Cloverdale Remembrance Day Services 2012

At 10:15am on Sunday November 11, 2012, there will be a Remembrance Day service at the Cloverdale cenotaph. This is inbetween the Surrey Museum and Archives, 17710 - 56A Avenue.

Its best to arrive at least half an hour before the service to find a parking spot. All the streets in Cloverdale have free parking: 56A Avenue, 176A Street, 177B Street, etc. The museum has a parking lot but that will fill up quickly. There is a parking lot on 176A Street just north of 57th Avenue.

The museum has Remembrance Day events planned before and after the service. See this web page for more details: http://www.surrey.ca/culture-recreation/2388.aspx

If you're closer to the White Rock cenotaph, click here for more information on their Remembrance Day service from 9:15am to 11:45am http://www.whiterockcity.ca/EN/main/community/events/events/16338/22214.html

There will also be Remembrance Day service at the Port Kells cenotaph at 10:30am on November 11, 2012, located on the property of their community hall, 18918 - 88th Avenue.

Free Outdoor Movie In White Rock Friday August 3 2012

There will be a free outdoor movie in White Rock on Friday August 3, 2012 at 9pm playing in the east beach, in the area where the stage is set up I believe or at least that's where its played in the past when they say east beach. The movie is Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom.

Now its one thing to say the movie is free. To park down at the beach is $3/hour. Don't even think of parking in one of the nearby residential streets that says home owners only. We used to live in the area and we had to buy a parking permit from the City of White Rock and they gave us one or two visitor passes so they have to be displayed. White Rock has very fast moving parking bylaw enforcement officers. Don't think you'll get away without plugging the parking meter for the last 15 or 20 minutes. Its not worth a $40 fine.

This is in conjunction with White Rock's Spirit of the Sea Festival. In the past there have been free shuttles from one of the high school parking lots to the beach but this year I haven't been able to find any information on it. So unless you're a big Indiana Jones or Harrison Ford fan or you live within walking distance this one might be a miss.

Outdoor Movie in White Rock Friday August 12 2011

Fresh air cinemas will have an outdoor movie screen set up on the west beach in White Rock on Friday August 12 2011 and playing The Goonies starting at 8:30pm.



The area around the pier can be a bit of a pain to park because White Rock has metered parking up and down Marine Drive and the surrounding streets are for residents only who have parking stickers.



The movie screen will be set up near the famous white rock, a little east of the pier.

Car in the Serpentine River

This morning Kerry had a 9am appointment in Richmond. We left Richmond around 9:30 driving south on Highway 99 heading for the tunnel. I got on the highway at Westminster Highway. There's an HOV lane and I decided not to drive in it but stayed in the lane beside. I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw 2 cars flying up in the passing lane on my other side. I even commented so my husband could have at look at how fast the cars were travelling and where's a cop when you need one.

Actually there was an SUV pulled over at the Burnette overpass and both these cars slowed down to the 90km speed limit thinking it might have been a cop but it wasn't so off they went again. Both black cars, a BMW and a Honda. Women driving both of them. May have been racing each other, darting in and out of traffic. They got to the tunnel way ahead of me and I didn't see them again.

Normally I would have got off Highway 99 at Highway 91 and back to Cloverdale but we decided to drive into White Rock to see my father which meant continuing on to the 32nd Avenue exit. As we came around the bend at the Serpentine River there were a lot of cars pulled over on both sides of the highway. I thought it might have been a work crew but I didn't see any road work going on. A bunch of people were looking down in the river. Kerry said a car was in the river and that the guard rail was smashed. As we continued toward the King George Highway exit a fire truck was racing down Highway 99 on the other side. I watched it in my rear view mirror and it crossed the median and got onto our lane of the highway. As I continued south I saw an ambulance coming down the highway and just before I exited at 32nd Avenue I saw another fire truck joining the action.

