The blog
These guides answer the questions people actually ask about getting things done locally: where to eat, what is open on a long weekend, which trades to call, and what to do on a wet Sunday. They are written for people who are going this weekend, not for people planning a trip next year.
Written and checked by
Carla Jensen
16 guides published
I rank places and say what the ranking is based on, and where a guide leans on the public map data or on what a business says about itself, it says so. Some of it is logistics: parking, opening hours, how to feed eight people on a Saturday without a booking. Some of it is me being opinionated about lunch.
The one rule I hold to is that the guides cover the whole city, including the half that is harder to write about.
Newest
Mission Local lists 14 businesses under Hair Salons. These range from barbershops that do fades to studios that handle colour and event styling. Nine of those salons are in Mission City, and four are in Cedar Valley. The remaining one is in Durieu.
Notes from the valley floor
A guide that likes everything is useless. So I rank things, I say why, and I tell you when I haven't been back since the owners changed.
More from the blog
The newest guide sits at the top. I go back and rewrite the older ones when something changes on the ground.
The directory lists 12 businesses under Pet Stores across several neighbourhoods. These include grooming shops and specialty pet care stops. Beggin For Bubbles on Forbes St in Mission City offers dog baths and grooming.
Mission at Christmas is, above all, one big night: the Candlelight Parade on First Avenue, alongside a tree lighting at Centennial Park, a holiday event at the Leisure Centre, and Christmas shows at Clarke Theatre.
Mission's Remembrance Day 2026: Mission Legion ceremony on November 11, hosted by the Royal Canadian Legion, with parade details and poppy campaign information.
Downtown Mission's trick-or-treat, the City's Halloween programs for young children on October 31, the fireworks ban, and an honest note on the nearest pumpkin patches in Abbotsford.
Past event: September 5-7, 2026. This guide covers the 2026 Labour Day weekend, not upcoming events. Confirm current opening hours, event dates, and park restrictions with the venues before planning a visit.
The do-it-yourself era ends in every household eventually. How to choose a local electrician, plumber or roofer in Mission: credentials, permits, quotes, and why local usually wins.
Five kilometres northeast of the old town the rooftops run out and the farm gates open. Durieu, the Hatzic Valley, and the etiquette that keeps the stands open season after season.
Half of Mission lives uphill, and the answer to where is not a street name but a direction. Acreages in Cedar Valley, forest-edge streets in Silverhill, and the services closer than newcomers expect.
Our food list is shorter than Vancouver's and that is fine. Breakfast near the station, the Greek room on the main street, family dining on the Lougheed, and the brewery that keeps North Railway honest after dark.
The commuter train that ends its run at Mission City station has shaped this town for thirty years. How the ride works, when it runs, and what it means for shopping local on First Avenue.
Westminster Abbey sits on the hillside above town with the best free view in Mission. The monastery's history, the working farm, and the walking loop I give visitors, all in one guide.
Tips and corrections
Somewhere I missed, or something I got wrong?
I read everything that comes in. If a place has closed, changed hands, or is simply better than I gave it credit for, tell me and I'll go back and eat there again.