov. 15. Hosted by UFV, the event will showcase a variety of local speakers, including UFV berry researcher Lauren Erland, one-man-band Johnny Bootleg, and community safety advocate Rimmi Purewal. All will share their take on the power of gratitude.

The speaker night opens at 5pm, with the first talks beginning at 6pm. The evening continues until the start of the afterparty at 10pm. Tickets start at $39. Details online.

Bhangra Aerobics

Get out the dhol (drum) and put on your dancing shoes—the Clearbrook Library hosts a women’s Bhangra Aerobics session each Monday from 6-7pm. Participants will learn about the cultural importance of the Punjabi dance that is performed during celebrations and festivals like Vaisakhi and weddings. They’ll also be introduced to some of its basic moves, and given a chance to try them out in a welcoming setting.

Attendance is free, with meetings continuing through November and December. The first lesson begins Monday, Nov. 4. Details online.

Mission Movie Moment

Mission has made it big on the big screen—at least as a background. Tourism Mission has been doing its part to make sure everyone knows, by providing recently featured businesses with a #MissionMovieMoment sticker and creating a movie-inspired tour guide for the town.

On Saturday, Nov. 16, Tourism Mission will host a film screening of Ms. Christmas Comes to Town, a Hallmark film shot in Mission, to continue its #MissionMovieMoment movement. The screening will start at 3:30pm at the SilverCity Mission Cinema, and include live music before the film and refreshments during.

Admittance is free, although seating is limited and registration is required. Details online.

Eastern Fraser Valley

November is wild in Chilliwack, Agassiz, Harrison, and Hope with nature celebrations, independent film festivals, and fundraiser concerts.

Season of the Wild

The salmon are returning to spawn. And so are thousands of birds hoping to fill up on fish. Humans won’t be far behind.

Tourism Harrison is again inviting visitors to celebrate its Season of the Wild this month.

Season of the Wild began more than two decades ago as the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival, a weekend event that brought thousands of people to the Harrison River to see eagles gathering along the Chehalis Flats. The festival began in 1995, but was ended in 2020 due to the volume of visitors in a single weekend and their impact on the river’s delicate ecosystem. To replace the event, Tourism Harrison launched the Season of the Wild, an effort to celebrate and promote visits to see the bald eagles and spawning salmon over the course of an entire month. (You can read more about the transition here.)

This year, Season of the Wild will include storywalks at Earthwise Agassiz, eagle-spotting walks at the Kilby Historic Site, and Indigenous history celebrations at the Sasquatch Inn, as well as self-guided nature hikes and chartered fishing tours. Details on all the activities during the Season of the Wild are available online.

Chilliwack Independent Film Festival

The Chilliwack Independent Film Festival returns for its eighth year from Friday, Nov. 22 to Sunday, Nov. 24. The festival will feature more than 100 films over the course of its three days, including local documentaries, student projects, and feature films. Patrons will also be able to participate in industry panels and Q&As.

The Current interviewed film festival founder Taras Groves in 2021 about why he started the festival, despite being a newcomer in the community. You can read that interview here.

Tickets are $10.99 for individual screenings, or $69 for an all-access pass. Details and a full schedule are available online.

Rally in the Chilliwack Valley

In 2021, six residents in the Chilliwack River Valley lost their homes due to the atmospheric river. They had been waiting three years to hear if the province would provide them with financial assistance to move or rebuild—and recently found out the answer was no.

Now, a group of local musicians are coming together to raise money for those six families in a fundraiser concert on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Chilliwack Fish and Game building. The night will include live music by Jeff Bonner of Tractorgrease, CR Avery, and Headlong Hearts, as well as a silent auction, wine wall, and food.

Tickets are $15, with proceeds going to support the Chilliwack River Valley families. Tickets can be purchased online via eventbrite, or by emailing [email protected] or calling 604-798-1934.

Remembrance Day

On Nov. 11, 1918, the First World War finally came to an end. Although the armistice was signed at 5:45am that day, the ceasefire came into effect at 11am. Today, Canadians take a minute of silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to remember the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers and the horrors of the wars they experienced.

In the Fraser Valley, nearly every community is honouring its soldiers with ceremonies taking place at cenotaphs across the region.

Langley

A number of neighbourhoods in Langley will be recognizing Remembrance Day on Nov. 11.

The Aldergrove Legion will begin its ceremony with a parade at 10:45am, with a procession departing from Old Yale Road at 269th street, and heading west on Fraser Highway to the Legion building. The service begins at 10:50am, with hymns, poems, and two minutes of silence at 11am. After the ceremony, the public is welcome to listen to a short concert from the Fraser Valley Community Winds, followed by a potluck luncheon for Legion members in the hall.

In Murrayville, the Remembrance Day ceremony will start at 10:20am at the cenotaph on 44th Avenue in Langley. The cenotaph was built in 1921 to honour soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War. (It was restored by the Township in 2017.) This year’s ceremony will be streamed online for people who are unable to attend in person.

Fort Langley also typically hosts a Remembrance Day ceremony at the cemetery off Glover Road, but the website has not been updated with information for this year’s event. Last year, the event was also live-streamed.

In the City of Langley, residents are invited to the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Douglas Park Cenotaph. The ceremony begins at 10:50am, and participants are asked to arrive early. There will be free parking at the Timms Community Centre, and people interested in purchasing and laying a wreath during the ceremony can do so by contacting the city before Nov. 8.

Abbotsford

Update: The City of Abbotsford and the Abbotsford Legion have said this year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies will be restricted due to the encampment outside city hall near Thunderbird Memorial Square. The service at Thunderbird Memorial Square will be restricted to the people marching in the parade, veterans, and dignitaries laying wreaths. Members of the public will be able to watch a live-stream of the event online or in-person at Rotary Stadium. (The link will be available online closer to Nov. 11.)

Another Remembrance Day ceremony will be taking place in Mt. Lehman. The fifth annual Remembrance Day Ride will see bikers riding through Abbotsford to honour veterans at the Matsqui Unit cenotaph. The ride departs Tim Hortons (1255 Sumas Way) at 10am.

Chilliwack

This year, Chilliwack will be hosting two Remembrance Day ceremonies: one downtown and the other in Sardis.

The downtown service starts at 10am at Evergreen Hall, with a procession from the hall to Veterans Memorial Park beginning at 10:30am. The ceremony will begin upon the procession’s arrival. In Sardis, a 10:30am procession will begin at the Vedder Road Legion and make its way to All Sappers Memorial Park. The ceremony will begin once the procession arrives at the park.

Stó:lō Veterans Remembrance Day will also take place on Nov. 11, with a ceremony at the Coqualeetza Longhouse starting at 9am. The ceremony will honour Stó:lō veterans who served in Canadian wars. The longhouse doors open at 9am, with a ceremony beginning at 10am. A procession to a memorial pole at the longhouse will begin at 10:50am, with a roll call and moment of silence afterwards. Lunch will follow.

Agassiz

In Agassiz, the legion will once again host its annual Remembrance Day ceremony at the cenotaph at Vimy Park. Although the Agassiz-Harrison Legion has not released details yet, the ceremony typically includes the laying of wreaths and a procession to the cenotaph.

Hope

The Hope Legion hosts its Remembrance Day ceremony at the Memorial Park cenotaph on Nov. 11. The event will include a parade and ceremony, as well as a lunch in the Legion lounge afterwards. In 2022, the Remembrance Day ceremony took place without any Second World War veterans for the first time since the 1940s, and legion members have called for younger veterans from other wars to come and participate.