Early music fans — no, scratch that — all music fans have a great chance to hear some beautiful ballads this weekend in New Westminster. Nancy Rahn, music director of the Lyric Singers, invites those with adventurous ears to join her all-female chamber choir for Madrigalia, a night of Italian, French and English ballads in the intimate confines of the Royal City’s Holy Trinity Church. Besides the accomplished vocals of the Lyric Singers, listeners will be treated to some rare musical accompaniment.
“We’ve got a recorder consort playing replicas of Renaissance …

It’s an exciting time for Downtown New Westminster. Metro Vancouverites are starting to realize what New West residents have known all along: that the Royal City is a great place to live, and the downtown is a cool and urban place, alive with the promise of a vibrant future.

Three community-building ideas in New Westminster will get a boost from Donald’s Market and River Market, winning cash and publicity from the inaugural ONE Prize. Funded through a customer appreciation program that allocates 1% of member sales to community projects, five shortlisted projects will vie for votes in hopes of winning a portion of the $5,000 in this year’s pot.

In my ignorant pre-gardening days, I extended my politically correct Canadian sensitivity training to the world of flora and fauna. I admired the spunk of dandelions growing in the crack between the sidewalk and the curb, the beauty of the morning glories twining in the hedge and the hardiness of blackberry bushes crowding parked cars in the back lane. I felt guilty pulling weeds. After all, didn’t they have just as much right to life as any other plant?

The McBride Elementary School PAC is putting on a fun night on May 11th called Mom’s Night Out. The event will celebrate Mother’s Day, but they’re also focused on raising funds to replace the aging and outdated computers in the lab at McBride.
The event will allow McBride mothers to enjoy a relaxing evening, enjoying other Mothers’ company. It is from 7-9:30pm at Richard McBride Elementary on Richmond Street in New Westminster.  During the event, they hope to offer a wide selection of products from some of their own parents’ home based …

TransLink has proposed replacing the 75-year-old Pattullo Bridge with one designed to last 100 years. Unfortunately, after attending their open house in New Westminster last Feb, I walked away feeling that they had missed a crucial opportunity.

I’ll be the first to admit I shouldn’t really be let loose near a secondhand store or garage sale. I tend to go a little overboard taking in all the amazing things people have cast off. So I’m already practically salivating in anticipation of the Royal City Gogos’ Grandma’s Attic New and Used Sale, which is coming up on Saturday, April 28 from 11 am– 4 pm at the CAW Hall, 326 Twelfth Street, New Westminster.

Nestled in amongst the trees in Queen’s Park is a preschool that has been educating the smallest citizens of New Westminster for decades. Almost 50 years ago, a group of New Westminster parents decided to come together and take an active part in their preschoolers’ education and thus began Queen’s Park Preschool (QPP). There is an Open House this coming Saturday, April 14, from 9:00am to 11:00am, come for a visit, meet the teachers and find out what PPP is all about!

The Naramata area is on my to-do list of getaway weekends. I’ve not been there as an adult, but the reviews my fellow wine-loving friends bring back tell me I’m totally missing out.
From Discover Naramata: “founded in 1907 as a prime agricultural area, Naramata was also known in its early years as a cultural centre. People from across the Okanagan would arrive by boat for concerts, plays, operas and regattas. Paddlewheelers regularly stopped at the local wharf carrying freight and passengers up and down Okanagan Lake. In 1914, Naramata received …

This exciting poetry event is part of Lit Fest New West, an event created to celebrate the literary arts in our community. There are a lot of parts to Lit Fest New West, including workshops, readings, and a mixed media exhibition of works inspired by words at the Arts Council Gallery in Queen’s Park. Check out the Arts Council website for a complete itinerary.
I think most of us remember the opening of the 2010 Olympics and Shane Koyczan’s We Are More:

Although this wasn’t my first experience with a poetry slam, this …

I moved to New Westminster in December of 2008, when my older son was just three months old. I didn’t know at the time that I was mom to a child with special needs. I want to share my experiences with you, so that if you have concerns about your child’s development, you’ll know that there are people here who can help. Because I didn’t know. Not at first.

The Pattullo Bridge consultation process has got me thinking about acceptable city noises. (Photo courtesy Graham Ballantyne)

New Westminster author Colleen Cross is hosting a book launch event for her debut novel on Friday, February 27 from 6-9pm at the Heritage Grill (back room). I recently sat down with New Westminster author Colleen Cross to chat about Exit Strategy, Book #1 in the Katerina Carter suspense series.

The Queens Park Residents’ Association is tackling two timely topics in its next meeting: park safety and property assessments. The agenda for the Sunday, February 26 meeting includes three guest speakers. Because these are two issues with broader reach than the immediate neighbourhood, the QPRA has invited interested residents from the rest of the city to attend.

Dimly lit Hops, located beneath New Westminster SkyTrain, is ideally situated for stumbling home after a pint or few. Once the new movie theatre at Plaza 88 opens for business, it will almost certainly become a convenient spot for pre-movie drinks. But it takes more than just easy access to SkyTrain and a taxi stand to earn a new pub good customers.