Surrey's 2026 Fusion Fest

Our neighbors just south of the Fraser River in the city of Surrey are expanding rapidly. Regional growth models show that Surrey is on track to eclipse the City of Vancouver in population within the next decade, potentially as early as the late 2020s, depending on immigration shifts. This demographic surge from a suburban bedroom community to the province’s most populous city is directly reflected in the scale of their civic events, especially the Surrey Fusion Festival at Holland Park.

When we first attended the inaugural weekend in 2008, the event was a relaxed, community-focused affair. It featured just twenty-five cultural pavilions and four modest stages. Notably, even as global conversations around borders grow fractious, the broad diversity on display here serves as a reminder that Canadian immigration remains a source of national pride, standing in sharp contrast to the rising populism seen in other countries.

By 2023, the festival hit its peak historical benchmark, drawing 110,000 visitors over two days. The sheer volume of people shifted the experience from a quiet park stroll to a high-density bottleneck, where navigating to a food stall required serious patience.

For the 2026 iteration, we took a quick ten minute ride on the SkyTrain last evening and stayed an hour and a half. (It runs today as well.)  We spent our time walking around all the pavilions, checking out what each culture was offering. Many were selling traditional food from their respective countries, or selling merchandise. The city framed the event under the theme "One World, One Game." It was fun to see the humanity and people from the globe who are now in Canada and making it a home, creating a space where every culture feels explicitly seen, welcomed, and woven into the neighborhood.

The Shifting Skyline from the Royal City

It is fascinating to look out from our vantage point in New Westminster and realize how much the landscape has evolved since Jay and I first settled here. My lone photo of the day captures a reality that would have been unrecognizable a decade or two ago. Where there is now a dense phalanx of glass and steel stretching toward the clouds, there used to be open air and a clear line of sight.

Back then, the horizon belonged to Mt. Baker down in Washington State. Its snowy peak was a constant, majestic companion to our morning coffee. Today, those towers have claimed that particular piece of the sky, effectively editing the volcano out of our daily view.

It’s not a point of sadness, though; rather, it's just the natural rhythm of urban development in a corner of the world that refuses to stand still. We’re watching a massive demographic shift in real-time. Just across the water, Surrey is growing at such a clip that it is projected to surpass the population of Vancouver proper in the very near future.

New Westminster remains our home base, but the view is certainly getting more crowded. It’s a bit like watching a child grow up; you don't always notice the height increase day-to-day until you look at an old photograph and realize the world looks entirely different.

A Sunny Drive to Surrey

This weekend has been a little like a preview for summer. Today, for example, is presently 27C (80F) and completely sunny. It's like someone accidently flipped a big switch a little early. Jay and I took it as a gift to get out of the apartment. We headed over the stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge into Surrey. The brand-new, wide, freshly-paved lanes make crossing the Fraser River a simple joy. 

We turned onto Scott Road just to see the Garden Centre at the Home Depot. We bought nothing but seeing happy people carrying out plants and flowers is never a chore. Rather than just going up King George Blvd, we drove further up Scott Road. From our balcony we can see a startlingly tall new residential tower under construction on the hill opposite the Fraser River from us. We now know the exact location of its base. We took roads that brought us towards Surrey Central. 

A bit of exercise was our plan. We parked at the lot by Green Timbers Urban Forest Park. We occasionally stop for a little walk to the lake.  The park sits around 13 kilometers (8 miles) from our apartment.  

 

Let me include some unusual facts about this land:  This is the place that practically invented the concept of a second chance for BC's nature. Known as the "Birthplace of Reforestation" in British Columbia, this 226-hectare (560-acre) sanctuary, in the heart of Surrey, was once a massive 5,000-acre stand of old-growth giants. It was a legendary tourist stop in the early 1900s as the only virgin forest visible from the Pacific Highway.  However, the land was tragically logged to the ground by 1930. 

What makes it truly special is the "cultural shift" that followed that destruction: in March 1930, the province's first major replanting project began right here with 121 seedlings, marking a milestone that has since grown into 10 billion trees planted province-wide as of 2024. Today, you can still find 27 surviving trees from that original inaugural plantation. Beyond its forestry history, the park is a literal island of calm featuring over 10 kilometres of nature trails, a glacial erratic rock, and Green Timbers Lake, which is stocked with rainbow trout for local anglers.

On the way home we bought a few things at the T&T Supermarket chain that sells all kinds of foods from Asia.

First Crossing: stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge

It wasn't raining today. This morning we chose to try out the old Pattullo Bridge replacement. During the winter, they rushed to open the new span that has been years in coming, decades actually!  First, I stopped at the petrol station in order to put some air in my tires.  The EV has some low rolling resistance tires.  They are designed to have 36 psi and were down a tad after sitting all winter.

The main deck is open but it'll take the rest of the year to get all the interchanges on either end of the bridge completed. The old structure is in the middle of being dismantled which will open necessary space for some road connections.

We crossed to do a little shopping in an Asian grocery store chain called, T&T Supermarket.  They have a store as a part of the Surrey Central Mall.  We've been back more than a week from our winter away, yet we're still stocking up on food that we'll use during our summer and fall in British Columbia.  We got some pandan leaves that Jay uses in his cooking.  We got some kimchi too.  They have a great selection of hot, cooked food that can be taken away.  So, we got some additions that we'll eat with our normal rice and curry meals.  

 

Jay snapped these pictures as we were coming back to the New Westminster side of the Fraser River.  I saw there was an exit for Brunette Ave but it wasn't possible to turn in the right direction to go home.  So, we had to drive up near the Glenbrook Ravine.  It's a nice hill-top part of our town but we seldom have a reason to visit.

It wasn't busy during the late morning, so as I passed a street with cherry blossoms, I stopped to take this photo.  Being retired means we have time to stop and smell the roses.

 

Crossing the Fraser River

The weather was nice again today.  We chose to hop on the SkyTrain and cross the Fraser River into Surrey.  Really, I wanted to see how the replacement bridge is coming along.  It's already much behind schedule and planned completion dates simply seem to come and go.

We've been watching the bridge deck inch closer to joining near the New Westminster end of the span.  It's impossible to view from our apartment.  From most downtown points, the old bridge is in the line of sight and prevents viewing too.

I knew if we took the SkyTrain we'd have a chance to see how big the gap is.  It seemed pretty small from our angle.  On the left side of the picture above, it is to the right of the white tractor trailer (crossing on the original bridge).  There is still so much to do on the connections on each side that it'll still be months before the new bridge opens and 88 year old infrastructure is dismantled.   I read the change-over may begin in December of this year.

We went to buy goji berries at the T&T Market.  That is a huge Asian market chain here.  We couldn't help but pick up a few items from the premade foods.  

Although we got off the SkyTrain in Surrey Central, as we had to walk through the mall to get to the supermarket, we left by crossing the street to King George station at the end of the current line.  What a brilliant day to be free and outside in the optimum September weather!

Not Uncle Ben's!

 

It is still overcast today but the air is drier than during the last couple of days. In the morning, Jay and I drove uptown and picked up my new coffee mugs at London Drugs. I ordered them online, paid with a card, and had them waiting for me at the service desk. I also switched out a SodaStream CO2 canister and traded in the old for a new one. 

After, we crossed into Surrey and along the King George Boulevard to 72nd Ave. That's not exactly the way we went as I followed the Google Map's suggestions on the in-car infotainment screen. Jay wanted to stop at the Colombo Store. The capital of Sri Lanka is around 13,400 km; however, a small grocery store with its name is less than 15 km away in Surrey, BC. 

Jay bought two types of specialty Sri Lankan rice and a few other products. There are dozens of types of rice available on the island of 64,600 sq/kms.  That is where we'll be spending a large part of the upcoming winter season.

 

Our Second Shingrix Shots

This morning while Jay was at the gym, I drove over to the Home Depot in North Surrey.  I wanted to see what they had in stock for 12" LED flush mount ceiling lights.  Their website had quite the selection!  However, I didn't see many in the lighting display area.  I returned home and bought a pair on Amazon that'll be delivered tomorrow.

I had to cross on the original Pattullo Bridge.  When steering in video-game style, I noticed the new bridge right 'next door' had a shrinking unfinished gap.  It won't be long before the two surfaces are joined.

Jay and I had made appointments this afternoon to get our second Shingrix injections.  We had our first ones back in April, so enough time had passed for our final shot.

The Walmart pharmacy was pretty busy but we didn't have to wait long.  The attending doctor very chatty and polite.

I cannot remember if we had side effects after the first jabs.  Just in case, we have left tomorrow's schedule pretty clear.

At the Edge of Northern Wilderness

I was messaging with a friend about transit this afternoon. I mentioned that our SkyTrain system seems near capacity most of the day this year. This seems like a new phenomenon. We often have to wait for a full train arriving from Surrey, BC to pass before we board one headed to downtown Vancouver. 

(We live in the small city of New Westminster between Surrey and Burnaby.  Its label is not visible at this zoom level on the map.)

 

One can easily see how the region's growth is restricted by geography.  On this Google Map, the Fraser Valley is the only direction in which the area can expand.  The distance between Vancouver and Chilliwack is around 100 km or 60 miles.  Surrey is located just across the river from us.  It is expected to have a larger population than Vancouver either next year or in 2027.

The City of Surrey, BC

Surrey, BC is just across the Fraser River from our little city.  Surrey has the largest land area of the Metro Vancouver area, at 316 sq km.  It is also the fastest growing and its population is estimated to be larger than Vancouver's sometime this decade, perhaps in the next couple of years.

We hopped on a SkyTrain that runs at the base of our building and got off at the Surrey Central SkyTrain Station.  

In the civic square near Surrey's City Hall, Surrey Pride was going on. We spent a bit of time watching the musical groups and a few drag performers. It had both a pleasant atmosphere and great weather.  This morning had been overcast earlier but the sun came out around noon.

Over the River and Up the Hill

If we exit through the parking levels in the basement of our building, we can directly access the Columbia SkyTrain Station.  Tracks run in both directions, but we can go in any of three ways!  One side heads towards downtown Vancouver.  We often take that.  

The tracks in the other direction split off just outside our station.  One direction is towards Braid and the Lougheed Town Centre.  The other, and the older one, heads across the Fraser River on a transit only suspension bridge towards Surrey, BC.  This is the one we boarded today.  

We viewed the missing gap in the new Pattullo Bridge.  This is a long weekend in Canada and the old bridge is closed for work on access roads for the replacement.  In the image, it was a little hard to see the progress behind the 88-year-old original bridge.  The new one will go into operation late this year, we've heard.  The iconic orange structure of the original will be torn down upon its replacement's completion.  The rail bridge in the photo above will remain untouched.

We went to Surrey Central Station, just one stop before the line's terminus.  It takes eight minutes to get there and is near bus connections and the Surrey Central Mall.  We went to the mall today to pick up several grocery items in a Walmart.  We also visited the T&T Asian Supermarket.  Jay found the thick, frozen, chopped sheets of lemongrass that he uses when cooking.  There must have been supply chain issues as we have had a hard time seeing any until today.  The Asian market chain also has a self-service area of cooked, hot Chinese food for takeaway.  Jay selected mostly meats to include with our own food when we came back home for lunch.

The Colombo Store in Surrey, BC

There are several ethic grocery stores in the Vancouver area that sell Sri Lankan foods and products.  As this is the traditional time for Sinhalese and Tamil New Year, we thought we could stop at one today.  

We chose to drive to the Colombo Store in Surrey.  It's around 15 kms (9 miles) across the river from this apartment.  Some food items we got are used in the foods that Jay makes.

It was a great day to be outside.  In fact, it seems as though the poor weather has finally broken.  The forecasts show a sunny week ahead!

Crossing the Fraser River

We drove over the river to Surrey, BC. The population of our neighbouring city stands at around 700,000 and is due to surpass the size of Vancouver in a decade or so!

 

Today, we drove over the old, two-lane Pattullo Bridge from our home in New Westminster. The four-lane replacement sits next to it and was due to be completed in 2024. Now the completion date is set for this year.

 

We stopped at the T&T Asian Supermarket to see if Jay could pick up some chopped, frozen lemongrass for cooking. We haven't see any since we've been back and there was none today either. 

On the way back, we also drove to the new Recreation Center that is near the Home Depot by the Scott Road SkyTrain station. My app showed six new provincial DC fast EV chargers. I found them and only three from six were occupied. This was just a scouting mission and I didn't need any juice.

 

Another item of note today was that my new Canadian passport arrived in the mail.  I'd dropped off the application form and photos on March 20th.

October Weather a Few Days Early

The weather feels as though it has turned the corner. Right now rather than just a little rain, we are getting a storm. It signals the end of summer and the beginning of the more volatile part of the weather year.

 

A Drive to Newton in Surrey, BC

 

We saw no bears in Bear Creek Park but we did spy the creek.  it was nice to walk around the gardens on a beautiful day in Newton today.

 

 

Generally when we're in search of a little walk on that side of the Fraser, we stop at Green Timbers Urban Forest Park. Yet just beyond was today's stop. Apparently the small kiddie train opened for the season on Mother's Day.

 

We seldom have need to visit the Newton area, but Jay noticed that a little store carrying Sri Lankan food products had moved from its former location nearer to the Surrey end of the SkyTrain.  It was a nice day for a little drive.  That area is growing so quickly.  A few years ago the almost rural roads are now home to residential streets and even a multitude of high-rise buildings.  

We found the new location of the Colombo Store. Jay only bought a couple of things today.  It does seem as though everything had markedly higher prices than previously. The shop is not terribly far from the Newton Bus Exchange and fairly close to a Costco.  We no longer bother with membership at it anymore anyway.  It took around 25 minutes to return home on a pleasant, cloudless day.

Gatherers

 

Jay and I drove over to land directly across the river from our apartment.  The area is mostly industrial but the city of Surrey owns some land there too. There's a municipal pump station. In addition, some public access to the river is provided by Tannery Road Park.

   

From the park, we can look directly back to our building which is in the center of the image above.  However, our goal wasn't the view.

We were on the hunt for blackberries.  We parked and walked along the access road to get berries. Blackberries may be an invasive species, but they sure work hard to produce fruit. It's pretty easy accepting free food, even though one might encounter scratches in the process.