KPU community day returns to Richmond campus

Kwantlen Polytechnic University is hosting its third annual community day on May 24, which welcomes sponsors, donor organizations, government representatives, and other community members and partners to learn more about the school and how to get involved in its initiatives.

The event is returning to where it first launched — the KPU Richmond campus.

“Lots of community [members were] asking when it was coming back,” says Kim McGill, manager of community engagement and major events at KPU. “We’re trying to move it around to different campuses, so we’re just looking at ways to engage in our different communities.”

Among the event’s various features are networking opportunities with local organizations.

“A new opportunity this year is a sustainability zone, where we’ve invited some community partners to come and participate,” McGill says. “Some of the community partners are just being solidified, but we’re very excited to be able to work with some previous partners as well as some brand new ones coming into play.”

The Future Students’ Office will lead campus tours and be there to help prospective students apply to KPU or pay their confirmation fees. Disciplines such as entertainment arts and acupuncture will also lead activations, McGill says, and multiple tours throughout the day will take place at the KPU Farm on Garden City Lands.

A DJ will be playing music live for the entire event, and Appare Yosakoi Vancouver, a Japanese dance group, will perform two 10-minute segments, McGill says.

Food and drinks at the event will include products from Coca Cola and Nando’s Chicken, which are both event sponsors. There will also be a popcorn machine, McGill says.

Community day will have a kids’ zone with games and activities, such as bean-bag toss, mini golf, colouring sheets, as well as giant ring toss and giant dominoes, which are both new additions sponsored by Rowe Events and Show Services, McGill says.

She adds a tradition at the event is giving out KPU’s Community Impact Award, which recognizes “individuals and organizations who are strong partners of KPU and making a difference in regional communities of relevance to KPU,” the award’s website reads. Last year’s winner was the Surrey Board of Trade.

Community day will also take place during family orientation at the Melville Centre for Dialogue, which will help create “more buzz” on campus, McGill says.

She finds KPU’s community day serves as an opportunity for the school to be a good neighbour and share what it has to offer in terms of partnerships, like the possibility of becoming a donor to give back or hiring students and graduates for the summer.

“Whether that be an opportunity for them to host an event on our campus, [learn about] classes they can take, [or how to finish] up a degree that maybe they started years ago, I think it has really offered that opportunity to open the doors and start dialogue and networking and conversation,” McGill says. “It’s really helped build some further developments for partnerships.”

The event takes place from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm on May 24. For more information and to RSVP, visit www.kpu.ca/communityday.