What's happening in Cloverdale during October 2010

A few things going on around Cloverdale this month:

October 1 - horseracing returns to Fraser Downs. Schedule is a little dicey. 25 dates allotted by the racing commission for the next 3 months, racing mostly Friday nights and Sunday afternoons until year end. Best to check the Fraser Downs website for post times. www.fraserdowns.com

October 9, Saturday - 8am to 11:30am - pancake breakfast at the Cloverdale Legion, 17567 57 Ave. Cost is $4.50 for pancakes, eggs, sausage, and coffee and orange juice/drink.

October 15 to 17 - Friday to Sunday the Woodworking and Tool Show returns to Cloverdale. Admission is $10. Supposedly its being held in one of the halls, either Shannon or McKay building where the flea market is held if you believe their website. I wondered if this meant the flea market was cancelled but when I checked the fairgrounds website it shows the flea market is on as usual and the woodworking show is in the Agriplex off 62nd Avenue, a couple of blocks east of 176th Street. Oddly enough this show has been held at the Abbotsford Agriplex for the past couple of years and prior to that it was in Cloverdale. When we visited the show in Abbotsford the exhibitors said they didn't like the Cloverdale Agriplex due to the dirt floor and difficulty setting up their displays and tools. Oh well. Its probably cheaper than Abbotsford. So beware if you go. Start with the 62nd Avenue barn and if its empty head over to the fairgrounds and see if its in one of the halls.

October 16, Saturday - 11am to 3pm - Darts Hill garden and plant sale. There are tours at 11am and 1:30pm. See their website for more info. www.dartshill.ca

October 30, Saturday - 2pm. Cloverdale's annual Halloween Costume Parade. Stars at the Surrey Museum and then the group walks to participating Cloverdale merchants for trick or treating. Get there at 12:30 for pumpkin decorating. 17710 - 56A Avenue.

An unusual offering at the Clova this week

I'm not sure what's up at the Clova this week starting on Friday October 1 until Monday October 4 2010. These movies are a couple of years old.

7pm - Hairspray

9:15 - Mama Mia

Yes, these are the singalong versions. I have no idea what's happening starting Tuesday October 5 for the rest of the week. I don't know of any new releases that start on that date. I'll keep walking my dogs past and see if I can figure this one over the next couple of days.

Last show lets out at 11pm. Admission is $8, stay for one or both movies. If there are 2 people in your group admission is $15. Add another $4 per person for each extra person in your group.

Playing at the Clova from September 24 to September 30 2010

This week at the Clova playing from Friday September 24 to the 30th is:

7pm - The American

9pm - Going the Distance

Last show lets out at 10:45pm. Admission is $8, stay for one or both movies. If there are 2 people in your party, admission is $15. Add another $4 for each extra person in your group.

Travis Tritt Cloverdale concert cancelled

I forgot to update but I read in the paper a couple of weeks ago that Travis Tritt cancelled the September 24 concert at Fraser Downs. Scheduling conflict. Apparently he had something else he'd rather do that day. He wanted to postpone the concert until later in the year.

OK, it might be one thing to reschedule an outdoor concert in Hawaii or Florida for later in the year. But how many people want to attend an outdoor concert in Canada in November or December?

Anyway, don't head to Fraser Downs on September 24 if you're hoping to hear some country music.

Anyone ever eat at Rico Burrito?

A Mexican restaurant opened in Cloverdale a couple of years ago next to where the Salvation Army used to be, across the street from Dann's, called Rico Burrito. We like Mexican food so we went in shortly after it opened. Its a small restaurant with a few tables and offers take out service as well. The owner had recently sold a Mexican restaurant in Langley and was starting his new venture in Cloverdale. The food was good but there were only about ten items on the menu. Due to the lack of choices I doubted it would appeal to the Cloverdale crowd. After a couple of months I never saw it open again, though the sign remained and the menu was on the window. I doubt the restaurant owner owns the building its housed in, so it must be running up a huge expenditure on lease payments for a restaurant that's closed all the time.

