Signs of the Times

We have a saying in the White Rock Sun that goes "You can't make this sh..., stuff up."  I usually go on like Forest Gump to say "I'm not that funny and not that smart but I know what hilarious is."  There are times that I wonder how I have not broken my neck from shaking my head so often at the strange and bizarre things that cross my desk.  With all of this being said, welcome to this weird and wacky TNT with a story 19 years in the making that even I cannot believe.

Back in 2006 when I decided that the nude beach in South Surrey needed more, dare I say exposure, I thought it would be a good idea to have proper outdoor signage posted defining the beach parameters and the sunbathing season.  I had a local sign making company create two professional metal outdoor signs with white reflective backgrounds plus blue, green and black text.  These very gentle non-alarming signs read as follows:  

Be comfortable in your own skin at

CRESCENT ROCK

NATURIST BEACH

Buff by the bluffs since the 1950's

Located 5 minutes walk south of Crescent Beach 

Just Past the '101 Steps" in Sunny South Surrey

Clothing Optional Sunbathing 

For 200m Beyond Crescent Rock

- May 15 to Sept 15 -

Have fun in the sun 'naturally' 

Surrey's United Naturists (S.U.N. Assn.)

Mounting these at the beach was easy as there were vintage City of Surrey park signs already posted in the area that read "Keep Your Park Clean, Pack It In, Pack It Out."  Using mounting brackets you see on any municipal sign, I attached the new Crescent Rock Naturist Beach signs to the existing poles.  It did not take long for action to be taken with City of Surrey crews showing up a week later and using a gas powered chop saw to cut both of these signs down including the two old Parks signs.  They took the one sign away, tossed the other into the bush and left dangerously sharp metal poles sticking out of the ground.  From inside sources at City Hall, I learned that this response came after only one complaint about the nude beach signs.  

What nobody at Surrey seemed to realize was that the beach at the bottom of the Ocean Park bluffs is not the jurisdiction of the City past the Christopherson Steps (formerly the 101 Steps).  Because it is a tidal region, the Federal government has control of this area, meaning that Surrey had no right to be removing the signs I had posted.  The vintage Parks signs were from decades earlier and had been there as long as I remember, with no markings on them from the then Municipality of Surrey.  I packaged up all of this information into a "Nudes Release" from SUN and forwarded it off to a variety of media sources.  This was the shot across the bow that started the battle royale over Crescent Rock Beach and the nude beach in Surrey.  The fact that Surrey Crews had cut down the old park signs, left jagged metal posts and had thrown one of the "Pack It In - Pack It Out" signs into the bush did not go over well.

So back to July 2025, things are nice and calm at Crescent Rock beach, it is legally recognized by the RCMP/SPS for sunbathing and skinny-dipping at any time of year and stretches from south of Crescent Beach to west of White Rock.  The one original Crescent Rock Naturist Beach sign I dragged out of the blackberries at the beach in 2006 has been hanging in my hot tub gazebo for the past 17 years.  I must admit that I had wondered whatever happened to the other sign but figured it had ended up getting scrapped and sent to AMIX for metal recycling.  Imagine my surprise last week when I received a text from my sister with a photograph of the other original nude beach sign hanging on the wall of a salon in South Surrey.  The best part is the name of this home based business, Making Waves.

The owner Georgia markets her hair studio as "A little Hair Boutique in the country near the Ocean", providing a variety of hair and makeup services.  They are located at 16945 20 Ave. not far from Darts Hill garden park.  You can check out their FB page with lots of glamorous photos at https://www.facebook.com/MakingWavesHairStudioSurreybc/ plus on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/448221541855294/making-waves-hair-studio-surreybc/   It is likely that this original Crescent Rock Beach sign was recovered from a City of Surrey scrap metal bin and kept as an interesting souvenir.  Eventually she came into possession of it and occasionally hangs it on the wall of the studio as a one-of-a-kind conversation piece for her beachy business.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever see it again.

These signs are an interesting piece of history regarding Crescent Rock beach and how it went from a neighbourhood secret to being widely known and utilized.  It is not the only clothing-optional beach in Surrey with Barnston Bare beach on the east end of Barnston Island in the middle of the Fraser River attracting those looking for a freshwater clothes-free experience.  While the City of Surrey stopped fighting against the nude use of Crescent Rock beach over 15 years ago, it still refuses to install any signage pointing the way to the shoreline or alerting people to its legal nude-use status.  If you search the Surrey.ca website for "nude beach", "naturist beach", "clothing-optional beach" or "Crescent Rock beach", you get zero results.  The same goes for the CIty of Vancouver, home to world famous Wreck Beach, with their vancouver.ca website only having one entry about an oil spill off Wreck Beach years ago.

