Welcome to the first instalment of MEET MY NEIGHBOURHOOD!
The Lower Mainland (not to mention all of BC) has so many amazing neighbourhoods and family-friendly attractions, that it seemed impossible to try and cover all of the hidden gems myself. Fortunately, I know a ton of amazing parents out there who are constantly getting out with their kids and finding awesome local playgrounds, pools, programs, businesses and more. So, every month I will be showcasing different moms (and dads!) who are willing to share some of their favourite spots in their neighbourhoods with the rest of us. I thought this seemed like an especially helpful thing at a time when so many of us are staying local within BC and enjoying “stay-cations”.
The first edition of ‘Meet My Neighbourhood’ comes to us courtesy of Andrea and her city of Richmond.
Hi! I’m Andrea, a Richmond high school teacher and a mom of 2 boys: Josh, age 5, and Zach, age 3. I grew up in Vancouver but moved to Richmond 10 years ago when my husband and I married and bought our first place. I love Richmond for the convenience (easily accessible malls and grocery stores), the food (unpretentious, authentic Asian restaurants in every neighbourhood), and the comfort (it feels safe). What I’ve grown to appreciate over the years, especially after having kids, is just how enriching and family-friendly it is.
I began truly exploring Richmond during my first maternity leave. Josh was born in the winter so by the time the warm weather rolled around, he was the perfect age for me to take him out on walks, to explore parks and playgrounds. It was during this time that I discovered a few hidden gems in this city, some that even my friends who grew up in Richmond didn’t know about. Narrowing my favourite places to the following list was extremely difficult, but I’ve attempted to limit it to places particularly unique, but not necessarily the most well-known, to Richmond.
Richmond Nature Park
I first discovered Richmond Nature Park during my second mat leave when I enrolled Zach in a Nature Baby class; since then, we’ve been visiting regularly! This bog, forest, and pond nature park provides walking trails of various distances, one of them being a raised boardwalk perfect for strollers. We typically begin our visit observing the birds in the birdfeeder area; signs and descriptions allow kids to match the birds they see with their names. We then embark on one of the trails; my kids love crawling through the “secret” hiding places they find. The Nature Park also features a relatively new natural playground, a perfect reward after a long walk. Before we leave, we visit the Nature House to check out the displays, live animals, and the active beehive!
The World of Kidtropolis
Kidtropolis is hands-down my favourite indoor play space for toddlers. It’s set up as an interactive town complete with a school, restaurant, fire station, theatre, jail, ice cream parlour, newsroom, and many more. Kids can fly a plane, mow the lawn, go camping, be a doctor, fill up at the gas station, buy groceries, visit the vet, clean their home… the list is endless. There are mailboxes throughout the town for kids to deliver and pick up letters, and Little Tikes cars to drive around. The way Kidtropolis sparks kids’ imagination and pretend play is positively magical. The facility also boasts a giant climbing structure that culminates in the best part, the slides, which parents are welcome to enjoy as well! My kids could spend hours here, which is why I appreciated the (real) in-house cafe where we could eat lunch, then return for more play.
Larry Berg Flight Path Park
This park is definitely unique to Richmond, considering it’s located directly in line with the end of the YVR Airport south runway. The main feature of this park is the giant, climbable globe; try to capture a photo of your kids atop this globe as a plane flies overhead! Instagram goals aside, the Flight Path Park is perfect for picnics (there are picnic tables, but also plenty of grass for picnic mats), observing planes take off, and watching your kids tire themselves out running back and forth along the replica runway paths. My kids love using these runway paths for their scooter and bike races. They also love climbing and jumping off the paper airplane benches on the grass field.
King George Water Park and Dixon Wading Pool
These two are our go-to places for outdoor water play in the summer, with King George being one of the more popular water parks and Dixon being a hidden gem. King George water park is large, colourful, and whimsical, featuring erupting volcanoes (my boys’ favourite), clouds, elephants, and bridges. There are trees surrounding one side of the water park, ideal for setting up picnic mats on the grass in the shade. Next to the water park is an even larger playground if your kids get bored of the water! Dixon wading pool is located at Dixon Elementary and is filled with water the day after school ends in June. This shallow wading pool is perfect for babies in floaties and for toddlers and young children. It is also adjacent to a large playground and also surrounded by trees on two sides for picnic mats on the shaded grass.
Public Works Open House and Doors Open Richmond
These are two annual, free, family-friendly events which we look forward to every year. The Public Works Open house is an interactive event facilitated by the Engineering and Public Works Department. It is both educational and fun, as it shines a light on all the people who provide and maintain the infrastructure services that keep Richmond running, including Sewerage and Drainage, Emergency Services, Roads and Construction, and Parks Operations. There are so many booths and activities that we can’t possibly visit them all, so we typically select the ones most age-appropriate for our kids at the time. At the last event we attended, they sat in a real excavator, stood next to a real traffic light (it’s huge!), and played in a giant sandbox. Doors Open Richmond is essentially a city-wide open house, where over 40 sites including museums, places of worship, and art studios open their doors to the eager-to-explore public. Our family favourites are the fire hall, where the boys climbed atop a fire truck and experienced the exhilaration of spraying a fire hose, and the Colonel Sherman Armoury, where they “trained” in an obstacle course fitness test and entered army command post trucks.
