City of Surrey celebrates sustainability with annual Party for the Planet

The City of Surrey’s Party for the Planet will return for its 14th celebration on April 26 at Surrey Civic Plaza. 

The free Earth Day celebration, which starts at 11:00 am, aims to engage locals in sustainability and environmentalism and will feature a plant sale, live music, dance battles, food trucks, a sustainable marketplace, a rock climbing wall, Indigenous displays, and many more activities.

“It’s so important to have events like this in the community because it fosters civic pride,” says Amy Kim, senior special events marketing specialist at City of Surrey.

“So everyone is proud to be living in Surrey and learning about what it does to be environmentally conscious and sustainable wherever we can .… It’s B.C.’s largest Earth Day event, and we are very proud of that.”

The event will have four performance stages — Earth, Meadow, Community, and Family — hosting kid-friendly entertainment, including demonstrations from Science World and the Urban Safari Rescue Society. 

“On the Community stage, we’ll have dance battles and lessons like Zumba and demonstrations for everyone to participate in. The live music will be across the Earth stage and Meadow stage, [which will] have a huge wide range of music genres and mainly all local musicians.”

This year’s plant sale is hosted by Surrey Parks and will feature affordable plants native to the area, which improve sustainability, Kim says. Prices will vary from $3 to $12, and visitors will be able to shop for various berries, flowers, and ferns, among other species. 

At 2:00 pm, 500 complimentary tomato plants will be given out to attendees on a first-come, first-serve basis. Visitors can also shop from more than 25 local vendors and artisans who will be selling ethical, sustainable products, Kim adds. 

A new activity called “Paint a Salmon,” will be hosted by the Salmon Habitat Restoration Program this year. 

“Everyone can come and paint a wooden salmon that will get installed at Reedville Creek on 64th Avenue and King George Boulevard,” Kim says. “The whole program is to raise awareness about local salmon habitats and the importance of conservation, which is the whole basis of our event.” 

Kim hopes attendees take away new learnings about sustainability from the event and how small habits can lead to a big impact. 

“Our purpose is for people to come out, enjoy, have fun, connect with the community, and learn about Surrey,” Kim says. “I think it’s so important to have events like these to showcase sustainability and the importance of being environmentally friendly wherever we can.” 

To learn more about the event, visit www.partyfortheplanet.ca.