Hundreds of people turned out to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Ridge Meadows Rivers Day on Sunday, Sept. 24 in Allco Park.
About 450 people attended the event, said Greta Borick-Cunningham, executive director of the Alouette River Management Society, the group behind the event.
There were about 30 exhibitors and entertainers.
Activities included an arts and crafts table, a water bug study table, and face painting. Entertainment included the Ta Daa Lady and the Nylon Zoo, and Holly Arntzen and Kevin Wright of The Wilds – performers of eco-rock music, and multi-instrumentalist Lisa Rae Simons.
The BC Wildlife Federation attended, along with the Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program, Ridge Meadows Recycle Society, BC Hydro, and the City of Maple Ridge.
“It was a really fun day overall,” said Borick-Cunningham, adding a welcoming blessing was performed by Coleen Pierre and her daughter Mavis Pierre to start the event.
Borick-Cunningham was really impressed by the volunteer effort this year, noting that there were about 50 volunteers who made the event successful.
She also noted that BC Rivers Day and World Rivers Day is a perfect opportunity to celebrate, “the rivers that feed us, and the forests and the beautiful animals and wildlife”.
And after going through a period of really dry weather, appreciating the return of the rain.
“It’s filling up the little rivers, it’s filling up the creeks, and it’s allowing our salmon to come back,” she said, adding that without that rain it makes it really difficult for the fish to come upstream.