Tuesday - Nov. 28, 2023 - A visit to Yarrow

☀ High 7C

Good morning!

After having so many Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals pumped in front of us, we’re flipping the script to talk about giving, and celebrating it with Giving Week here at The Current.

Now until Sunday, we’re giving everyone who signs up for an annual Insider membership a $10 gift card to a local coffee shop—so you can support your local newsletter and a local business at the same time. Sign up to be an Insider here! Your welcome email will have your free-coffee details 🙂 

– 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

A visit to Yarrow

An old-fashioned Coca-Cola sign. A shuttered gas station. A slow street of small, old-fashioned shops.

The neighbourhood of Yarrow, tucked away from the highway, is almost entirely a town outside of its time. Walking its main street, I can imagine a kid in a cap and suspenders jogging across the street to trade the pennies he earned from washing cars or delivering papers for an ice cream. Girls in wide, flouncing dresses point at him and giggle, demurely covering their smiles with their hands.

Then I pass several brand-new houses, stickers still plastered on their big windows, and the illusion fades a little. But it doesn’t vanish.

In this instalment of the ongoing tourist-in-your-town series, I meet a local potter, explore a heron reserve, and take a wander through a town known for its markets, art, and old-timey charm.

• Today, as part of her ongoing tourist-in-your-town series, Grace goes to Yarrow.

• You can find other installments of this series—featuring visits to Mission, Clearbrook, downtown Chilliwack and more—here.

Related

Need to Know

🏗 A massive cluster of towers—some up to 44 storeys tall—has been proposed for a Langley Township site next to a future SkyTrain station [Langley Advance Times]

🚜 BC’s police watchdog is probing the crash of a tractor in Surrey that rolled over Saturday during a protest; the driver was from Chilliwack [CityNews] / The driver was set to have surgery Sunday or Monday, according to his wife [Global]

🚧 The Vye Road overpass in Abbotsford will open in December; the project was first announced a decade ago and ended up costing more than $70 million [City of Abbotsford]

👉 The Mayor of Langley Township says the province’s new densification policies render three neighbourhood plans useless [Eric Woodward] / The plans were only adopted three months ago; you can find them here [Langley Township]

🚔 No one was injured in a shooting in Langley Saturday [Global]

🌲 A business with three escape rooms has set up shop in Abbotsford’s Sevenoaks mall [Ben Lypka/Twitter]

💰 An Abbotsford woman says she will retire after winning $1 million in the lottery [Daily Hive]

❌ The province is reconsidering a ban on people living in RVs on agricultural land [Vernon Morning Star]

⚖ A BC gangster was found guilty of killing a rival in 2017 and slaying an innocent man in 2018 in Abbotsford [Vancouver Sun]

🎶 A Chilliwack-area band is hosting a vest-themed festival in December [Chilliwack Progress]

👉 An inmate serving a life sentence at Kent Institution has died [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

Enjoying our newsletter? Help us make it even better!

Become an Insider member and help keep local journalism and storytelling alive in the Fraser Valley. Sign up this week and get a $10 gift card to a local coffee shop!

The Agenda

Abbotsford pools outdated and insufficient, public says

Abbotsford’s pools and water amenities are dated and lack features and amenities increasingly demanded by the public, city staff say.

As the city looks to create a new strategy for its aquatics facilities, staff delivered a report to council Monday on the current state of affairs.

Abbotsford’s pools are at capacity and just to maintain their current usefulness will require considerable investment, staff said. But the public told staff that current service levels aren’t good enough and that they want facilities like new spray parks; pools with shallower and warmer water; relaxation areas; and play features like lazy rivers, spray toys, and bubble pits.

What comes next, though, will require big decisions. Staff say that demand justifies new facilities. But given the high costs to build and maintain pools, they say the city could also simply choose to “modify service levels.”

Having delivered their report, staff’s next task will be to develop options that will inform a new strategy. That strategy will outline how the city will proceed and the likelihood of Abbotsford getting a new and/or improved facilities in the coming years.

Correction

In the Things To Do section of yesterday’s Current, we wrote about Mission’s annual Rotary Carol Festival that takes place Wednesday. While we got the day of the week right, we got the specific date wrong. So just to be clear: the event is happening Wednesday, Nov. 29 at the Clarke Theatre.

FREE PREVIEW

Community journalism needs the entire community for it to succeed.

Become a Current member today and join 1,200+ other local supporters who help keep our lights on.

As part of a membership, you get our special weekend roundup of all the things you might’ve missed each week…

AND unlock our regular events, food, and specials listings that you see below!

🗓 Things to do

Bake sale: Kilby Historic Site's café hosts a bake sale fundraiser Dec. 2. Details online.

Sparring songwriters: Songwriters Chris Ronald and John Wort Hannam perform on the Bez Arts Hub stage. Details online.

Christmas market: The Langley Community Farmers Market holds its first Christmas Market Dec. 9 from 3 to 7pm. The market is food-focused rather than the standard craft market. Details online.

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

🍴 Where to eat & drink

Flashback Brewing: Chilliwack. Downtown Chilliwack brewery. Growler fills are $14. The brewery has also recently begun serving food. Open Tuesday to Sunday, with hours depending on time.

Fort Pub & Grill: Fort Langley. Casual Fort Langley joint has typical pub food including burgers, plus some unique entrees. Orange ginger stir-fry is $22. Open late morning to late night, with hours varying by day.

Paliotti's Italian Restaurant(s): Abbotsford/Chilliwack/Maple Ridge. Italian local restaurant chain known for huge portions. Most pastas are $22 to $24. Hours depend on location and day.

💸 Local specials

• Chachi's in Langley has a new "holiday turkey" sandwich..

• Ricardo's Pizza in Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Mission is offering any large specialty pizza for $19 until Dec. 3, but you might have to mention the deal to get it.

• BRGR BRGR in Chilliwack and Abbotsford has brought back its eggnog milkshake, which is available with or without rum.

Have a local special we should feature? Reply back and let us know!

Catch up

That’s it!

Thanks for reading Fraser Valley Current today ♥️ 

If you found something useful, consider forwarding this newsletter to another local.

And before you go, please let us know: