A five-hour festival of entertainment, vendors, crafts and food is promised Saturday, June 15, during Surrey Fest Downtown, a community event planned by Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association (BIA).
The 21st annual festival will be held at Holland Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with performances by headlining bands Trilojay and Big Easy Funk Ensemble, among others. Admission is free.
“There is something for everyone to enjoy,” enthuses a blog post at downtownsurreybia.com. “Whether you want to get active, be entertained, or dance and cheer on some of the best party bands from Vancouver, Surrey Fest has it all!”
Other performers at the 2019 Surrey Fest Downtown include Zumba by Dinah and children’s entertainer Chris Hamilton.
The festival will also feature “a variety of unique vendors and booths that include local crafters, small businesses, artisans and community groups,” the website says. “Be sure to check out Sweet Legs Surrey with Angela if you’re in the market for a stylish pair of leggings. Or, if you’re a history junkie and want to learn more about the area, head to the Whalley History Booth.
“Finally, if you want to get artsy for the day, the Surrey Art Gallery will be holding pottery demos! There will be many more crafts to enjoy, silent auction prizes to be won, information about local businesses, and volunteer opportunities to be had.”
Some local organizations – Surrey Christmas Bureau, Surrey Food Bank and Plea Community Services among them – will also attend, “giving you the opportunity to establish volunteer opportunities for the summer.”
Among performers, Trilojay features the talents of Jay Leonard Juatco, Jay Esplana and Jason Nickel, billed as “three of Vancouver’s most talented and energetic performers” at trilojay.com. “Beyond the razorblade grooves, adrenaline-fueled stageshow, and mastery of their art, Trilojay is about the experience of music.”
Also set to hit the stage at Surrey Fest Downtown, the nine-member Big Easy Funk Ensemble, online at befe.ca, “celebrates the amazing variety of music that has grown out of New Orleans,” with influences including ’60s funk legends The Meters, Dr. John, Galactic and Trombone Shorty.
Surrey Fest Downtown, originally known as Whalley Community Festival, was created in 1999 “to promote and celebrate community pride through a day of fun and entertainment for all ages while providing a venue for groups and organizations to inform the community of their services.”
Last June, the festival was moved to a date in June again for the 20th-anniversary event, following one soggy September day the previous fall. In 2017, organizers of the event moved it to a mid-September day, after growing weary of mid-June rain. Then, after a long stretch of warm, sunny weather late that summer of 2017, it rained on the chosen September day, prompting a move back to June for 2018.
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