Thursday - Nov. 23, 2023 - Merlin's top 10

☀ High 8C

Good morning!

I’m back after a couple days off. On Monday, I took the kids to their first Canucks game. They’re about the same age I was when my dad, uncle and I drove down from Vernon to watch the Canucks beat the Flames 11-0 in what was my first game and which remains the franchise’s largest victory in its history. Things have changed a lot since then (though, alas, not the Canucks’ Stanley Cup total).

The evening was eventful. We saw warm-up, the kids got on the jumbotron, a Sharks player flipped them a puck, Prince Harry magically appeared at centre ice, Quinn Hughes scored a highlight-reel goal, the Canucks took the lead with a buzzer-beater to end the second period, and the game ended in victory. And out of all that, my kids’ favourite moment was when a video review cancelled out a Sharks goal. Kids are weird.

– Tyler

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

Merlin’s Top 10 history stories

Yesterday, we profiled Chilliwack historian Merlin Bunt, who has spent the last nine years writing about his community’s varied history on his Facebook page, Chilliwack History Perspectives.

We asked Merlin for his 10 favourite stories.

10. CHWK 1270 Radio: The radio station that informed Chilliwack before TV came to town

9. BCER/Chilliwack Line: When the BC Electric Railway line came to town

8. Billy Miner’s Chilliwack connection: When Canada’s most-famous bandit holed up in Chilliwack

7. Southgate Shopping Centre: A prominent corner’s evolution from a school site to a strip mall

6. Paramount Theatre: The history of moviegoing in Chilliwack

5. Vedder Bridge: How early Chilliwack residents kept building bridges over the Vedder River—and how the river kept washing them away

4. Dayton’s Pool: Chilliwack’s fondly remembered slough-turned-swimming hole (This was the inspiration for this FVC story)

3. Chilliwack Coliseum: The story of how locals started building an arena before they had all the money needed to actually complete it

2. Eaton’s: When Eaton’s ruled downtown Chilliwack

1. The Loop: Dari-Lou, A&W, Dog ‘n Suds: How a local fast-food joint was a centrepiece of teenagers’ 7.3-kilometre ‘loop’ circuit around downtown

Related

Need to Know

👉 Anonymous letters distributed in Harrison Hot Springs reveal two-decade-old sexual harassment complaints filed by, and against, the village’s now-mayor [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

🙄 Harrison’s last council meeting descended into shouting immediately after a government consultant appointed to help members resolve their differences presented his final report [CBC]

👉 A cancer patient in Abbotsford was placed in a broken recliner for days, she says [CityNews]

⚽ Abbotsford’s Sophie Schmidt will be honoured alongside Christine Sinclair at a Canadian Women’s National Team game at BC Place in December [Soccer Canada] / Only upper-bowl tickets are still available [Ticketmaster]

✅ Chilliwack council gave the go-ahead to a housing project focused on providing affordable units in downtown Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress] / We wrote two years ago about how the members of a local church hoped to turn their land into much-needed homes [FVC]

🍴 The first Dos Bros Mexican fast-food restaurant in Canada will be opening in Abbotsford [Abbotsford News]

🗝 Organizations and individuals who enhance or restore heritage buildings and assets in Mission can be nominated for a city award [City of Mission]

💧 A neighbourhood in Hope remains on a boil water advisory until further notice [District of Hope]

☺ CURRENT CAM: Trudy Bouwman was first to identify yesterday’s tricky Current Cam photo of the Bedford House in Fort Langley. Good job Trudy!

The Agenda

Modern house pole unveiled

An artist’s new take on an old tradition now adorns a Langley intersection.

On Friday, a blessing ceremony was held for a modern Salish house pole at the intersection of 200 Street and 56 Avenue in Langley. The pole, called “Salmon Nexus" was created by Kwantlen artist Brandon Gabriel in tandem with a new commercial development.

The pole is meant to tell the story of the salmon lifecycle, and lights up at night.

Abbotsford artists prepare for annual awards

The Abbotsford Art Council is holding its 19th annual Arty Awards. The awards recognize and honour artists and educators in the area in categories that range from standard artistic areas like visual arts, performing arts, and literary arts to supportive categories like “Arts Advocate.” Awards for youth achievement, lifetime achievement, and emerging artists will also be presented.

The awards presentation will take place at the UFV lecture theatre on Saturday, Nov. 25. Find a full list of categories and the artists nominated for the Arty Awards here.

🗓 Things to do this week/end

🤣 Laughs: The Comic Strippers will return to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre for a semi-undressed improv comedy show on Friday, Nov. 24. Details and tickets online.

👉 Night at the Taj: The Fraser Valley Indo-Canadian Business Association is hosting its annual “Night at the Taj” gala at the Mission City Conference Centre, featuring speakers, dance performances, and a live DJ. Details online.

🎇 Lights by the Lake: Harrison Hot Spring’s Lights By the Lake festival runs until Jan. 7. Details online.

Want even more? Insider members get a comprehensive events listing every Thursday, plus a weekly Saturday round-up edition with behind-the-scenes content. Becoming a member costs less than $2 a week and helps support the ongoing production of The Current’s newsletters and in-depth journalism. Become a member here.

Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.

Catch up

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