The long weekend weather forecast isn't looking great, but there's lots happening in Surrey and surrounding cities.
1. On Saturday (May 17), head inside at Guildford Recreation Centre for another Surrey Slam Jam, an annual free-admission event for youth featuring basketball tournaments, dance competition, music, art, workshops and other activities, noon to 8 p.m. Expect prizes and guest appearances, too, at 15105 105 Ave. Check out photos from previous years and other event details on surrey.ca/news-events/events/surrey-slam-jam.
2. An "Original Kind of Country" theme covers this year's Cloverdale Rodeo & Country Fair, a long-weekend-long adventure for tens of thousands of people annually. In addition to bucking broncos, there will be skateboarding demos, West Coast Lumberjack Show, rollerskating, wrestling at the Longhorn Saloon, Extreme Dogs and more, along with soooo much food. Speaking of food, a Sunday breakfast hack: For 45 minutes (9 to 9:45 a.m.), fair entry is free for the Pancake Breakfast, and the meal itself is by donation ($5 recommended) to Cloverdale Rodeo Youth Foundation Initiative. The breakfast ends at 10:30 a.m., so get there pronto. Mark Davis's Cowboy Church starts at 10 a.m. next door.
3. Admission is free at Surrey Art Gallery to view the spring exhibits there including ARTS 2025 (an annual juried exhibition of local artists) and also A Tangled Thicket, a show featuring the art of Z·inc Artist Collective members Willa Downing, Lesley Garratt, Cora Li-Leger and Claire Moore, with a related Family Art Party planned on Sunday, June 1 as a drop-in event, noon to 4 p.m. The gallery, celebrating a 50th anniversary, is at Bear Creek Park (13750 88 Ave., Surrey). Click here for more details.
4. Electric go-karts are now racing around an indoor track at Surrey's Central City Fun Park, B.C.'s largest such facility, boasting close to 125,000 square feet of games, roller skating, laser tag, bowling and more, at 11125 124 St. (not far from Pattullo Bridge, which is closed on the long weekend). So far, the fastest go-karting lap is just under 25 seconds. Think you can beat that? Give it a try for an opening-month special of $12 per race, or 30 credits on a fun park swipe card. Click here for photos of the new track and go-karts.
5. Feeling brave in the wet-ish weather? Trying swimming at three of Surrey's eight outdoor pools. Open since May 12 are the park pools at Bear Creek (13820 88 Ave.), Greenaway (17901 60 Ave.) and Sunnyside (15455 26 Ave.). Hey, admission is free. Surrey’s spray parks open for the summer on Friday (May 16). If you're looking to learn how to swim, lessons can be booked with Lifesaving Society Swim on tidesout.com, where Surrey's outdoor pool schedule is also posted. Click here for more details.
