ONE prize winner ArtStarts is kicking things off at River Market May 26. Check out the details.

Once again, music will fill the streets of New Westminster with a line-up of lower mainland indie bands of various stylistic stripes courtesy of Uptown Live. The event will also feature food carts, and family events for everyone’s enjoyment, starting at 1:00 on Saturday May 25th after the Key West Ford Hyack International Parade.

Every May the Queen’s Park area of New Westminster residents host a community garage sale and it’s one of the events that I really look forward to, but it’s probably not for the reasons you’d think.

Think you know New West? Want to learn more about the city? Register now for Quest New West!

In New West, hanging baskets are a traditional Mother’s Day present. After all, why buy a bouquet when you can give flowers that will last all season long? Once again, the Kiwanis Club of New Westminster will be holding their annual hanging basket sale on the day before Mother’s Day (Saturday, May 11) from 10am – 3pm in the parking lot of the Terminal Pub. This year, there will also be cherry tomatoes for sale – and a contest to see who can get the best yield from their cherry tomato plant.

Amid rainshowers and spring flowers, I’m starting to see orange election signs sprouting in my neighbourhood, with shades of red, blue, green (and more) soon to follow I’m sure. Yes, it’s election time again in B.C. and New Westminster candidates will soon be stepping up their door-knocking, robocalling and energetic presence at local events. For our part, we are collaborating with New Westminster Environmental Partners and NEXT New West to organize a unique event for voters: an All-Candidates Jane’s Walk starting at 5:30pm on May 4.

This Saturday, April 13, River Market is hosting “Spring Cleaning for the Mind, Body & Soul,” a health & wellness fair featuring New Westminster businesses and organizations.

New West has a thriving culture of entrepreneurship, but I haven’t seen it celebrated and encouraged as much as I’d like. Hopefully that’s about to change. On Tuesday, March 26, Jen and I are hosting LAUNCH! New Westminster, a free, informal mixer for local business owners and ‘someday’ entrepreneurs to network with each other, learn more about City and Provincial initiatives to support small businesses, and share their thoughts and ideas on the subject.

I like to support businesses in my neighbourhood of Downtown New Westminster. Many places make this easy for me to do: River Market, Zoom Hair Salon and Columbia Integrated Health Centre, for example, are active on social media and in the community and have curb appeal to spare. They are all fabulous and I can’t recommend any of them enough. But then there are businesses that I walk past every day and never enter. They aren’t out there promoting themselves and they just don’t look like they have a lot to offer. But then, one day, I go in and realize how badly I’ve misjudged them.

Yesterday I spent the day chopping and cooking enormous quantities of fresh vegetables and fruit for Can-O-Rama, a full-day canning work bee with friends. Until last summer I had never really given much thought to canning, but now I’ve caught the bug. My cupboards are starting to fill up with home-canned jams, condiments and other preserves, and canning has become a semi-regular social hobby for me and my friends.

Sapperton now boasts a much needed supplier to the increasingly popular home brewing world – Barley’s Homebrewing.

A pilot project by Royal City Writers pairs volunteer writers with residents of Cliff Block’s transitional housing. Over the course of eight weeks, volunteers are conversing with residents, recording their words, and putting their stories into print. The project was built on the idea that storytelling forges powerful connections within communities, and our intention is to give voice to those stories that might otherwise go untold.

There is deep love and long standing commitment for community theatre in New Westminster. The Vagabond Players, formed in 1937 and the longest-running community theatre group in BC, have continued to present engaging productions over years in the Bernie Legge Theatre, a cozy playhouse nestled in Queens Park. Operated completely by volunteers, the Vagabond Players present four or five productions each season and you are just in time to catch their next show, Dear Santa, by Norm Foster.

I have many favourite boutiques and restaurants in New West, and it seems to me there are more opening all the time. But if I had a fairy godmother who would fast-track a few new businesses for me, here is what I would wish for …

Over the weekend I attended two sold-out events that are potentially significant bellwethers for the future of our town. The first, a $175-a-plate business and networking luncheon, was a clear signal that New Westminster is open for business. The second, a $30-per-ticket gala celebrating young entrepreneurs and community organizers, showed that the next generation of leaders are already making an impact on this city.

I was at the Dublin the other day, having a snack with a friend (okay, and maybe a beverage). We got our bill, and it was 20% off. Later in the week, I was checking out a new chair at Red Brick and realized I would get an extra 10% off if I went for it. I decided to stop by the British Store for some sweets and a tea on my way home, and got 10% off my sweets.
How was I getting all these discounts? I have a Key …

I don’t edit emails for content as often as I should. At least I didn’t when I contacted RCYSC (Royal City Youth Soccer Club) looking to help out with my son’s soccer team. When I offered to volunteer as a coach, I meant to write that I could volunteer as an assistant coach. Needless to say, I was surprised when the coordinator emailed me back with my very own team roster. I have never so much as coached an ant farm, never mind a gaggle of six-year-old-boys with varying attention spans. I knew this would be an adventure.

Did you know that New Westminster hosts an annual documentary film festival? The second annual New West DocFest is coming up this weekend, October 19 & 20, at Douglas College’s Laura C. Muir Theatre.

New West is in the midst of a civic renaissance of sorts. After years of slow growth, the city is adding a more diverse and interesting culinary component to its reputation as an affordable city with great quality of life, good transportation, loads of amenities and a strong sense of community. While the depth of offerings is still developing, people are now moving to, coming to and staying in New West because of its food offering. What would the impact be if New West added a dynamic public art component to its urban fabric – reclaiming vacant spaces and knitting a sense of surprise into our public spaces?

This weekend is a hugely busy weekend in the Royal City – there is so much to do! And we’ve had such great weather that it is a perfect time to get out and about. Here are our top three picks for Saturday family activities.

The Network Hub at River Market is hosting the 3rd Annual Freelancer Unconference this Saturday September 15. And we have two tickets to giveaway!

The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is taking place in New Westminster Sunday, September 23rd. Take part!

Join the Massey Victory Heights Residents’ Association on Sunday September 9 at the Westburnco Reservoir Park on Churchill Avenue from 1-4 for a Annual Family Picnic. BYO-Blanket and picnic, or enjoy free hot dogs. Watch a show: The New Westminster Police Department’s K9 Unit will be putting on a demonstration, and there will be a martial arts demonstration too! For the kids, check out Bell E Buttons balloon clown, the bouncy castle, and races! Check out info from New Westminster Fire Deparment, the Arts COuncil, and the Hyack Festival Association.
Check …

13th Annual Doggy Fun Days coming up August 26 12-3pm

In response to my blog post about making new friends in New Westminster, local reader Brad Porcellato said via Twitter that I should differentiate between the born & raised New West folk and the “amicable newbies.” It made me wonder: are New West folk who move here really that different from those who were born here?