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Surrey's 'Beats on the Streets' cancelled

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SURREY — Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association’s Beats on the Streets was supposed to kick off on Sept. 6, but was quietly cancelled before the affair took off.

The five and 10k run would have started at the new City Hall Plaza, with each kilometre of the run featuring a different live music station and a concert at the finish line.

Elizabeth Model, chair of the Surrey Marathon Society and CEO of the Downtown Surrey BIA, said new competitors and a lack of interest in charity runs thwarted the new event.

“This year we noticed that a lot of new and different competitors came into the marketplace,” she said. “We feel that the saturation point was hit, and the numbers just didn’t come together for the event.”

She also noted that “running events in general… have experienced a sharp decline in the last four to six months.”

“With careful resolve and really a tough decision, the board decided that the event shouldn’t proceed because of target deficits,” Model said, admitting that “the street closures for Surrey are extremely expensive.”

Meanwhile, the Peace Arch Hospital & Community Health Foundation’s annual fundraiser, the Great Pumpkin Run Walk, will take place on Oct. 26. The event raises money to support construction of a new emergency room at Peace Arch

Hospital, with participants encouraged to dress up in costumes for the near-Halloween event.

“I’m thrilled to see the whole community come together to support Peace Arch Hospital, the teamwork is phenomenal,” said returning event co-chair Linda Morgan in a release. The run/walk will begin and end at the Peace Arch Hospital’s parking lot. Visit Pahfoundation.ca for registration details.

Elsewhere, the Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research in South Surrey/White Rock will kick off on Sept. 14 for its 34th year of aiming to conquer cancer. Similar events will be held that day in Cloverdale, Newton, Fraser Heights, North Delta and many other communities across the province. Eighty-four cents of each dollar raised will go directly towards cancer research.

To register for the Terry Fox Run, visit Terryfox.org.

kalexandra@thenownewspaper.com