Siblings Avery, two, and Blake, four, came in from Surrey with dad Mark and mom Kerrianne for their first experience of a skate on outdoor ice at Brydon Lagoon in Langley City on Sunday, Jan 14.
All were well bundled up against the below-freezing weather.
“We just moved here from California,” Kerrianne explained.
“Our friends live here in Langley, and they told us that the lagoon was frozen over, and the girls have never seen it [outdoor ice].”
Mark said the cold temperatures was a big change from the San Francisco Bay area, where they were living.
“[It’s] just an experience for the girls, their first time on the ice,” he said.
“We just moved up here and figured we’d we’d commit to it [the weather].”
Langley City residents Shaquil and Audrey, the Canadian friends who made the call to the newcomers from California, brought daughter Zaiya, 16 months, who was beaming as dad towed her on a sled.
“I grew up around here,” explained Shaquil, who recently moved back to his home town after working in the U.S.
“Seeing this lagoon freeze over, it’s just been really nice. It’s very nostalgic.”
He was excited to share the experience with the friends from California.
“They’re now going to be residents for the foreseeable future, so they’ve got to get into the Canadian way,” he smiled.
READ ALSO: A frozen Brydon Lagoon becomes a giant ice rink
After several days of chilly weather, Environment Canada was forecasting a return to warmer conditions later in the week, rising to a high of plus-five and a low of plus-one by Thursday, Jan. 18, with periods of rain.
READ ALSO: Coffee certificates and cab rides: how Langley’s homeless are being helped during cold snap
As a matter of policy, the City of Langley is against skating on Brydon, and likes to remind residents that any pond in the City, including Brydon Lagoon, is not a “sanctioned skating rink.”
“The City has not tested the thickness of the ice and cannot confirm it is safe,” a 2021 warning posted to social media advised.