Longtime Langley seniors will be gathering for a luncheon to honour them during Seniors’ Week.

The Pioneer Banquet was moved to Seniors’ Week, June 3 to 9, from Nov. 19 (Douglas Day, when B.C. was declared a Crown colony) to distance it from colonialism.

There was no banquet in 2023 but this year’s Pioneer Appreciation Committee will play host to local seniors who helped build this community.

Those attending have lived in Langley at least 60 years (can be non-consecutively) and are at least 70 years of age.

Rosemary Genberg, 84, chairs the organizing committee which is carrying on a longtime tradition. The first banquet to honour local seniors was held in 1914 and was a joint effort with a nearby municipality, she noted.

“There were names like D.W. Poppy on there [the guest list], and it was a partnership with our twin city which was Lyndon, Wash.”

This year’s luncheon will be on Saturday, June 8, at the Langley Events Centre. The banquet is by-invitation only with those sent out by the Township.

Each banquet has a different theme. Genberg noted that the theme this year is the historic CN station in Fort Langley. The Langley Heritage Society is helping with that.

“Fred Pepin is bringing the [display] boards with all the pictures on it,” she added.

And there will be a history presentation about the station and its role in the community, including a six-minute video.

“I think it’s going to be of a lot of interest to people,” she said.

Local author and former fire chief Jim McGregor will emcee and be reading out the names of the pioneers in attendance, while the Soroptimists of the Langleys are helping with name tags and other duties that day and there will be a piper.

Anyone who meets the eligibility criteria (70 years old and 60 years of living here) can contact the Township Special Events department by email at specialevents@tol.ca, or by phone at 604-533-6148. People can register to be pioneers at anytime during the year.

.

• READ MORE: Return to in-person celebration draws more than 300 in 2022

• READ MORE: Langley Heritage Society and preserving local buildings

.