On the news tonight I heard that a woman was in the car that crashed into the Serpentine River. In her 20's. She was in the river for an hour and a half. That usually indicates someone is dead when it takes that long to rescue. Apparently the rescue crews were able to revive her and she was airlifted by helicopter to hospital. I haven't heard any further updates. The police said speed was a factor in the crash.

When I told Kerry about it he asked if it was a black Honda. So maybe it was the same woman we saw earlier. We only caught a glimpse of her as she flew past before we got to the Deas Island Tunnel. We think she may have had dark hair.

Here's a link to the news story.

Free outdoor movie in White Rock, Saturday August 28 2010

There's a free outdoor movie playing in White Rock tonight, Saturday August 28 2010. This will be at 5 Corners, which really hasn't been 5 corners since the early 1990's. Its approximately the corner of Johnston Road (152 Street) and Pacific Avenue (approximately where 10th Avenue would be if White Rock was in numbers). Best suggestion is to get yourself to 152 Street and head south to White Rock. Once you cross 16th Avenue you are no longer in Surrey, you're in White Rock, drive down a few blocks and the street bends to the left. That's 5 Corners. I'm not sure if traffic will be closed on Johnston tonight.

8pm - Hairspray

Movie ends just after 9:30pm. I'd say bring a lawn chair. This is all pavement around here. Blanket won't be too comfortable.

Free outdoor movie August 14 in White Rock

There's a free outdoor movie playing in White Rock's Central Plaza on Saturday August 14:

Happy Feet - starting at 8:30, ending around 10pm

Central Plaza is on the southwest corner of 152 Street and 16th Avenue, though techinically this is White Rock, so make that Bluff Road and Johnson Road. This is a shopping mall. TD/Canada Trust is in there as is Shopper's Drug Mart, I think Scotiabank is on the corner plus a bunch of smaller shops. This is a parking lot so best to bring lawn chairs instead of blankets.

Torchlight Parade looking up?

My father phoned about 10pm last night. A little odd because he never phones that late. He'd just returned from the Torchlight Parade held on Marine Drive in White Rock. He said the parade was actually better than usual this time without the huge delays between entries and the slowness in catching up. He said a smaller crowd than usual showed up. I guess people are getting tired of it and the one year its actually better than usual the people stayed away. As such my father took in a big haul of goodies, you know the stuff that they usually give out to children. He wanted me to come over and share in the booty.

One of their friends he went to the parade with is a New Yorker and is very loud and pushy. She got a good haul of goodies last night too. I'm pretty sure she jumped on the street and demanded cookies and candies and the people handing them out were too scared to say no!

Spirit of the Sea Festival this weekend in White Rock

The Spirit of the Sea Festival is on this weekend in White Rock. There is free parking at Semiahmoo Secondary on 148th Street and about 18th Avenue. Free bus rides down to the beach.

I only bring it up because tonight, July 31, is the Torchlight Parade, one of the funniest parades in existence but I don't think they mean it to be funny! I always enjoy the hecklers, mostly yelling at the entrants to speed it up. The parade starts at 9pm on Marine Drive at Oxford Street and ends down by Semiahmoo Park. It only seems longer!

The fireworks are on Sunay night. More information at their web page. http://www.spiritofthesea.ca

White Rock Outdoor Movie night July 30 2010

Free outdoor movie event in White Rock on July 30 taking place at the East Beach at the far end near the Sandpiper. Starting around 9pm is an Elvis Presley oldie - Blue Hawaii. Bring a chair or a blanket and a snack. Maybe a sweater. Kind of cools down a bit in the evening. Movie lasts around an hour and a half.

