A new report this November ranks Surrey as the best place for real estate investment in British Columbia. Produced by the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN), it shows Surrey leading to the top 10 towns and cities in British Columbia. It’s absolutely true!
As a Surrey resident, I cannot say how glad I am to have chosen Surrey as city in which to raise my family. Below I have listed just a few of the great activities – just for youth – that happen in Surrey. There’s so much for youth alone, I’ll have to dedicate another blog to activities for others.
But if you want to raise a family in Surrey, here are the kind of events that I think the REIN report must have had in mind when it ranked Surrey as # 1.
Throughout the year, there are five major festivals: Canada Day and Fusion Festival in the summer; a Tree Lighting Festival in early winter; and the Party for the Planet and the Surrey International Children’s Festival in the spring.
And look at some of the major events offered among activities just for young people over the past year alone:
In March, The Surrey Steps Up program celebrated the positive impact young people have our communities and lives.
May 1 to 7 was Youth Week, five days of incredible fun, socializing and learning. This internationally recognized week is dedicated to to acknowledging, celebrating and advocating for youth empowerment, achievement and involvement throughout the year.
Monday May 1: Voices for Change was a youth inclusion art camp held in the evening at the Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre. The three hour session was all about creative expression and helping youth tell their own story about what inclusion means to them.
Tuesday May 2: An evening session at the Guildford Recreation Centre that was a Girls Night just for preteens. This was a night full of energy and laughter, a great opportunity for girls to socialize and have fun while playing games, dancing, crafting, baking and much more.
Tuesday May 2: A break dance for two hours in the evening at Kwantlen Polytechnic University Gymnasium. Our accomplished break dancers were able to show off their dance moves during a mini dance battle with the night ending with prizes and snacks.
Tuesday May 2: The evening Art Together program at the Surrey Arts Centre was a wonderful time for your creative young people to make art and share ideas. This is a unique event provided an opportunity for young people to create art together with mentoring artists.
Wednesday May 3: An outdoor ball hockey game took place at the South Surrey Recreation & Arts Centre from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm – an energetic change of pace and great fun too.
Wednesday May 3: The Pixel Post it Note Art Extravaganza event at the Guildford Library between 3:30 pm and 9:00 pm was a chance for participants to get creative with Post It Notes. It’s amazing to see what can be produced by our young artists.
Thursday May 4: Today’s event was a change to physical activity with a Sports Skill Competition at W.E. Kincig Elementary School. Two competitions took place, one for grades 5 to 7 from 5 pm to 7 pm; and another for grades 8 to 12 from 7 pm to 8:30 pm.
Friday May 5: The Skate Jam & Gamers Challenge from 4 pm to 7 pm at the Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre was a fun and competitive skateboard jam featuring music and lots of prizes in the skate park. All levels were welcome, and lots of talent showed up
Saturday May 6: The Surrey Youth Showcase at the Guildford Recreation Centre had dance battles for 2-vs-2 Break, 1-vs-1 Footwork, 1-vs-1 B-Girl and Cypher Battles, and also included hip hop dancers. There were carnival games for younger kids and a basketball tournament which included some wheel chair basketball as well. You couldn’t ask for a more a more exciting single day of high energy youth activities.
On May 12th the 7th annual Sassy Awards sponsored by the Semiahmoo Rotary Club at the Surrey Arts Centre honoured youth aged 15 to 21 who are making a difference in our community. Sassy stand for Service above Self and had seven award categories: i) Arts and Culture Leadership; ii) Community Service; iii) Environmental Leadership; iv) International Service; Overcoming Adversity; Sports Leadership; and Youth Leadership. These awards are a great way to promote leadership among our young people and I encourage you to nominate deserving youth for next year’s awards.
Sassy Awards
On September 9, 2017, Band-Aid took place at the Surrey City Hall (13450 104 Avenue)
This was a free event allowing young musicians between age 12 and 22 to join music industry mentors for a day of workshops. Band-Aid is a community-driven event with local singers, sola artists, bands and DJs. The ended with a jam that goes into the night, with friends and family all welcome.
On September 23 Surrey’s largest youth event – Youth Fest – took place at the Guildford Recreation Centre. A great variety of activities for everyone made the afternoon event a wonderfully fun place to be. The activities included live music and DJs on stage; an all styles dance competition; carnival games and a wipe-out inflatable game; a cooking event with a master chef; and collaborative arts making in the arts café. The evening capped off the Fest with a teen dance from 8 pm to 11 pm. Everything was planned extremely well, including a free shuttle bus to get to and from the venue safely.
I hope this sample of youth events over the past year gives you an insight into what makes Surrey such a great place to buy a home and raise a family. And I’ve only had space here to talk about events that will keep your kids engaged and happy in a wholesome lifestyle.
Stay tuned, and I will describe other events for parents in another post.
Thanks for reading!
Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®