(These are FREE listings. Email: EditorVoice@gmail.com)
Fiji Festival
Saturday, July 18, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Swangard Stadium, corner of Kingsway and Boundary, Burnaby, with soccer tournament, food, kids rides, fashion show, raffle ticket draw and other entertainment. Free admission. Presented by Jai Fiji Television and Bula! Fiji Association of B.C. For more information, contact Vincent Puran Prakash at 604-434-3920 or email at jaifiji@yahoo.com.
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Surrey Fusion Festival
Holland Park. July 18-19. Attendance is free. Gates open at 11 a.m. B.C.’s largest multicultural celebration, Surrey Fusion Festival, will feature new additions this year including seven new countries – Afghanistan, England, Iran, Scotland, Spain, Thailand, and Turkey – joining more than 40 cultural pavilions, and a “Global Beer and Wine Tasting” activation. Adults 19 and older can enjoy beer and wine at the “Global Beer & Wine Tasting” activation. There will be live entertainment on four stages: includes internationally renowned Punjabi singer-songwriter, Jazzy B, known as the “Crowned Prince of Bhangra” and will feature fellow-Punjabi singing sensation, Kaur B, who is best known for her song “Classmate”. Also appearing is Latin performing-artist, Jose Feliciano, deemed by music critics as “the world’s greatest living guitarist”. Additional performances include: The Tourist Company, Chin Injeti, En Karma, Matt Hoyles and Haya. Thre will also be * Parade of Cultures * Flavours of Surrey and Celebrity Cooking Stage * Cultural food sampling booths * Kid’s World and Sports Zone featuring interactive activities and crafts * YVR interactive exhibit (new this year). Website: www.surrey.ca/fusionfestival
Khalsa Diwan Society: Food Drive
Khalsa Diwan Society Ross Street is hosting a joint food drive with Sources Community Resource Centre to collect food items for South Asian families in need. Other community food banks sometimes do not carry cultural food items that families, including children, may be used to. So they are making this effort to help those in need through a food rationing program with Sources CRC. They will begin collecting food items on Sunday, July 19 at 9:30 a.m. and continue for a two-week period, ending Sunday, August 2. You are welcome to learn more about Sources Community Resource Centre through their reps on Sunday July 19 from 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.at Ross Street Gurdwara. Suggested items for donation: * South Asian groceries: canned tomatoes, canned chick peas, lentils, flour, rice, sugar, black tea bags. * Kids’ lunch boxes: juice boxes, pudding cups, trail mix, fruit cups (in natural juices), cookies, granola bars. * Other items: baby’s diapers, gift cards, one-zone bus tickets.
Sikh Motorcycle Club
Dastaar and Dumaala Competition on Sunday, July 19, 12-5 p.m., at Bombay Banquet Hall, 7475 135th Street, Surrey. For registration, call 604-825-2659 or 604-727-4697. Registration deadline: July 12. All ages welcome.
South Asian Seniors: Bingo
Vedic Seniors Parivar Centre of Vedic Hindu Cultural Society Surrey invites South Asian adults / senior members and non-members to come and play bingo for the sake of fun and make some new friends on Sunday, July 19, 2-3:30 p.m. at Shanti Niketan Hall, 8321 – 140th Street, Surrey. Bring only two dollars to play two games. If you do not know how to play, members will explain the game to you. Tea & light snacks will be served. Contact Surendra Handa at 604-507-9945 for further details.
Walk with the Dragon to Celebrate Multiculturalism
S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation’s annual hallmark event, Walk with the Dragon, returns to the picturesque Lumbermen’s Arch, Stanley Park, on Sunday, July 19. This year, the foundation hopes to raise $400,000 from the Walk earmarked to maintain and enhance important S.U.C.C.E.S.S. services and programs for those in needs in the Metro Vancouver communities, particularly seniors and youth. More than 13,000 people are expected to join this year’s Walk which consists of a 7-km trek along the Stanley Park seawall, carnival style game and food booths and colourful stage performances at Lumbermen’s Arch. To coincide with this year’s theme of “Multiculturalism”, stage performances will be represented by different cultures, including Japanese, Philippine, Chinese, Slovak and Mexican.
Richmond Rocks!
