(Abbotsford, BC) – The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford with Jane’s Walk Abbotsford and the City of Abbotsford are delighted to celebrate two exciting, collaborative community initiatives. Everyone is invited to attend the free launch of a weekend of citizen-led Jane’s Walks, and to inaugurate the new community-made banners installed around the Civic Precinct, on Friday, May 3rd from 3:30pm-6pm at The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford, 32388 Veterans Way.
Jane’s Walk is a series of free neighbourhood walking tours led by members of our community and designed to put people in touch with where they live. Since its inception in 2007, Jane’s Walks have happened in hundreds of cities around the world. This is the third year that individuals and organizations from around the community have come together to offer the grassroots walks here in Abbotsford.
Walks will be happening all weekend long from May 3rd – 5th, 2019. Some of the exciting offerings include a behind the scenes look at the Abbotsford Airport, a walk about the popularity of Filming in Downtown Abbotsford, historic walks of Mount Lehman and Clayburn Village, and a selection of natural history walks that explore our unique environment. With 14 walks in total, there is something to satisfy every age, interest, and curiosity. All walks are free to attend and no registration is necessary. More information about the accessibility, themes, and difficulty of the individual walks available athttps://www.eventbrite.ca/o/janes-walk-abbotsford-17176870276.
The launch event at The Reach will also introduce Abbotsford’s latest community art project. The Community Banner Project began October 2018 when artists throughout Abbotsford were asked to design lamppost banners to reflect Abbotsford’s contemporary public life and diverse cultural heritage. Over fifty designs were submitted and ten were chosen by public vote. The artists were then invited to hand paint their unique designs onto the banners, which will be on display starting May 3, 2019 throughout Abbotsford’s Civic Precinct. The winning designs were created by Nadia Dodd, Ireland Forsberg, Elaine Garry, Ruth Jackson, Cassidy Luteijn, Courtney Mienkina, Jenny Reilander and Vanessa Serroul.
The May 3rd – 3:30pm at The Reach will include refreshments, a mini-Jane’s Walk to look at the newly installed banners, a free screening of the documentary film “Citizen Jane: Battle For The City” which tells the story of Jane Jacobs, activist, urban visionary, and namesake of Jane’s Walks.
Photo credit: Connie Hacket