Kris Kringle Market & Tea

Saturday, November 26 from 10am to 2pm

Pemberton Heights Community Hall
(2260 Philip Avenue)

Come shop for crafts, jewelry, baking, artwork, kids stuff, decorations and more. Meet your neighbours, hear Christmas carols and enjoy a delicious home-cooked soup + sweets lunch!

Pemberton Heights Parade & Picnic

Everyone welcome including non-residents! Bring your picnic or buy it at the park!

Wear your racing shoes and decorate your bike, trike, scooter or stroller!

Bouncy Castle, Petting Zoo, Dunk Tank, Face Painting, BBQ, snow cones, etc.

And the best part - no need to find a parking spot!

11:15 am - Best Dressed Bike Judging (in front of the “church”at 22nd & Philip)

Prizes for best decorated bike, trike, scooter, wagon, etc.—Judged by several of our local politicians

11:30 am - Parade starts moving (along 22nd from Philip to Lloyd, then turns North to Sowden

Roads along the parade route (22nd) will be closed to traffic for about 1/2 hour

12 noon - Picnic at Sowden Park

Hot dogs, hamburgers, snow cones, etc. are for sale between 12 and 2 to raise funds for the Pemberton Heights Community Association

1:00 pm - Races Start with the Oh Canada sing-a-long and tug-o-war

Dashes for all age groups from crawlers to over 40, sack races, wheel barrow and parent and child races

Event organized by the Pemberton Heights Community Association and the Pemberton Heights Mums Group.

Thank you to Heritage Canada & North Van Rec Commission for their generous grants and Colleen Simmiss for the parade balloons!

More about the Pemberton Heights Community Association

The digital age is often blamed for pushing people indoors, away from their neighbours and their community at large. But in Pemberton Heights, it wasn’t fancy apps or social media that attracted hundreds of people to the Canada Day picnic. A few signs, some great people and a genuine community spirit drew perhaps the largest crowd picnic organizers have ever seen.

Behind the scenes, the Pemberton Heights Community Association works with other neighbourhood groups throughout the year on initiatives that benefit the entire community. Annually this could be events such as the Canada Day Picnic, Meet Your Neighbour Nights at The Corner Stone, neighbourhood clean-ups, block parties and more.

In addition to this, they have advocated for the neighbourhood on issues such as saving the school and the church, licensing for the Corner Stone, and advised the District of North Vancouver towards issues such as traffic calming, development, education initiatives like crime prevention, Bear Watch, and programs about the trees. Colin Metcalfe, president of the PHCA since 2001, also noted their advocacy efforts with the Province succeeded in getting the sound barrier installed on Highway 1.

In addition to vice president Herman Mah, the other executive members of the PHCA are Tracey Cochrane, Gord Sims, Paul Tubb, Leslie Landell, Blair Whiteley, Joanne Burleigh and Tim Waring.

Herman says many people get involved through the Mum’s Group, the PAC or when an important issue arises. “We are advocates for the neighbourhood, but we are also about building the community.”

The PHCA has an annual general meeting and meets about 3-4 times a year or when an issue comes up, and while most initiatives are self-funded through the generosity of residents, money that is raised goes towards signs, community events, donations to North Shore groups, and other requirements as needed. If there are initiatives people think the PHCA should be involved in, they are encouraged to reach out.

Colin is quick to point out that their role is more as an advisory group to represent the community for initiatives that will affect the whole neighbourhood such as dedicating the former Zig-Zag Park as Ashdown Park in honour of Frank and Marjory Ashdown.

Looking forward, Colin says the PHCA will be working the District on the use of the former church facilities including the gym as well as traffic issues, more prominent crosswalks, and concerns around densification in the neighbourhood specifically with lane-way homes.

“There is a lot of people who work to make Pemberton Heights what it is,” says Herman.

“If there is a big issue, we will all work together.”

To see more photos from Canada Day please visit www.pembertonheights.ca/gallery

Get Involved:

Pemberton Heights Community Association

Always requires ad-hoc volunteers, committee members for gardening/beautification, Canada Day and special events. Email for more information: Colin: cejm@shaw.ca or Herman: hermanmah@shaw.ca

Mum’s Group

The Pemberton Heights Mums Group is always happy to welcome new members. Stay in contact with the group via emails, monthly meetings and the active Facebook site (must be a member to view). Email Shawna at phmg.email@gmail.com for more info.

Parent Advisory Committee
Capilano Elementary IB

Meets every 2nd Tuesday of the month and is currently seeking volunteers for a variety of positions as well as help with the 2016 Spring Gala. Visit the website for more info at www.capilanopac.com

Capilano Elementary School Calendar 2015/2016

Download Here: Capilano School Calendar

Pemberton Heights Community Garden Clean-up

Please join your neighbours for the annual Pemberton Heights community garden cleanup! We will be weeding, trimming and tidying three of our community garden spaces: Ashdown Park and our two "gateway gardens" at the entrances to Pemberton Heights to make our neighbourhood look its best. Please bring your own garden tools, bags, gloves and anything else you need to help keep our community looking its best! Plant donations are welcome.




Sat/Sun June 13/14

10am to 3pm


Ashdown Park (Keith Road & Cortell)


Gateway Garden (Keith Road & Hwy 1)


McKay Gateway (McKay Road & Keith Road)

Pemberton Heights Community Yard Sale

May 30/31

Download Map Here: Map Download

Quick History: Streetcar Route #3 & The Corner Store

There is something comforting about driving up MacKay Avenue towards Pemberton Heights.

Perhaps the trees and the creekside offer instant stillness and the hint of countryside give a sense of seclusion from the busy streets that are now endemic to the North Shore.  The Corner Stone (formerly The Corner Store) offers a last stop for milk, a meeting place, or an after school candy run. It has quietly weathered the tests of time and provided a hub for the people that live here.

“ We are lucky to have a community that supports this store,” says Tracey Cochrane, current owner of The Corner Stone.

The Corner Store has survived over a century’s worth of development, depression, war, boom and bust by creating a community hub that hangs on in our modern day.

“In many ways, the term the ‘Corner Stone’, we chose that name because it was more fitting in many ways. We really have become the corner stone in the  neighbourhood,” says Cochrane. “From lattes and cold beer to penny candy and three course meals, we have it all.”

Part of the store’s longevity and success can be contributed to being located at a stop on the Route #3 Streetcar that travelled from Esplanade to the Capilano River. The car travelled west to 20th Avenue where via a 450-foot wide and staggering 98-foot high wooden train trestle crossed Mackay Creek.

The western extension of the #3 line originally opened in 1912 and ran until it was condemned and closed in 1943. Just 4 years later in 1947, North Vancouver closed all remaining Streetcar lines.
If you would like to learn more about the history of Pemberton Heights please visit
www.northvanmuseum.ca.

Photo above was taken in 1910 during construction of the western line. This photo is roughly at Mackay Avenue and 22nd. (Courtesy of the North Vancouver Museum & Archives)

The Corner Store Then & now

The names of the two men in the picture have been lost to time, but according to the handwritten note on the back of the photo, the boy drinking a coke in front of the Corner Store in 1942 is Gordon Hines. Several local families have owned the store over the years including the Palmers, the Johnsons as well as current owner Tracey Cochrane.

(Photo above courtesy of Tracey Cochrane)

Map of the north shore streetcar lines

Illustration of streetcar lines in overlay on modern map of North Vancouver.
(Photo of Trestle (far right) courtesy of North Vancouver Museum & Archives)