Grab your runners and yoga mat and join hundreds of people as they get ready to work out at Richmond Rocks!, an outdoor workout at Minoru Park on Sunday, July 19, 12-4 p.m. Benefiting Touchstone Family Association and KidSport Richmond, Richmond Rocks! will feature an inclusive 108-minute bodyweight bootcamp and yoga class in the park to raise support and awareness for children’s overall well-being. Tickets are $20 and are available online through richmondrocks.ca. Each registrant will receive a $30 gift card to Vida Spas, a class pass from YYoga and more, in appreciation of their support of this event. For more information, visit richmondrocks.ca.
MOSAIC
* Basic Job Search Skills for Newcomers: July 23, 1:30–3:30 p.m.: Interview Skills / August 6, 1:30–3:30 p.m.: Networking Skills at Bob Prittie Metrotown Burnaby Public Library, 6100 Willingdon Avenue. Call Fasustin at 604-438-8214, ext. 112.
Car Seat Safety: Recycling
Car seats that have expired or have been in a car accident are often left on the side of the road. These car seats are no longer safe for use and could be picked up by an unsuspecting individual. For this reason on Saturday, July 25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Ryley and Chloe’s Fun and Games Foodraizer, at 13645 102nd Avenue, Surrey, in the parking lot behind the A&W, child car seats will be accepted for recycling. Donations for the Surrey Food Bank will be accepted. The Red Shirt volunteers from the Phoenix Society will be helping to take apart the seats. Then, Westcoast Plastics Recycling will recycle them properly. It’s important to follow the ICBC, BCAA, and Transport Canada safety guide to correctly use a car seat that meets the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS).
MLA Sue Hammell’s Eid Open House
Thursday, July 30, 6-8:30 p.m., at Taj Park Convention Centre (Bear Creek) 8580 132 Street, Surrey. Co-hosted with MP Jasbir Sandhu, MP Jinny Sims, MLA Bruce Ralston and MLA Harry Bains. Halal refreshments will be served.
Metropolis at Metrotown: Interactive “Lightroom”
Now until September 7: 12-7 p.m. at Metropolis at Metrotown – Grand Court, Lower Level. Cost: Free. Celebrating the International Year of Light with an exciting digital and visual experiential event. Inspired by artist Yayoi Kusama’s mirrored infinity room and the Social Soul experience at the 2014 TED Conference, the “Lightroom” is a unique and artistic installation comprised of a 60-second walk-through experience tied to social media. The Lightroom measures 20 feet by 35 feet and will immerse the customer in an illusion of thousands of twinkling lights. Customers who upload a photo of their #METlightroom experience to Twitter or Instagram will be entered for a chance to win weekly gift card prizes, VIP tickets to the Celebration of Light fireworks show, and a $1,000 grand prize shopping spree. A stunning 70-foot interactive light curtain will also be on display over the Grand Court elevator. Website:
Surrey: Movies Under the Stars
Grab some chairs or a blanket and bring the family to Holland Park in Surrey every Saturday in August and watch some of your favourite family-friendly movies. Wreck-It Ralph starts off the summer movie series at Surrey’s Holland Park at 13428 Old Yale Road on Saturday, August 1, followed by Home on August 8, How to Train Your Dragon 2 on August 15, Cinderella on August 22 and Big Hero 6 wraps up the summer on August 29. The event is free. Activities and entertainment start at 5 p.m., movie starts at dusk. But everyone is invited to arrive early to participate in fun activities and watch great performances by local entertainers. Staff from local branches of Prospera Credit Union will be handing out free popcorn (by donation to the Surrey Christmas Bureau) as attendees settle in to enjoy the movie. If you come early, bring a picnic dinner or support the North Surrey Lions Club, who will once again be barbecuing hamburgers and hot dogs, with proceeds donated to local charities.
Surrey Libraries: Young Adult Writing Contest
This summer, be creative, have some fun and win cash prizes. Enter a short story, poem, or comic in Surrey Libraries’ Young Adult Writing Contest. Cash prizes will be awarded per category and age group. The contest is open to ages 12 to 18 years. Entries must be in by 10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 4. It’s free to enter. Entry rules and forms are available at www.surreylibraries.ca/teens. If you want to improve your writing or share your creativity, sign up for any of these free teen programs. Details in the Libraries or online at
Miss Fiji Canada Pageant
August 7: A red carpet gala with special guest, Prime Minister of Fiji Frank Bainimarama and the First Lady crowning the winner. This is the first time the prime minister of Fiji will be coming to Canada. Tickets: $50; $25 for children ages 7 to 15. All the proceeds will go to the orphanage in Fiji. For tickets and more info, call 778-918-1496.
