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YEAR IN REVIEW: Maple Ridge celebrates its 150th anniversary

Downtown street part hailed as largest event in the city's history

Maple Ridge marked its historic 150th anniversary in 2024, with the largest-ever community event, the "Our Neck of the Woods" festival.

Hosting the festival meant the downtown area – including 224th Street between the Lougheed Highway and Dewdney Trunk Road, and Memorial Peace Park – was blocked to vehicle traffic for a street party attended by thousands.

The city started marking the anniversary with celebrations for months leading up the festival. Three Rock the Block events were held in different neighbourhoods, there were community art projects, 150th anniversary banners designed with the Katzie First Nation were hung, and the buildup culminated in the downtown street party on Sept. 14.

"All year we celebrated our 150th anniversary, and honoured the stewardship of this land by the Katzie First Nation and the Kwantlen First Nation," noted Mayor Dan Ruimy at a year-end meeting of Maple Ridge City Council, which marked the city's highlights from 2024.

"It was memorable to say the least," added Ruimy.

At Our Neck of the Woods there were three separate concert stages with performances from Juno Award winners The Strumbellas, Aaron Pritchett, Dawn Pemberton, Garret T. Willie and more. Among the many activities was the Soar Over Maple Ridge Zipline on 224th Street, a bouncy castle and obstacle course, and the Kanaka Kids Stage with youth performers.

A 224th Street beer garden featured Our Neck of the Woods Hazy IPA, which was a specialty brew for the occasion by local craft beer breweries.

Maple Ridge was just the sixth municipality in British Columbia when it was incorporated. It got its name because one of the first European settlers to homestead in the area, John McIver made his home on what is now the Maple Ridge Golf Course. The site was forested with many maple trees, so he called his farm "Maple Ridge," and the new municipality took that name.

The municipality of Maple Ridge was incorporated on Sept. 12, 1874. It was the joining of several well-defined traditional neighbourhoods, including Whonnock, Yennadon, Thornhill, Albion, Kanaka Creek, Port Haney, and Port Hammond, which have retained their names and some of their unique character and charm into the present day.

Long-serving city councillor Judy Dueck, who was first elected in 2002, used that last council meeting of 2024 to thank the many community volunteers who gave their time to make the community events, including the 150th anniversary celebrations, special.

"We've just had an amazing year – by far the best I've ever participated in, in all my years, because we had so many things to celebrate," said Dueck.



Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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