Community Day ticks all the boxes when it comes to summertime activities – fun, family oriented, food, and free admission.
Langley City hosts the annual celebration, inviting community groups to set up information booths, entertainers to showcase their talents, and vendors to create a marketplace.
This year’s Community Day is Saturday, June 10, and promises to fill Douglas Park with big crowds.
“Last year we had about 10,000 people pass through,” said City Councillor Rosemary Wallace, co-chair of the organizing committee. “With the increase of food trucks, community booths and entertainment, and free activities, we anticipate a large turnout again this year.”
Community Day runs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. but not all aspects of it run the full day. The firefighter challenge goes from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., as does the community displays.
The free games run all day as does the food truck festival and beer garden (which is 19 or older only).
“Community Day is an awesome opportunity for people to come together and celebrate, have fun, and learn more about what is offered in their community,” she said. “There is something for everyone to enjoy and take part in. People can bring their own lawn chairs or sit on the grass to take in the entertainment and presentations on stage. They can come and go during the day and visit businesses in the downtown area. The food trucks bring people from all over.”
On the bandshell stage, people can enjoy a full day of entertainment. Slated to perform are dancer Karima Essa, singer Krystle dos Santos, Silver Diamond Country Dancers, Johnny Elvis, Viva Mexico dance troupe, Quintessential Jazz Band, Country Cuties dancers, Kat Moon, and Wild Moccasin Dancers with Mz Shellz.
Free activities include mini golf, inflatable walls and obstacle courses, interactive sports, kids crafts and games, and an art walk. The activities are available to enjoy from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There’s always a line up for the firefighter challenge. Langley City Fire Rescue lets the kids try out some of the skills needed in firefighting, including spraying with a fire hose. The firefighter challenge goes from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
When it’s time to eat, there’s the Douglas Park Community School barbecue, and Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival will have more than 25 food trucks. All proceeds from the Douglas Park concession sales go directly to helping local kids through the Douglas Park Community School Society. The concession will be located adjacent to the Douglas Recreation Centre on the east side of the building.There’s $5 burgers, $3 hot dogs (including halal), and sides available ( pop, chips, baked goods, coffee, and lemonade).
People will also find an artisan market which runs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with feature an array of items from flowers and candy to jewelry and pet products.
The community displays will be open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and are a great place to learn about the many services and amenities in the community. In addition to local service agencies, there will be booths such as Canlan Ice Sports, BIPOC and Local Marketplace, churches, Douglas Park Pickleball, KidSport Langley, Fraser Valley Ringette, Golden (Dog) Rescue, Inclusion Langley, Raphael Family Support Centre, Rock Step Swing Society, Rotary, Sources Langley Food Bank, Toastmasters, the Lions, Langley Volunteer Bureau, the Rivermen, the Bandits basketball team, the Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, and many more.
The event goes rain or shine. While people can bring their dogs, Wallace cautioned that with so many people, and the sights and sounds, it can be overstimulating for the animals.
Big public events can generate a great deal of garbage so the organizers have brought in a unique feature. This year there will be an increase of waste stations being run by volunteers so educate people on the proper way to understand streams of waste, an initiative started by the Langley City Environmental Sustainably Committee.
“We want to reduce what goes into the landfill and others understand the need to reduce, recycle and compost green waste. Being that Community Day is an extremely large event it is important to deliver best practices in waste reduction,” Wallace said.
Options for parking include Douglas Park Community School parking lot for $5 per vehicle (cash only) The lot is available from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. There’s also public parking at the Timms Community Centre, two blocks east of Douglas Park. Street parking has time limits in the downtown core.
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• READ MORE: Many local people sit on City committees, such as the one that organizes Community Day
• READ MORE: Big turnout for Community Day 2022
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