Chilliwack – In January 2025, Jeanie Calver wrote an opinion piece and sent it to FVN. She is part of a group called – Bring Back Agriculture to Chilliwack Heritage Park (Link is here).
In her op/ed she noted in part: Heritage Park boasts incredible infrastructure, including indoor and outdoor arenas, a rodeo arena, and a track. It’s considered one of the finest facilities of its kind in Western North America. In its early days, it fulfilled its mission, supporting open riding, equestrian events, and agricultural events. But as time passed, the facility drifted away from its agricultural focus. Open riding was discontinued, the track was turned into a parking lot, and access to facilities became increasingly restricted and expensive.
The agricultural and equestrian communities, once the heart of Heritage Park, now feel sidelined in favour of trade shows and non-agricultural events. Simple requests—like using outdoor arenas during events or finding reasonable rental packages—are often met with resistance, high costs, or bureaucratic hurdles. Horse show associations, frustrated by challenges dealing with management and staff, have taken their events—and the economic benefits they bring—to other communities. This shift has alienated local groups and impacted youth and community initiatives, leaving a once-thriving agricultural hub underutilized and disconnected from its roots.
From Facebook – On Wednesday, February 12 – We had our first meeting with the Tourism Board about bringing agriculture back to Heritage Park! On our side of the table, we had a strong and passionate group representing Beef, Dairy, 4-H, Horse Show Producers, Barrel Racers, Chilliwack Riding Club, parents with children involved in agriculture, and members of the agricultural and equine community who have been past users of Heritage Park (see comments for a full list of voices for Agriculture at Heritage Park). On the other side of the table, representatives from the Board of Directors for Chilliwack Tourism and City Hall joined the discussion (see below for a picture of the agenda and a list of their representatives). This was a preliminary information-gathering meeting. The tone was respectful and there seems to be a willingness from the City and some of the Tourism Chilliwack Board of Directors to listen and consider changes. We are cautiously optimistic moving forward. There will be more meetings in the near future, and we will continue to keep everyone posted. Please keep sharing your stories and dreams for Heritage Park with us—your voices matter, and we want to ensure all perspectives in agriculture are heard and elevated.
UPDATE – The group’s Jeanie Calver, Shanda Davis and Deb Anderson spoke with FVN’s Don Lehn :
