Municipal Hall

October 5, 2007 / 12:00 AM

Community events in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows continue to be popular draws for local citizens and visitors and are well-supported by the local volunteers who organize and deliver the events. Parks and Leisure Services third quarter statistics for July through August 2007 reported on the 23 community special events that received funding and staff support. These statistics measure participant attendance, the number of volunteers and the hours they contributed, and they demonstrate the growth and continued appeal of our local summer festivals.

The special event with the biggest draw in attendance was the Caribbean Festival on 224 Street in Maple Ridge. This family-oriented free event, that includes entertainment, dancing, food and a street full of artists, drew 18,000 participants from across B.C. and Washington State. Six new community events sprung up over the summer:

• Adstock, a youth organized event
• Arabian Nights, a belly dancing festival
• Art Goes Boom, a two day arts festival
• A Kid's Carnival organized by the Pathfinder's Youth Society
• Spirit of Wood Carving Launch, and
• Maple Ridge Museum's Heritage Day

Seven hundred twenty volunteers assisted with various event day tasks donating 7,000 hours for event set up, stage work, decorating, garbage handling, first aid, greeting and more. In addition, many attended committee meetings to organize the events. The larger events (e.g., Jazz and Blues, the Agricultural Fair, Pitt Meadows Day) were supported by the greatest number of volunteers, each reporting between 40 and 150 volunteers of all ages.

The Haney Farmer's Markets ran every weekend throughout the summer months. John Hewitt, a volunteer who greets participants, used a counter to record as many as 900 visitors in a single day. The Jazz and Blues Festival raised their ticket price from $6.00 in 2006 to $20.00 in 2007 and were pleased to note attendance remained steady at 1,200 participants.

Upcoming fourth quarter events include the Pitt Meadows Doggie Dash, Unity in Diversity, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Remembrance Day, Christmas in the Park and the Santa Parade, and Christmas Haven. Planning committees meet regularly to organize these and other events and welcome new faces around the table. For more details, call Parks and Leisure Services at 604-467-7459 or visit www.mapleridge.ca/ or www.pittmeadows.bc.ca/.