For the first time in a couple of years, road-hockey games return to the plaza at Surrey City Hall during Toque Tuesday, an annual event that draws attention to the problem of homelessness.
The Feb. 7 event, part of a national Raising The Roof charity campaign, welcomes people to donate cash and warm clothing (toques, jackets, socks, gloves) and also watch teams play hockey in an inflatable rink.
The games start at 10 a.m. and continue into the afternoon, with hot dogs and hot chocolate sold by donation.
“At noon we’ll pipe everyone out of the atrium (of city hall), said event organizer Tim “Supreme Commander” Baillie, a retired fire captain. “We’re back to normal with the games, everything,” he added.
Surrey’s Toque Tuesday event has been happening for a dozen years, other than during COVID. The hockey-playing teams typically involve local charities, service agencies, politicians and community groups.
The goal is to have fun around a very serious subject, Baillie says.
“This time of the year, potentially, the coldest and wettest and a tough time of the year, (it’s about) what those people are going through on the streets right now,” Baillie said in 2020. “If one day a year, we can make homelessness at the front of our thoughts, that’s what this is all about.”
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram and follow Tom on Twitter