Earlier this year I saw a sign on the window stating Rico Burrito was reopening soon. As of this summer it stayed closed, though the menu remained on the window.

I walked by it this morning to check it out and the name has changed. It is now called Clover Creek BBQ. I didn't see a menu up on the window but the interior of the restaurant still looks the same. I'm not sure a BBQ restaurant is a good choice for a vegetarian so I doubt I'll go in there but I'm interested to see what is being served.

And Clover Creek for a name? I wonder if the propietors know that there is a Cloverdale Creek running through Cloverdale.

Playing at the Clova from September 17 to September 23, 2010

Playing at the Clova starting on Friday Sept 17 until the 23rd is:

7pm - Eat Pray Love

9:25 - The Kids are All Right

Last show lets out at 11:15pm. Times are approximate. The Clova does not start the movie until the customers have finished their purchases at the concession and taken their seats. Admission is $8 or $15 for two. Add another $4 for each extra person in your group. Price is good for one or both movies.

Accident outside Cloverdale Highway 10 and 168th Street

In case anyone's wondering why the traffic is all snarled around Cloverdale today its due to an accident on Highway 10 and 168th Street.

This afternoon I was heading home from White Rock. I went down 152 Street and turned east on Highway 10 to return to Cloverdale. This was just after 2:30pm. Apparently Highway 10 was shut down at 152 Street just a little after I'd gone down there.

As I approached 168th Street it was clear there was an accident in the intersection because of the emergency vehicles - fire trucks and police cars - effectively blocking any westbound traffic along Highway 10 and any northbound traffic for 168th Street. They were preventing any traffic from using the left hand turn lane to turn north up 168th Street. All traffic traveling south along 168th Street was not allowed to proceed. They had to turn into the Cloverdale Farm Market's parking lot and go back the way they came.

There was a semi-trailer truck pulled over blocking the northbound lanes and a car or truck, something unidentifiable, mangled red metal in the ditch in the west side of the intersection. Unfortunately there was someone on a stretcher and several paramedics over him. I'm pretty sure it was a man on the stretcher.

As I continued on Highway 10 I saw the police had closed off traffic at 172 Street and were diverting all Highway 10 traffic up there. I didn't think that was a good move. Sending all the highway traffic into subdivision hell.

As I drove up my street I saw an air ambulance helicopter coming in for a landing and then I saw a 2nd helicopter but I don't know if it was an ambulance one or not.

After I arrived home the police finally closed off westbound traffic at the Cloverdale Bypass, the traffic lights were the Husky/Mohawk station is. Around that time all the cars that turned left decided to try turning left at the next lights at 57th Avenue, which goes up for a block or so then curves to the right and eventually comes out to 58th Avenue. The choices are then to turn west and go up to 172 Street and then turn right to go towards 60th Avenue. Turning right down 172 wouldn't help because traffic is not allowed west, so back to Cloverdale you go. Heading through Cowtown and coming out at 168th won't help either because that's closed too.

I ran into someone who'd just come home from Richmond. He said Highway 10 was now closed at 152 Street and he had to come home down 64th Avenue which was a traffic nightmare.

I came back from feeding my horses at 7:30pm and Highway 10 is still closed. From driving down 176th Street I could still see the emergency lights at 168th Street and the semi truck is still there.

According to Drive BC the estimated reopening of Highway 10 between Cloverdale and 152 Street is 9pm on Tuesday September 14. But they plan to update again if its still not open.

Closed this long? Fatality, unfortunately, is my guess.

Be safe making your way in and out of Cloverdale tonight.

Surrey Leader MIA again

For most of the summer we've been receiving the Surrey Leader regularly on Fridays and I think Wednesday is the other day it comes. I've often seen the woman delivering it early in the morning.

For the last couple of weeks there's been no sign of the Surrey Leader. Until today (Saturday) when I saw Friday's Surrey Leader and the Cloverdale Reporter in the mailbox.

