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Spring break: What to do and where in Richmond and beyond

From the obvious to the off-beat, The News has the two-week vacation wrapped up for parents

Any Day

Cosmic Public Skating
at Minoru Arenas:
March 11-26
Skate in the dark under “super cool” lighting. For extra fun, wear something fluorescent so you’ll glow.
All ages.
Regular admission rates apply: From free for pre-school (0-2) to $3.80 for youth (13-18) and $5.35 for an adult. Family rate is $3.40 per family member.

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Children and Family Hockey at Minoru Arenas:
March 11-26
Adult and Child Stick & Puck (12 years and under): Focus on individual skill and development. No games allowed. Players must use own sticks and pucks. Full hockey equipment and a CSA approved hockey helmet with cage are mandatory for children and a CSA approved hockey helmet is mandatory for adults. The ice time is supervised. Child Drop-In Hockey: Full hockey equipment and a CSA approved hockey helmet with cage are mandatory. The ice time is supervised.
Regular admission rates apply (see above).
For more information on cosmic skating and the stick and puck, go online to Richmond.ca/Arenas or call 604-238-8465.

Richmond Nature Park:
Everyone in Richmond knows all about Richmond Nature Park, right?
We suspect there may well be quite a few out there who don’t, or haven’t been there in years. The 200-acre park, on Westminster Highway at No. 5 Road, is a gem of a place to take the kids, no matter weather (within reason, of course). As well as hosting regular events (see Events), the raised peat bog habitat has four walking trails, totalling five kilometres, that are open any day, providing visitors with self-guided tours and the chance to encounter plants and animals in bog, forest and pond habitats and a “trip back in time, more than 13,000 years to the end of the Ice Age.”
The shortest trail, an elevated boardwalk around the park pond, is wheelchair accessible and only takes 30 minutes. All other trails are soft-surfaced with wood chips and are well-marked. A free trail guide is available in the Nature House, along with activities and kid-friendly information.
The park, however, is a very fragile environment, so dogs and other pets are not permitted and visitors are requested to remain on the marked trails. Also, no plants, plant parts or animals may be removed from the park.


Geo-Quest:
Remember geocaching?
Yes, way before Pokemon Go was even a twinkle in its creator’s interactive eye and, subsequently, died a virtual death.
So, if the thought of tracking down hidden treasures piques your kids’ and/or your interests, try some old-fashioned geocaching – a family-friendly outdoor treasure hunting game that uses those old smartphone or GPS devices. Richmond has 30 hidden geocaches in parks, on trails and at community facilities throughout the city.  

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Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates to find the prize – a hidden geocache container with a secret word. Before starting the search, download a Geo-Quest passport or pick up a copy from the interpretive centre at the Richmond Nature Park (Westminster Highway and No. 5 Road), so that you can record the secret words in the passport.  
Complete a passport by finding all 30 caches to earn a limited-edition coin. All details about the City of Richmond’s Geo-Quest program, along with the downloadable passport, are available online at Richmond.ca and by searching “geocaching.”
 


One-day Events

Catch the Red Curtain Art Series-Capoeira:
March 11, 2-3 p.m.
Watch this Brazilian martial arts performance that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music. This event and the series, hosted by the Thompson Community Centre Association, 5151 Granville Ave. is part of the Canada 150 celebrations. This event is free. For more information, go online to Richmond.ca/Thompson or call 604-238-8422.

Meet some creepy crawlies:
at the Reptile Show:
Saturday and Sunday, March 11 and 12, 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.
at Richmond Nature Park, 11851 Westminster Hwy.
Meet snakes, lizards, and geckos at this show presented by the West Coast Society for the Protection and Conservation of Reptiles. All ages welcome, admission is by donation. For more information, go online to Richmond.ca/Naturepark.

Get Wild in Richmond:
Sunday, March 19
Join others on this one-hour naturalist-led tour and learn about the plants and animals that live in this special park consisting of 200 acres of raised peat bog habitat. These one-hour tours are offered year-round with different topics that coincide with the changing seasons. All ages welcome. This is a free event. For more information, see website and phone number above.

