I must admit that I only vaguely recall hearing about Lit Fest New West before.  When I saw that the 3rd annual event is coming up on Friday, April 15th and Saturday, April 16th I was a little embarrassed that I hadn’t attended previously.  Being an avid reader, sometimes writer, and long time New West resident it seems like the kind of thing that should have been on my radar!
So, reading the blurb on the Arts Council website I immediately added it into my iPhone calendar so as not to miss this …

My friends at Family Place sent me this note I thought I’d share:
New Westminster Family Place is pleased to announce that we are opening a new program at 1170 – 8th Avenue (corner of 8th Avenue and 12th Street, on the main floor of the building that has Sprott Shaw upstairs).
This program will run every Friday morning from 9:30 – 11:30 starting April 1st.   Join us for fun and games, circle time and wonderful crafts.  Meet your neighbours and make some new friends.  For information call 604 520-3666.

Bloom Art Studio at River Market is a safe place for kids to get messy – without driving parents crazy. At home, I like to craft with the kids, but I’m always a little leery of anything truly messy. It’s fun, but I always worry about the cleanup. In a space like Bloom, the kids are free to play with colour and form in a space that’s designed to handle mess.

The $5-million reno of the dilapidated old Quay is unquestionably beautiful. But since the shiny new River Market opened with much fanfare last November, many New Westminster folk whocame to see the new building were disappointed to find only a grocery store, a circus school and a lot of empty storefronts. Others (like me) were more willing to give River Market some time to find its feet. I’m happy to say River Market’s got some welcome news: coffee is coming, and a lot more too.

Is $500 a year for occasional babysitters enough to make me go running to City Hall?

The issue of garbage and recycling rates in multi-family dwellings is finally being addressed by Metro Vancouver.
The region’s Zero Waste targets are for 70% trash diversion by 2015. Single family homes are well on their way with 55% diversion, but multi-family lags far behind with an estimated 16% diversion. So why such a disparity from multi-family to single-family?

The Middle Childhood Development Committee is looking for input! If you’ve got 10 minutes to spare, feel free to take this survey. Middle Childhood is ages 6-12. Here’s the link if you are unable to see the survey below.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

For those who haven’t yet heard, Translink is back with a new round of consultations on the Highway Nobody Wants.  The first in a series of United Boulevard Extension workshops is this Saturday, 9:30am-12pm at the Sapperton Pensioners Hall, 318 Keary Street.

On March 28th, Hyack Interactive will be presenting a social media workshop for small businesses and community groups from 7-9:30 at River Market. Check out the details.