Tucked in with it is another notice about how Surrey Leader carriers are needed in this area.

This is a nice quiet neighborhood. I wonder if the carriers find other jobs and abandon their route. Or is it harder to earn money in older neighborhoods. The houses around here are on quarter acre to half acre lots. That means a fair amount of walking between the houses. It would be faster (quicker income) to deliver papers to the newer subdivisions where the houses are a few feet apart. I suppose those are the golden routes for the delivery people

Playing at the Clova from September 10 to September 16, 2010

Playing this week (Sept 10 - 16) at the Clova:

7pm - The Switch

9pm - The Expendables

Admission is $8, or $15 if there are 2 in your group. Add $4 for each extra person. Stay for one or both movies at that price.

Last show lets out at 10:45pm. Times are approximate. The Clova doesn't start the movies until the lobby is cleared from customers waiting to purchase snacks at the concession. Bring your own reusable popcorn or drink container and fill up at the concession for $2.50.

Cloverdale Elementary School

Seeing as how school is starting up after this long weekend, I thought now would be a good time to remember Cloverdale Elementary School. The school is on Highway 10, just a little east of 177B Street.

Today it is known as Cloverdale Traditional School.

Back when I started Grade 1 there were two buildings and the gymnasium separated them. The main building is still standing and in use today. It was a pink building for many years and everyone in the area from grades one to seven attended. No kindergarten back then. Well, there was in private residences/buildings. Today its called daycare but in the sixties this service was called kindergarten. Kindergarten was introduced to the Surrey school system in the early seventies and children came for 2 hours daily either morning or afternoon shift.

Besides the main building we had the annex and students mainly in Grade 4 were placed here. This was an interesting building with a cement basement that was a play area when it rained. There were 2 entrances, one for boys and one for girls, probably because the restrooms were accessed from the basement. Upstairs were two or maybe three classrooms. The annex was taken down many years ago.

Behind the annex was a small covered building with open sides. Kids parked their bicycles here. In a generation ahead of us kids rode their ponies to school and tied them in this barn while they were in school.

There were about 400 kids attending Cloverdale Elementary School. This was back in the day when you knew the name of everyone in your grade and you probably knew the names of all their brothers and sisters too. Each grade had two or three classrooms. Some of the names stick with me: Mrs Bell, Mr Mountain, Mr Bryan, Mrs Klassen, Mrs Carter, but mostly if I remember their names its not a good thing.

It was a pretty typical school, learned all the basics and there was optional music lessons - violin or band. The school had a library, and when the school expanded out the back a bit we got an even larger library. There was a gymnasium and it was big enough to hold entire school assemblies with all of us seated on the floor. There occasionally were movies played in here for all classes to watch or various children's entertainers or high school bands performed here. Had to like those days because it meant getting out of class.

Outside in the playground were baseball diamonds, tetherball, a jungle gym, and a swing set. Recess for fifteen minutes a day was never long enough.

Sports days were held late May or early June, rain or shine. Students were grouped by age, not necessarily by grade, and further grouped based on athletic ability, predetermined by the teachers at a run through prior to sports day. The school sent out notices to the parents looking for sports day volunteers. My mother, a former gym teacher, volunteered for my first sports day thinking she was going to be assisting with one of the events. Instead she got stuck cooking hot dogs. My very Scottish mother did not like hot dogs. She never volunteered again. The one thing I remember about sports day was the pop. I always ordered Tahiti Treat. Yummy!

Try as I might I just don't seem to have a favorite memory of Cloverdale Elementary School. Maybe that memory will come to me another day for another post.

Playing at the Clova from September 3 to September 9, 2010

Coming to the Clova this week starting on Friday Sept 3 to the 9th:

7pm - The Other Guys

9:05pm - The Expendables

Movie ends at 10:40pm. Times are approximate. If there are customers still lined up at the concession, the Clova doesn't start the movie until they've taken their seats. Admission is $8. If there are 2 people in your party, admission is $15. Add an extra $4 for each extra person.