They finally got their crossing. Parents are breathing a sigh of relief at Cascade Heights Elementary now that a city-installed pedestrian crossing light is ready to use.

The school's parent group started a campaign a couple of years ago to get a pedestrian-activated crossing at the school, and about a month ago, it was finally activated after a series of delays. Parents wanted the crossing put in to make the area safer for students.

"We had a couple of close calls with the kids," said parent advisory council chair Ivy Yu. "We had lots of traffic."

The crossing is on Smith Avenue, close to Burnaby Hospital.

EXOTIC PLANT SALE

If you want to get your green thumbs on some hardy, unusual and exotic specimens, Beresford gardens is holding its first plant sale on May 22 and 23. The Beresford is an Edmonds area condo complex with four-acres of greenery impressive enough to be featured in past garden tours.

Resident Chris Janko looks over the Beresford gardens and owns Azuli Vines, a greenhouse specializing in "oddities and curiosities," including carnivorous plants, new varieties of award-winning lilies and interesting water plants.

"I've got some really neat plants I've been collecting for a couple of years, and I thought it's time to have a sale," Janko said.

Many of the sale plants will be from his greenhouse, and some will be from the Beresford. There will be hostias, pineapple lilies, Asiatic lilies, giant Egyptian papyrus, tropical orchids, hardy orchids, O.T. lilies (giant hybrids that can grow to about seven feet) and carnivorous plants, including venus flytraps, sundews and nepenthes. All of the plants can survive outdoors except some of the tropicals, Janko added.

The sale runs May 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and May 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 7055 Wilma St. Make sure you bring your own bags and boxes to carry your plants home.

FLOWER POWER

The folks at the Metrotower office complex are organizing a floral fundraiser for May 17. Starting at 11:30 a.m., people can stop by the office towers and buy some potted cyclamens for $5, and all proceeds go to charity.

The group getting the money is the Metrotown Interagency Organization - a partnership between many local groups.

The City of Burnaby, the Burnaby Public Library, South Burnaby Neighbourhood House, Burnaby Family Life, Purpose Society and Royal Oak Community Church are just a few examples.

The Metrotown Interagency Organization meets four to six times a year to discuss key concerns for the community and plan ways to address them.

They focus on things that fall outside the mandates of the individual agency and group members. Some of the projects the organization has coordinated are the annual healthy kids preschool fair, the Moms on the Move program and a map of children's services in the Metrotown area. The group has also supported Coats for Kids, Progressive Housing, the Maywood Preteen Program and community cleanups.

MARKET AT SFU

The SFU Pocket Farmers Market is opening again next Wednesday. The market is in Cornerstone Town Square, at the Burnaby SFU campus. People can get fresh local produce, free-range eggs, natural honey, baked goods and more.

The market is a collaboration with the Coquitlam Farmers Market Society and the SFU Local Food Project.

The market is open weekly, from noon to 6 p.m., from May 19 to Oct. 27. For more information, check out www.sfulocal

food.ca or call Alaina Thébault at 778-808-8057.

SPRING BAZAAR

The Nikkei Centre is having its annual spring bazaar and plant sale today (Saturday), from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 6688 Southoaks Cres.

The fair features Japanese food, spring plants and a tea ceremony. The fair is free, but the tea ceremony costs $10. Tickets for that are on sale at the front desk, and it runs from 1 to 2 p.m.