Canada Day by the Bay

If you'd rather go to the beach than the Millenium Park on July 1, nearby White Rock is hosting Canada Day by the Bay. Events and activities all day at the beach capping the evening off with fireworks. More information on their poster.

http://www.city.whiterock.bc.ca/2005Leisure-Services/pdfLeisureServices/Canada%20Day%20poster.pdf

Remembrance Day on Wednesday November 11 2009

If you're planning to attend the Rememberance Day services in Cloverdale on November 11, it starts at 10:15am in the cenotaph next to the museum, near the corner of 176A Street and Highway 10. Arrive early to find a parking spot. 56A Avenue is usually closed off, but parking can be found on the nearby streets, 176A, 177B, etc. Some people park in the lot at the back of the Clova Inn (176A and 57 Avenue) and walk over. You want to play on arriving 20 to 30 minutes early to find a parking spot and walk over to the museum. The wreath laying starts around 11am. There are usually several airplane flypasts during the service as they make the rounds at various cenotaphs across the Lower Mainland holding services. It always rains on Remembrance Day and there is an 80% chance of showers tomorrow.

If you're closer to White Rock, the Remembrance Day Service is held in the United Church at 10am. Its on Centre Street, on the corner of Buena Vista. If you know where the City Hall and Library is, its about half a block away. Wreath laying ceremonies at 11am. Its behind City Hall, kind of off Pacific Avenue and inbetween Buena Vista. Just follow the crowd from the service.

I was going to mention Port Kells because they usually have a Remembrance Day Service too for anyone closer to that area, but I can't find any mention of it this year. In the past its been held at the Port Kells Elementary School on 88th Avenue and about 190th Street. But I just don't know this year. My sources have let me down!

The old Cook Book

I have a good sized cookbook collection. I often pick up regional cookbooks when I'm on vacation, have some celebrity cookbooks, and specific cookbooks such as vegetarian, chocolate, and crockpot cooking. I even wrote a cookbook!

But one of my favorites is a much battered cookbook that my mother bought for fifty cents sometime back in the late sixties put together by a librarian at White Rock Elementary school - I think! The recipes were donated by parents in the White Rock/Surrey school system and typed, stenciled, and copied by a school secretary. The paper is held together by a ring (there used to be 2 rings) and some pages have been reinforced by me with those hole protectors.

At the front of the cook book is the dedication:

Ingredients:
1 Publisher
1 Typist
300 Recipes
696 Pupil Workers
11 Mothers
12 Secondary Students
1 tsp good luck

Method:
While the principal and staff are warming to the idea, gather materials and mix furiously for 3 months. Intense heat and pressure are required as deadline approaches. Edit, type, duplicate, bind and turn out on a prepared, receptive public.

And this is the cookbook that I most often turn to when I'm looking for some family cooking, particularly in the cakes and squares sections. Back in the days when most women stayed at home taking care of the house and family and had some well tried and tested recipes. The names of the contributor are listed below each recipe. Almost always a Mrs somebody or other. A few Anonymous - guess they forgot to sign their name when they sent in their recipe.

Today I was looking for an easy cake to bake. I settled on a fudge cake that takes half hour to cook. Well, I had to keep putting it back int he oven because my toothpick didn't come out clean. I'd say it took closer to 50 minutes. Some of these older recipes need a little fine tuning. Maybe the ovens heated hotter forty years ago. There's a few places where my mother has made some notes such as an icing that goes well with a bar or square.

About twenty-five years ago I was at someone's house and they served Waldorf Red Velvet Cake for dessert. Oh, it was so good. I came home and checked our recipe books and the old parent's cook book had the recipe in there. I baked it and iced it and it came out wonderfully delicious. The next time I baked this cake it didn't turn out so well, and the third time it was decidedly flat. I never baked it again.

But I think about, and with that recipe sitting in the old Cook Book, maybe I'll give it another try.

White Rock's Torchlight Parade

We've been going to White Rock's Torchlight Parade for most of the past 20 years. It is held on the August long weekend as part of the sea festival celebrations, either on Saturday or Sunday night. This weekend it was held on Saturday night, starts around 9pm. The premise is most of the floats are decorated with lights of some sort, so viewed best when its dark out.

