The walk will be part of a festival-like event with live music at the start and finish line. Participants and spectators can paint a “memorial rock” to honour lost loved ones, which will be displayed after the two-kilometre walk. There will also be a prize draw at the end of the event. Funds raised will go towards New West Hospice Society, which is working to bring a hospice for end-of-life care to the New Westminster area. Walkers can join up as a team and gather pledges from people they know, with a friendly competition for the highest total.
The walk route will go along the Quay boardwalk, between the Simon Fraser memorial and the railway bridge and back. The route has been selected to be accessible for wheelchairs and strollers. Charity walks and runs like this often use grassroots marketing tools like poster printing and social media to help encourage people to come out. The event is one of the largest annual fundraisers for the Hospice Society, which describes themselves as:
“..dedicated to building a grassroots hospice initiative from the community level up, based on the compassionate city model.”
The 2025 RiverWalk will take place on the morning of May 4, with the walk starting and finishing in front of the River Market in New Westminster.