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Free Things

Bike the West Dyke:
It’s not original, but sometimes you can’t see the woods for the trees, or the dyke for the bikes, but you really can’t escape the beauty of the 6.3 kilometre West Dyke Trail, from Steveston to Terra Nova, or vice versa.
Once the kids have gotten over the shock of what they’re doing for the morning/afternoon, dust the bikes down (or skoosh some WD40 on the brakes/chain) and get going. You can tempt with a picnic stop at the Terra Nova Adventure Playpark (see below) if you’re going north, or an ice-cream and/or fish ‘n’ chips at Pajos at Garry Point Park, if you’re headed south.
Either way takes you about 20-30 minutes, depending on the age of your “team” and how many whine stops you may take.

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Terra Nova Adventure Playpark:
Talking of Terra Nova, the Terra Nova Adventure Playpark at the far western point of River Road is part of the Terra Nova Rural Park and has been a magnet for parents and their young kids since it opened almost three years ago. This dynamic playground, with innovative structures, is meant to help reconnect kids with nature. It features natural elements such as a meadow maze, a hillside slide, tandem ziplines, an aerial rope walkway and more. In 2015, the park won a design citation from the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects.

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Gulf of Georgia Cannery:
The historic cannery in Steveston is another obvious target during the break and it may also produce some squint faces among the offspring upon suggestion. However, such as with biking, we are confident the kids will perk up once inside this fascinating Parks Canada building, which is free to enter due to the country’s 150th birthday celebrations.
During spring break, there are many interactive exhibits about Canada’s West Coast fishing history and you can pick up a Parks Canada Xplorers booklet, with activities for kids 6-11. Also, don’t miss the historic canning line in action, with equipment revving up during machine demos at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays.
The cannery, at 12138 Fourth Avenue, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 604.664.9009 or go online at GulfOfGeorgiaCannery.org for more information.

Fishing:
We’re not talking about taking a charter out on the Fraser River here; simply throwing your rod in the river’s south or north arm and while away the hours.
If you have your own gear, there are five, major fishing locations in Richmond. Each of these piers, platforms, and floats offers a unique view of the Fraser River and picnic tables can be found at each location.  
Best of all, if you’re under 16, you don’t even need a permit to fish and if mom or dad wants to join in, it’s only $10 for a day permit ($5 for seniors) online from Env.Gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/licences/.
Along the south arm: Imperial Landing; No. 2 Road Fishing Pier and Float; No. 3 Road Sports Fishing Pier;
Along the north arm: No. 7 Road Pier and Mitchell Island Pier.
Fishing licenses are required to fish from the Fraser River’s edge at all times (for those age 16 and up) including off of any pier, dock or float.

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Public art tour:
The City of Richmond has more than 50 public art pieces to view, located all over Richmond.
On the city’s website, you can print off a location map and do a self-guided tour with the kids, perhaps encourage them to come up with their own interpretations of each piece.

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If you don’t want to drive around the city, get back on the bikes and cycle around the collection in and around Steveston Village (check location map for details).
Some of the most popular public art pieces include:
- Minoru Horse, a sculpture of the racehorse Minoru, owned by King Edward VII and winner of the 1909 Epsom Derby. It’s located at Minoru Park, the former site of the Minoru Race Track.
- Water Sky Garden, comprised of a red, zigzag bridge, a water garden, and two very large net sculptures, this piece of art is located outside of the Richmond Olympic Oval.  
- Steveston Fishermen’s Memorial, a memorial for fishermen lost at sea consisting of a tall net needle and a bronze mural of fish boats and sea life located at Garry Point Park.
- Dog Party, a group of whimsical steel figures of dogs reflecting the light-hearted atmosphere of the off-leash dog area in the park east of the intersection of No. 3 Road & Dyke Road.  
A locations map is downloadable online at Richmond.ca and by searching “public art tour.”                                                                                                             

 

Outta Town

Langley/Fort Langley:
If you and/or your kids are fascinated by planes, the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley — a non-profit, volunteer-driven museum dedicated to restoring, preserving and showcasing Canada’s rich aviation heritage — should make a cameo appearance on any parent’s spring break to-do list.
In the early 1970s, a group of aviation enthusiasts made a move to stop the exodus of historic aircraft leaving Canada for the U.S. and Europe and pooled their resources, to acquire as many of these aircraft as possible. The museum and restoration site is open year round and houses more than 25 aircraft, both static and flying.

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The aircraft range from a WWII Handley Page Hampden to a T-33 Silver Star. The Canadian Museum of Flight is at Langley Regional Airport, Hangar #3, 5333 216th St. Call 604-532-0035 or go online to CanadianFlight.org for more information and admission prices. The museum and gift shop is open Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
While you’re in Langley, why not head a little north and make a day of it in historic Fort Langley, where you can discover the roots of not only Langley, but British Columbia itself.
The surrounding area was originally inhabited by the Kwantlen First Nations people, who fished, hunted and traded here with other Coast Salish nations. In 1827, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) set up a trading post in what is now Derby Reach Regional Park. Fur trading and salmon canning became staple industries at Fort Langley.