The Torchlight Parade has the reputation of being one of the worst parades around. It is so bad that we are compelled to go just to see how bad it will be. Can it be worse than last year?

When my parents owned a house on Columbia Avenue there was a walkway on the other side of their next door neighbor's house that went to Marine Drive. It came out on the crest of the hill that separates White Rock's east and west beaches. This is a good spot to watch the parade with not too many people. Mostly locals who walk here because there is no parking for anybody driving in. The best part of setting up in this location was the house on Marine Drive across the street where the residents came out on the sundeck and yelled insults at the parade entries. This was a high entertainment value. One year some friends came with us and their son was about 12 years old at the time. He got in the spirit of the hecklers across the street and also started insulting the entries, much to his mother's chagrine. I thought it was pretty funny.

So what makes this parade so bad? Mostly its the timing. The parade will start, usually with a motorbike cop, followed by the parade marshall in whatever vehicle they're in. Then there's about a 5 minute wait till the next parade entry comes along. Then a few minutes later the next entry. Most of the front of the parade consists of one car after another with unknown people in them. There are signs on the doors of most of these cars saying who is inside. But its dark out. No one operating the vehicle thought to light up the sign, so its too dark for the spectators to read the sign.

Sometimes its hard to tell when the parade has ended. Just when you think its over because there hasn't been a float come past in over 5 minutes, another one is spotted coming along.

These days we park at a friend's house near the west beach and walk down, so we're right in the thick of the crowd.

Last Saturday night's parade was no different from what we've come to expect. The motobike cop, the parade marshall, and then a huge wait. Ah, we finally spot it way down the block and it reached us 5 minutes later. A float entered by BMO. My gosh, I wonder if this is typical of the service one can expect from this financial institution. I think I'll keep my business elsewhere. Even my father got into the heckling spirit by yelling at them to speed it up. He commented they need parade volunteers with whips going along the route to keep things going. So it was the usual see an entry, wait a few minutes, see another. Every now and then 4 or 5 entries bunched up together and moved along.

This is the first year the Vancouver Police Mounted squad weren't there on their horses. Also there was no fire truck spraying the crowds with water. I'm guessing due to the police and fire games happening in town right now that they were busy with that event instead.

I must say that Potter's garden centre had a great float. It was a hearse with a werewolf on top of the roof pulling a creepy version of Cinderella's carriage. They were advertising their upcoming haunted house this October at their 72nd Avenue location. Really well done.

Overall this year's parade was much worse than others I've seen with way fewer entries. It was also over a lot faster than past parades, lasting less than an hour.

Free outdoor movies

The cities of Surrey and White Rock are offering free outdoor movies this summer. Some dates have passed but August still has a few movies coming. The movies begin at dusk. Arrive early with lawn chairs or blankets to sit on and snacks.

In Surrey, the movies are held at Holland Park, 13428 Old Yale Road. Bring a picnic dinner or buy from the concession and BBQ.

August 8 – Mamma Mia
August 15 – The Lion King
August 22 – Hannah Montana: The Movie

The only one that interests me is Mama Mia, but I already have the DVD at home. And you know, no matter what the city of Surrey says about cleaning up the Whalley area, I just don’t feel all that comfortable about leaving my car unattended in a parking lot in Whalley so I think I’ll pass. The other movies don’t interest me.

White Rock still has some movies on in August. Again, you can bring a picnic dinner or buy from a food vendor who will be on site.

August 15 – Up – showing in the back parking lot of the Central Plaza Mall, approximately Johnston Road (aka 152 Str.) and Thrift Ave.

August 29 – Mama Mia – 5 Corners. It is still called 5 Corners even though a condo/business development took away some of the corners! Approximately Johnston (aka 152 Str) and Pacific Ave.

Now, I just might be interested in seeing this Mama Mia because its in a better part of town. I just can’t figure out where they’re setting up the movie screen. Perhaps they’re closing down part of the street. It might be worth going just to get an answer to that question.