PICS Self-Employment Program
Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) Society will deliver the next PICS Self-Employment Program in September. Through this initiative, PICS would be supporting potential entrepreneurs in Delta and Surrey. Self-Employment Services are available through WorkBC Program to British Columbian job seekers who are unemployed and who are legally eligible to work in British Columbia. These individuals may have: * An EI unemployment benefit period that has been established or has ended within the last 36 months (3 years) prior to the date of requesting assistance; or * An EI benefit period that included a maternity or parental claim has been established within the 60 months (5 years) prior to the date of requesting assistance, after which the individual remained out of the labour market in order to care for a newborn or newly adopted child and are now seeking to re-enter the labour force. * A Persons with Disability designation or Person with Persistent Multiple Barrier status; or, * A Persons with Disability designation who are neither EI nor BCEA clients. Selected clients may be eligible to receive up to $300 per week for 48 weeks. For more information as to how individuals may access PICS Self-Employment Program, attend an information session at PICS Head Office, Unit 205, 12725 80th Avenue, Surrey, on Wednesday, August 12 at 2:30 p.m. When you attend the PICS Self-Employment Program you will develop self-employment skills, including developing a business plan, a marketing plan, arrange start-up funding and managing your cash. Seating is limited. To attend the session you must pre-register at deshpal.grewal@pics.bc.ca or sunil.rawat@pics.bc.ca. For further information, contact Deshpal Grewal at 604-596-7722, ext. 126, or Sunil Rawat at 604-596-7722, ext. 128.
SANSAD and CPPC Joint Public Forum
On the 68th anniversary of the end of British colonialism in the subcontinent: “Race, Class, and Empire” on August 15, 2-5 p.m., at Room 120, Surrey Centre Library, 10350 University Drive, Surrey. Speaker: Arun Kundnani. Panelists: Harsha Walia, Indira Prahst, Itrath Syed. Moderator: Zahid Makhdoom. Arun Kundnani teaches at New York University and is the author of “The End of Tolerance: Racism in the Twenty-First Century” (2007) and “Muslims are Coming: Islamophobia, Extremism, and the Domestic War on Terror” (2014). Harsha Walia is the author of “Undoing Border Imperialism” (2013). Indira Prahst teaches in the Department of Sociology, Langara College. Her book, “Media, Bridging the Gaps in Perception,” is forthcoming. Ithrath Syed is doing her PhD at Simon Fraser University. Zahid Makhdoom is a defender of human rights. Organized by South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD, www.sansad.org) and Committee of Progressive Pakistani Canadians (CPPC). Co-sponsored by No One Is Illegal (NOII). Contact: Chin: 604-421-6752; Shahzad: 604-613-0735.
Richmond Police and Fire Team: “Camp Courage” for Youth
The Richmond RCMP, Richmond Fire-Rescue, and the City of Richmond are teaming up to deliver one-day camps this summer that will afford children the opportunity to find out what it’s like to be a police officer and firefighter. Children will learn about the training, responsibilities, skills, and equipment involved in policing and firefighting through demonstrations and hands on activities. Camp Courage is a great opportunity for police and fire personnel to communicate with youth and their parents, acting as positive role models, and mentoring youth towards goals of social responsibility and civic mindedness. The camps take place from: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the following dates and locations: * August 19 at South Arm Community Centre * August 26 at Cambie Community Centre. The camps are open to children aged 9 to 12. A small fee of $10 per child covers a T-shirt, supplies, and pizza lunch. Space is limited. Register your child through: * Online anytime at http://www.richmond.ca/parksrec/about/registration.htm * Call the Richmond Community Services Registration Call Centre at 604-276-4300, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. * In-person at Richmond’s recreation and cultural facilities
Surrey Libraries: Summer Reading Club
This year’s theme is Build it! Kids of all ages can build an amazing summer with great books, special programs, contests, and more free family fun. Sign up at any of Surrey Libraries’ 9 branches and get a reading record to keep track of summer reading, collect stickers, participate in games and contests, and earn a reading medal. Free. http://www.surreylibraries.ca/5370.aspx
Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association: Home Reno Show
Home Reno Show on September 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hard Rock Casino Vancouver, 2080 United Boulevard, Coquitlam. Cost: Free. This is your one stop shop to bring your renovation plans and Ask-A-Pro in a free one-on-one consultation. Visit 50 booths of industry experts between attending the ongoing complimentary educational seminars. The more seminars you attend the more chances to win a Dream Renovator’s Prize Package.
