Join Canada’s big birthday bash
SURREY FUN: Listen to live music, enjoy thrilling rides and activities and marvel at epic fireworks
Surrey throws a huge Canada Day bash every year, but 2015 looks to be one of the best ever.
From 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., there will be world-class entertainment, great food, games and amusement rides and a spectacular fireworks finale for the entire family. As great as that sounds, the biggest perk is that admission to this epic annual event is free!
Well, admission into the grounds is free, the Shooting Star Amusement Rides do take tickets, but luckily they are at a great value.
Tickets are $1.25 each, although some of the bigger rides require more tickets. If you wanted to ride the ferris wheel, the Zipper, bumper cars or go on the Zero Gravity ride, a book of 20 tickets will run you $23 (a discount over buying them individually).
There are a host of rides for the little ones as well, including an amazing Bouncy Castle. Just be sure to use all your tickets before the fireworks start, although with so many rides to use them on, that shouldn’t be difficult.
There are a ton of other attractions for the whole family, so if you wanted to enjoy the free side of the festivities, you’ll have plenty of options.
For the kids (and adults who love face paint), stop by the Coast Capital Savings tent from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for face-painting and free Canada Day giveaways like temporary tattoos and cool Canada Day visors.
The Kids Zone, hosted by the Now newspaper, features a giant sandbox, Toddler Town, Canada Day crafts and Storyville, where storytellers from Surrey libraries tell tales, sing songs, play games and put on puppet shows.
The event will also feature a Sports Zone, where you can watch and participate in demonstrations for a range of exciting sports such as Speedminton, a faster version of badminton with smaller rackets and no net.
For the active types wanting to get their game on, the Sports Zone will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
As if you needed a reminder that Canada rocks, the Chevron Mainstage will be bustling with musical performances all day.
Eleven-time Juno winners and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Blue Rodeo will be headlining the main stage at 9 p.m., playing a legendary set before the epic, event-ending fireworks display. Fear not, music lovers, performances will be running at the Chevron Stage all day long, including alt-rockers The Zolas, country music favourites Me and Mae, ZERBIN, plus an appearance by Vancouver Canucks’ anthem singer Mark Donnelly. The party wouldn’t be complete without The Hip Show, one of the best Tragically Hip tribute acts around, who take the stage at 5:30 p.m.
The festivities will be capped off with an incredible fireworks display that all ages will enjoy. It will surely be an epic end to the 148th birthday of the greatest country in the world (take that, Sweden!).
Where: Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre (176th & 64th ave, Cloverdale).
When: Opens at 10 a.m., fireworks slated to begin at 10:15 p.m.