Monday, Feb. 19 is Family Day in B.C., a great time to get active and enjoy the company of, yes, your family.
In Surrey, several free and low-cost activities are planned on the holiday long weekend at rec centres, arenas, Darts Hill Garden Park, Museum of Surrey and Historic Stewart Farm, all detailed on the webpage surrey.ca/familyday.
A Family Day celebration at Clayton Community Centre on Saturday, Feb. 17, offers an afternoon of free arts, recreation and libraries activities at 7155 187A St. “Celebrate the completion of Yarn Around, a community knitting project that local residents have been building over the past few months,” the website says. At 2:30 p.m., enjoy Surrey SPARK Stages’ free presentation of ‘Foolish Operation’s Tricoter,’ for all ages.
A winter open house at Darts Hill Garden Park happens Saturday (Feb. 17) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for free activities (storytime, live music by the Hillbettys, watercolour painting, winter tree pruning workshops, more) at one of Surrey’s beautiful feature gardens, 1633 170 St.
Also Feb. 17, Family Day at the Museum of Surrey runs from 1 to 4 p.m. with oversized board games, a scavenger hunt, photos with mascot Raj the Raccoon, Caricatures by Corycature, free hot chocolate and more at 17710 56A Ave., Cloverdale. Admission is free.
Old-fashioned family fun is promised at South Surrey’s Historic Stewart Farm on Monday, Feb. 19, from noon to 4 p.m., with drop-in activities and heritage demonstrations at 13723 Crescent Road.
Elsewhere, western-themed skates will include games and prizes at Cloverdale Arena (Feb. 16, 6:15 p.m. start), North Surrey Sport & Ice Complex (Feb. 17, 5 p.m.), Surrey Sport & Leisure Complex in Fleetwood (Feb. 18, 10:45 a.m.) and Newton Arena (Feb. 19, 5:45 p.m.). Drop-in admissions apply, and skate and helmet rentals are available.
Free rec activities, including arts/crafts, sports and more, are planned at Fraser Heights Recreation Centre (Feb. 17, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), Guildford Recreation Centre (Feb. 19, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), Cloverdale Recreation Centre (Feb. 19, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.), Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre (Feb. 19, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), Newton Recreation Centre (Feb. 19, 1 to 4 p.m.) and South Surrey Recreation & Arts Centre (Feb. 19, 10 a.m. to noon). Check surrey.ca for detailed holiday hours.
Other Family Day activities suggested on surrey.ca/familyday include swimming, walking Surrey’s 100-plus kilometres of nature trails, exploring the city’s “great trees,” touring public art using the interactive Surrey Arts & Culture Map, staying indoors with Surrey Art Gallery’s Art in Motion series of video-based art lessons, playing tennis or pickleball, visiting a playground and having a picnic, and learning about your family history with Surrey Libraries (note that branches are closed on Family Day, Feb. 19).