Halloween is a magical time of year, when visibly normal neighbours often show their most macabre tendencies with their Halloween decorations. Sometimes, it’s pretty subtle – a single Jack O’ Lantern with a psychotic grin, for instance. But, other times, they come up with something original when it comes to Halloween decorations. So, with that in mind, and being something of a Halloween fan, I decided to venture forth to find out what some of your neighbours here in New West are up to, decoration-wise. Some things I found were kind of cute. Some were garish. Others, I have to say, really freaked me out.

At the first all-candidates school board trustee debate of the 2011 civic election, hosted by the New Westminster Teachers Union, emcee and Left Coast blogger Stacey Robinsmith had a bit of last-minute shuffling of tables and chairs to do. As he shoved the last one into place he quipped, “That’s CUPE work, sorry everybody!” Stacey got a good laugh for that zinger, but his little joke also reflected one of the contentious questions of concern to the (unfortunately somewhat sparse) crowd of union folk, council and mayor candidates and political axe-grinders.

Halloween is just around the corner, so here’s a handy dandy list of events for everyone (and we do mean everyone) in the family. The pets in your life will be snout over tail for the Petrifying Pooch Parade, the horror fan will scream with joy for the Haunted Hall and you can even get a chance to PUMP yourself up with a Halloween workout!

Autumn is beautiful, and mysterious. Autumn knows how to wear her clothes; earthy colours, and bright too, all held in balance, and slightly bohemian. She’s cool.

If you and your pet are into dressing up, this event is for you!

I’ve been a frequent viewer of Tenth to Fraser for some time now, looking over all the great articles focused around this town, which I have now lived in for over ten years. The negative image of our beautiful city has begun to bubble up inside of me, inspiring me to put on display the inner beauty and character that the Royal City emanates from the century old buildings and remarkable landscapes.

I have a confession. I have a Thrifty Foods problem. I grew up in Mill Bay BC (home of one of the first Thrifty Foods) so it holds a special place in my heart. I dream about the cheese scones and I wax philosophically about the marinated meats. It’s grocery nirvana.

A group of dedicated women from each of the twenty-three North American 30-Minute-Hit locations is participating in the KICK THE *&%! OUT OF CANCER event. They have pledged to “hit” (complete the kickboxing workout) a certain number of times during the month of October in exchange for donations to the British Columbian Cancer Foundation.

At the first all-candidates meeting for the 2011 civic election in New Westminster, Bob Osterman took me to task for making fun of his ugly election signs.

Well, it’s the Thanksgiving long weekend. And I thought that it might be a good idea to look around me, and take stock of all of the things that I have to be thankful for, particularly here in my adopted home of New Westminster.

Local author JJ Lee’s new book, “Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit” is so much more than its title suggests.

I was lucky to win a couple of tickets to this years incarnation of Freelance Camp, an ‘unconference’ hosted by The Network Hub. It’s certainly a nice change to see an event promoting freelancing, networking, and technology come to little New Westminster.

In just a few weeks the Royal City Gogos, a group of almost 50 New Westminster grandmothers and “grandothers” formed to help the Stephen Lewis Foundation are hosting a Scrabble event entitled “Good Words for Africa.”

Many readers are familiar with Burger Heaven. In any city there is always one restaurant who uses their dishes to poll readers on hot button issues or elections, and in our fair city, Burger Heaven is that restaurant. But do their burgers boast yum factor?

Olympic curler Kevin Martin and his foursome will be in New Westminster over Thanksgiving weekend to take part in the 12th annual Westcoast Curling Classic, October 6-10 at the Royal City Curling Club.

Movies capture our imaginations, and take us to another world. But, sometimes that world can look strangely familiar, especially living here in New Westminster: A myriad of films and TV series have been filmed here in New West.