Playing at the Clova from February 12 - February 18 2010

Playing this coming week at the Clova Theatre from February 12 - 18 is:

7pm - Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

9:05pm - Leap Year

Last show lets out at 10:45pm. Times approximate. The Clova waits until there are no more patrons waiting in line at the concession before starting the movie. If its a busy night, could be 15 minute delays. Admission is $7, stay for one or both movies. Tuesday nights admission is $4.

The old horse barns at the Cloverdale fairgrounds

There used to be a couple of horse barns in the east end of the parking lot at the Cloverdale fairgrounds. Partway inbetween the casino/grandstand and Greenaway Park.

People boarded horses in the stalls in the 60's and early 70's. All breeds of horses. There were two barns and one of them had an indoor arena. In fact if you look closely at the east end of the fairgrounds parking lot at some of the mounds where bushes and flowers have been planted, these are the foundations of the old horse barns. I guess they couldn't do too much else with them other than build them up and turn them into garden medians.

There used to be horse playdays held here on the weekends. At least once a month while I was growing up. Being horse crazy, I often walked down here to watch the games, wishing I had a horse and could enter the games. I guess by the time I got my first horse playdays were a thing of the past.

Once the Standardbred racehorses came to Cloverdale in the mid-70's, they were allotted the barns for stabling their horses. This was kind of the overflow barn. The majority of horses were stabled in the big red barns that are still standing in the backstretch area of the racetrack.

In December 1982 I came down to meet a racehorse whose career was ending and the owners wanted him to go to a good home. He was stabled in the overflow barns and that is where I met Mark. He'd had people sit on his back but wasn't really broke to saddle. It didn't matter. I fell in love with the gentle giant. The owners had a riding bridle they put on him and we led him to the dirt arena that was attached to the barn. The seller gave me a leg up and I rode him bareback around the arena. He was perfect. And two days later Mark Missile belonged to me and I moved him to his new boarding stable.

I don't remember exactly when the old barns were dismantled. They were still up and stabling Standardbred racehorses in the late 80's. They were down by the time the racetrack made renovations in the early 90's. I guess there wasn't much else they could do. There was no security in those barns. Anyone walking in from 60th Avenue had access to the barns and the horses inside. There are sick people out there who could potentially harm or steal a horse.

There is the Agriplex at the back of the racetrack, from 62nd Avenue, that is an indoor arena where horse shows and other events are held today. But unfortunately there is no stabling for horses. With the population growth around Cloverdale and many potential horse owners in the vicinity, a horse boarding operation would probably prove to be very profitable for the city.

More about Cloverdale fairground's racetrack

When the grandstand at the Cloverdale fairgrounds transitioned into spectator seating for the Standardbred horse racing, changes came slowly. Most notably enclosing the structure, gating it in, so as to control paid admission into the grandstand. $2/person if memory serves correctly and back then racing was 5 times a week from mid-October to mid-April, during the off season for the Thoroughbred racing at Hastings Park in Vancouver.

By the mid-80's attendance was slacking off a bit. Other forms of entertainment were pulling racing aficionados away from the Cloverdale Raceway. I remember when traffic on racing nights was lined up down 176th Street to the Fraser Highway and sometimes even further north of the Fraser Highway. Bumper to bumper crawl into Cloverdale, trying to turn left onto 60th Avenue and the entrances to the fairgrounds. Back then there was no priority left hand turn lane signal.

Then in the mid-80's racing downsized to 4 times a week. I don't recall for sure, but I think it was Monday night racing that was bumped, leaving racing on Wednesday and Friday nights, and during the afternoons on Saturday and Sunday. Then the change was made from Wednesday night to Thursday night so that meant Standardbred racing was on 4 consecutive days.

Food service in the grandstand on racing nights consisted of a couple of hot dog and hamburger stands. There were a lot of wagering windows open where tellers took racer's bets.

There were a lot of horses still racing in Cloverdale even though the purses weren't all that great. There were several large horse barns in the backstretch area plus a couple of smaller horse barns closer to the grandstand on the parking lot side.