As I mentioned only a few weeks ago regarding Crescent Rock beach in my TNT on the 1001 Steps, Surrey's total lack of action and ignorance on this cultural and recreational issue makes a mockery of their support for "diversity, equity, inclusion and respect."  The same goes for the City of Vancouver who seem to want to pretend that they are not home to one of the top 10 nude beaches in the world.  While it is illegal to discriminate against a group because of the colour of the skin, apparently it is somehow okay to do so for the amount showing.  The cities of Surrey and Vancouver omitting that they have legal nude beaches and wiping their websites clean of any mention of them shows how naturists and nudists are being systematically discriminated against and their culture of positive body acceptance purposely ignored.  I wonder if they would change their tune if a complaint was made to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal about this ongoing travesty?  I guess there is one way to find out.

Naturally yours,

Don Pitcairn

I wish to acknowledge we live work and play on the traditiional lands of the Semiahmoo People

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Take the online survey at www.talkwhiterock.ca/budget2026. Survey submissions close on Wednesday, August 27 at 4:30 p.m.

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Outstanding Citizens Award

Outstanding Canadians on the Peninsula Award recipient Cindy Walker, MP Ernie Klassen, White Rock Mayor Megan Knight, and award recipients Manjit Litt and Cindy Walker on July 1 in White Rock.

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Yell It Like It Is

Friday July 11, 2025

Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came is an 1970 American drama-comedy film 

Last night's beautiful evening brought out a large crowd to the Concert @ The Pier which for the first time was held in the Miramar Plaza in uptown White Rock.

It was standing and dancing room only as hundreds of attendees basked and grooved to the reggae sounds of MOSTLY MARLEY.

My question though is the phrase at the top of this editorial...Suppose They gave

Even though the plaza was packed as I looked around at the four towers that faced the plaza I was shocked to see so few people having "parties on their patios." The first two towers that were constructed in the BOSA TOWERS have huge balconies on them facing south, the two new towers have very small balconies and really don't afford the opportunity to have a bunch of friends over.

A rough count of balconies facing the plaza totaled out at 26 balconies and only 4 or 5 of them had anyone on them. It was similar at the other 3 towers that faced towards the plaza? Bizarre.

These Concerts @ or near the pier brought to us by the City of White Rock and the local Business Improvement Association have been hugely successful over the years. Walking through the crowd I did see a number of White Rockers but I have always wondered where the majority of the attendees to these popular concerts come from? Despite numerous requests by the city of White Rock for a breakdown on who comes to these concerts, are they from Surrey, Langley delta or beyond. We have never received that information.

Did the concert do anything for local business owners?

Well it was obvious Three Dogs beer patio was jammed yet when I went into Thrifty's deli to get some supper the operator told me he was enjoying the music but it had no impact on the deli's business.

This is not an unusual malady with our city. Take THE TOUR DE WHITE ROCK for instance, not killed simply due to covid, the organizers pulled out of White Rock and surrounding cities simply because the community had no desire to attend the wonderful events. Our Canada Day celebrations on the beach really only draw a big crowd for the fireworks.

Next up will be our annual Sea Festival Torch Light Parade. This event does capture the imagination of our community, driven largely by children who heard they are throwing out candies from the floats.

Ar the end of the day simply put, USE IT OR LOSE IT, and sadly losing these events may be the alterior motive by "new residents" for such poor local support.

David Chesney

Editor/Publisher

Who will be awarded the title of Miss or Mr. White Rock?

Come to the finale of the White Rock Youth Ambassadors Friday, July 18th, where we award & celebrate our new team and their incredible accomplishments this season.

Tickets for Youth and Seniors are just $25. Adults 19+ $55 plus fees. Includes light refreshments; no host bar.

It’s all happening at the White Rock Players’ Club Theatre. Purchase your tickets at our website WRYA.ca or Event Brite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/.../puttin-on-the-ritz-gala...

Ps. Dont miss the After Party DJ & Dance… FREE to attend with your Gala ticket. It’s also free for youth 18 & under. Kindly supported by the White Rock Elks Club 431