Date/Time
Date(s) - May 27, 2022 - May 29, 2022
All Day
Categories No Categories
Join us May 27, 28, and 29 for the 7th annual Walk in the Spirit of Reconciliation! This year’s walk will be a combination of gathering and walking together, as well as on your own self-guided walks. Maps will be provided for the official route and the new family-friendly walks. You can walk at whatever time works best for you! We will be posting Indigenous information, stories, and videos on the Facebook Event page for you to read or watch before and during the Walk.
We will be following all BC Health regulations. We will inform you if the Reconciliation Walk event is canceled due to any restrictions.
We hope you will join us for any/all of the days as we walk in lament and solidarity with our First Nations brothers and sisters whose families have been affected by the residential schools for many generations. As anyone of our human family have been affected, we are all affected.
Here’s everything you need to know to join in!
1. Register for the Walk and choose your route below!
We would like everyone to wear the Walk event t-shirt when they walk. Please let us know what size t-shirt you would like when you register.
T-shirts – We will be providing a free event t-shirt for new walkers and those who didn’t receive one last year. You can register your size and choose the location you will pick it up at. If you still have your Reconciliation Walk event t-shirt from last year, please use it again this year. (We didn’t include a date on the t-shirt so it could be worn for future walks.)
2. Walk a selected route on May 27th, 28th, or 29th.
Route Options:
– Route 1: Fort Langley National Historic Site to The Dyke (88th and Trans Canada Trail) ~ 7km
– Route 2: The Dyke (88th and Trans Canada Trail) to McTavish Road ~ 6.5km
– Route 3: McTavish Road to Mt. Lehman Road ~ 6.5km
– Route 4: Mt. Lehman Road to Mod Pro Containers (along Trans Canada Trail) ~ 5km
– Route 5: Mod Pro Containers (along Trans Canada Trail) to (go under the Mission bridge) Riverside Road ~ 8km
– Route 6: Timberlake Street, Mission to Fraser River Heritage Park ~ 5.5km
– Route 7: Heritage Park to (walk along a gravel trail) previous site of St. Mary’s Indian Residential School (currently Pekw’xe:yles Reserve) ~ 1.5km
– Your Own Route: Walk any portion of the walk, whether it’s 1 KM or more. Pick a starting point on the map and follow the route to your stopping point. Please post on the Facebook event page where you started and stopped.
– Solidarity Route: If you live outside of the Fraser Valley area, please join us by choosing to do a walk in your community on May 27th, 28th, or 29th. Let us know where you walked and how many kilometers.
– Family Friendly Routes: This year we are excited to introduce several family-friendly route options. The routes are off main roads along city trails.
*View the Family Route: Fort Langley
*View the Family Route: Langley Arboretum
*View the Family Friendly Route: Mill Lake Park (Abbotsford)
*View the Family Friendly Route: Vedder River Trail (Chilliwack)
If you can’t walk and even if you are walking, please join us by reading/watching the Indigenous information, stories, and videos we will post throughout the week prior to the walk and during the walk. Let us know if you took the time to review these resources by posting on the FB event.
3. Join the Facebook Event and post photos letting us know you completed your selected route or a section of the Walk.
Send us a photo, video, selfie, text, and post the starting point of your walk and your stopping point. Also, share any other fun photos along your walk to post on the Facebook event page!
Notes for Walkers: There is no designated parking for this event or any parking spots at the beginning of any of the routes. Also, there is no vehicle at the end of your chosen route to take you back to where you began your walk, so you may have to walk back unless you arrange transportation for yourself. There are only three public restrooms along the official route and they are only open during their designated hours: one at the Fort in Fort Langley, one at the Matsqui park area under the Mission bridge, and one at Heritage Park in Mission. Lastly, you may want to drive the route before choosing to register to walk it, to see the length and if there are any steep slopes or inclines in the section of the route.
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The Walk in the Spirit of Reconciliation event is an ecumenical event in partnership with the Christian Reformed Church, Diocese of New Westminster, Jericho Ridge Community Church, Langley Mennonite Fellowship Church, Mennonite Church British Columbia, Mennonite Central Committee BC, St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church, United Churches of Langley, and Willoughby Christian Reformed Church.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/walk-in-the-spirit-of-reconciliation-2022-tickets-264744918177