That left 6 months of the year when there was no racing at Cloverdale. During the off season Standardbreds shipping over to Sandown Park on Vancouver Island or over to one of the tracks in Alberta. There was also a couple of weekends of racing in mid-September, the fair meet, which was in conjunction with the now defunct fall fair that used to be held at the Cloverdale fairgrounds.

The Cloverdale racetrack headed into the 90's with a waning popularity.

Olympic torch in Cloverdale

The Olympic torch relay stopped briefly in Cloverdale today - Monday February 8 - around 2:30. We decided to walk over to Highway 10 for a look. Us and a few thousand others!

Several vehicles that were part of the torch program came along first including some of the sponsors. Also buses that were transporting the runners to drop them off where they'd be running.

We walked up to a spot in front of Maynard's tack store, halfway between the musem and 177B Street. Oddly enough a lot of people were standing on the opposite side of the road alongside Clover Square Village. I thought it might be hard for them to see because traffic was moving east bound along Highway 10 thus blocking their view.

Traffic continued west bound for awhile and then became one lane only. Then it came to a complete halt somewhere up around 180th Street. I'm not sure if the police were redirecting traffic down there and up 58th Avenue or if they came to a standstill for ten minutes or so. But I know that eastbound traffic on Highway 10 came to a complete standstill. The police would not let them proceed past 177B Street and all the pedestrians on the mall side wound inbetween the stopped traffic to get a better view of the torch bearer.

I managed to get one of the coveted 2010 Olympics edition of Coke Zero. Several people from the Coke truck were passing them out, but they can only hold a couple at a time, and the crowds were so huge that very few people received one. I managed to get out on the street with my dogs and claim they were thirsty and I got one! Which Kerry promptly opened up and drank because he was thirsty! It might look like a bottle but its really an aluminum can.

Christmas Lights Still On

I wonder how much longer the Christmas lights will decorate downtown Cloverdale. They were pretty in December, but now that February is here, they're starting to look a little tired. At least they stopped lighting the Christmas tree on top of the Dale Building about the middle of January.

And yes, they're still on, lighting the night with the bright red banners and the stars. I enjoy them nightly if I'm walking my dogs downtown.

Its my guess that the same city crew who handle putting up and taking down Christmas decorations are busy setting up Holland Park for the 2010 Olympics celebrations that will be taking place there in February. Therefore taking down Christmas displays around Surrey are on the back burner.

Perhaps the Christmas lights will come down in April.

Playing at the Clova from February 5 - February 11 2010

Playing at the Clova in downtown Cloverdale from Friday February 5 - 11 is:

7pm - Up In The Air

9:05pm - Its Complicated

Last show should let our around 11pm. Times are approximate. On busy nights at the concession stand the staff doesn't start the movie until most of the patrons have cleared the lobby. Admission is $7 - stay for one movie or watch both for that price. Tuesday nights admission is $4. Bring your own resusable popcorn or drink container and fill it up for $2 at the Clova's concession.

What's happening in Cloverdale in February 2010

So what's happening in and around Cloverdale for the month of February 2010? For being known as the month of romance with Valentine's Day, there's slim pickings for February 14 celebrations.

February 8 - Monday - the Olympic torch is passing through Cloverdale on Highway 10 between 180th Street and 176th Street, approximately at 2:30pm, stopping briefly at the Cloverdale Museum. If you're interested in a bigger celebration of the torch, then come to Holland Park in Whalley, corner of King George Highway and Old Yale Road at 5:30pm for a larger event.

February 12 -28 - keeping with the Olympic theme, Holland Park in Whalley is home to many free events during the Olympics, including several performances by the RCMP Musical Ride. To find out more, go to this website www.surrey2010.com

February 14 - Sunday at 3pm at the Cloverdale Legion the Lord Tweesdmuir jazz band is putting on a free concert for Valentine's Day.

Just to toss out a couple of dinner suggestions for Valentine's Day, Sunday February 14 - at Boston Pizza, located in the Clover Crossings Mall, they will be serving heart shaped pizzas with $1 from each sale donated to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. My favorite choice for a romantic meal is at La Masia, located on 64th Avenue and Fraser Highway. Best to phone ahead for reservations 604-574-7633.

That's it for now. I'll have to keep looking at posters put up on shopkeeper's windows for anything else.