Britannia Mine/Squamish:
Last century, the Britannia Mine Museum, just south of Squamish, was a working mine. Now, it’s a multi award-winning, interactive museum, with interesting sights, sounds and family experiences.
You can rumble aboard the mine train as it rolls into the dark or learn from tour guides and even pan for real gold.
It does come at a price though, but if you don’t mind shelling out $18.50 (child 5-12) to $29 (adult) or $105 (for family of five), then it’s been receiving quite a few decent reviews for a family day out.
Check out their website at BritanniaMineMuseum.ca/events-app/spring-break.
And if you do head north, you might as well keep going a few kilometres further to the relatively-new Sea to Sky Gondola (where, for  Monday to Friday, March 13 to March 31, up to three children 12 and under, accompanied by at least one adult, can ride the Sea to Sky Gondola for free). Or, if you’ve already taken a financial hit at the mine museum, keep going into Squamish itself and spend a couple of hours walking around this historic town or partaking of one of the many local eating options.

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North Vancouver:
North Van has a plethora of outdoor stuff going on, but the best value – it’s totally free – has to be Lynn Canyon Park and its suspension bridge.
Way cheaper than its slightly bigger cousin at Capilano, the Lynn Canyon version is still scary enough at 50 metres above Lynn Creek - the height of a 15-storey building – to get the hard-to-please younger ones excited.

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And Lynn Canyon Park itself is one of the gems of the District of North Vancouver, with a forested park that features stunning creek and waterfall views and hiking trails through the temperate rainforest. More information is online at LynnCanyonEcologycentre.ca. While you’re in the area, take the kids a little further west along Highway 1 to the Capilano Salmon Hatchery, on the Capilano River in Capilano River Regional Park.
With more than 400,000 visitors annually, the hatchery is a popular spot for tourists and, the good news again is that, it’s free.
It has an interpretive centre, with a self-guided tour, where you can learn about and see fish develop from eggs to juvenile stage and when they are released to the river in spring. There’s also the Fish Ladder, where, depending on the season, you may see juvenile salmon and trout in the display aquaria or mature returning salmon in the fish ladder.
In the spring, the best species to view is the steelhead adults, coho juveniles and chinook juveniles.
And once you’ve had enough of salmon, go for a walk/hike in Capilano Regional River Park’s many trails and picnic areas.
The hatchery is at 4500 Capilano Rd., North Vancouver. Call 604-666-1790 for hours of operation.

 


Off the beaten track

YVR tour:
A little known self-guided tour in Richmond, which we think will produce less grumbles than the aforementioned biking and museums, is the free “Land, Sea and Sky” tour out at YVR.
Every aspect of the airport’s design is reflected in this fascinating and relatively brief (two hours) tour.
During your visit, see if you can spot how the Land, Sea and Sky theme is woven into the design of the airport. You’ll also stop at several of YVR’s significant pieces of artwork. Download the guide at YVR.ca/en/about-yvr/community/programs/self-guided-tours.

 

Regular programming

Camps:
The City of Richmond has a whole host of spring break programs for pre-schoolers to teenagers, with varied costs and times.
There is gymnastics and little chefs programs for the three to five-year-olds and amazing race to floor hockey for the six to 12-year-olds.
For a full list and the spring break brochure, go online to Richmond.ca and search “spring break” or go into any city community centre.

 

Spring Break Camps at the Olympic Oval:

Don’t stay at home during your school break. Whether it’s volleyball, basketball or hockey, the Oval has more than 30 sport camps to keep you active and on top of the competition. Go online to RichmondOval.ca/SpringBreak.

Still with the Oval, The ROX Olympic museum this spring break has a bobsleigh simulator challenge, where the fastest one down the track wins tickets to take a ride down the Vancouver 2010 bobsleigh track in Whistler. More information online at TheROX.ca

 

Soccer camps:
Richmond Youth Soccer Association is hosting two soccer camps, for boys and girls age U6 to U14 during spring break.
One camp is being run by BC Premier League franchise Fusion FC and another by MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps.
For more information, go online to RichmondFC.ca/spring-break-camps.