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.

At some point last fall I got the itch to start sewing.
I began dreaming about crafting my own clothes, mending existing garments and having the overall knowledge to begin a sewing project. Without any previous sewing experience, I got anxious and worried who to ask to teach me or to lend me their machine to practice on. I was prepared to self-teach and hope for the best.
But then, thanks to Google, I discovered Sew Good, a home-based business in Sapperton that offers a range of sewing classes for beginners like …

The City of New Westminster is creating its first sustainability plan, dubbed Envision 2032. The year 2032 is one generation from now – a length of time that is easy for people to imagine when making decisions that affect the future. You can provide feedback via an online survey (which closes on March 15).

You don’t know how bad French fries can be until you have amazing French fries. When a number of locals were all atwitter and agog to learn that the Spud Shack Fry Co. was opening up at the Shops at New West Station, I kind of shrugged my shoulders. I mean, I didn’t get why this was a big deal. They’re just fries, right? Wrong.

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.

Although many think of it as a suburb of Vancouver, New West was born a city – one of the first on this part of the coast. Like many an old house, New West may have its problems, but it is blessed with good bones.

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.

Several weeks ago the City of New Westminster hosted an Economic Forum. The forum was intended to highlight the changes that have been occurring in the city and promote future economic opportunities. The keynote speaker at this event was real estate marketer Bob Rennie. At the end of his speech Mr. Rennie suggested that New Westminster ditch the Royal City moniker for something more contemporary. That same week, the City made the decision to install swag lights along Columbia Street.

Want to help others this season but not sure where to start? Here’s some ideas to get you going.

I read an interesting article recently from Atlantic Cities about income disparity in Vancouver, based on a research paper produced at the University of Toronto. While we do have our own issues with income disparity in New West, I found it interesting to see where we stand in contrast to the region. While neighbouring districts show declining household incomes, New West household income appear to be holding relatively steady or increasing.

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 …

At the New Westminster Economic Development Forum on Thursday, Andrew Ramlo from the Urban Futures Institute presented some unsettling insights on upcoming demographic changes in the city, and shared some truly geeky statistics illustrating New West’s economic strengths and weaknesses.

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 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.

New Westminster’s 2012-2014 Strategic Plan focused on building a high and sustainable quality of life for its residents and called for the creation of a sustainability framework, or “Sustainability Lens,” to “guide and test all future decisions and initiatives against balanced economic, social/cultural and environmental perspectives.” The next step is visioning and creating a concise set of statements that describe the desired future in key policy areas. This will be the focus of the Envision 2032 Sustainability Fair events being held at the Inn at the Quay on the evening of Friday, November 2nd and the morning of Saturday, November 3rd.

This holiday season, the Santa Claus Parade of Lights in Downtown New Westminster needs a facelift. And not just some new colours – a major makeover.

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

New Westminster residents often complain that our opinions aren’t well represented in regional planning. Not being the type of community to take disappointment quietly, we are becoming a bit notorious as a hotbed of rabble-rousers due to our vocal protests against good-for-the-region / bad-for-our-community projects like the defeated United Boulevard Extension proposal. So when Place Speak‘s public involvement lead Spencer Rasmussen reached out to me about getting better New Westminster representation in the 2012 Urban Futures Survey currently underway, I was pretty impressed. According to Spencer, Vancouver is currently overrepresented …

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?

There is a science of friendship dating back to the ’50s and holding up through the new millennium. In New Westminster, we are lucky. We are very good at creating the conditions that help friendships to form and grow.

Nothing says summer like movies al fresco, plus the price (free!) can’t be beat. Lots of different groups will be hosting outdoor movie screenings in New Westminster this summer. Here’s a list!

It started like most scientific research: someone asked “why?” then sought the answer. Except that I asked “how much”, and I was hardly the first to ask. As any scientist will tell you, most science is just collecting more data to confirm results already collected by others, so we boldly followed the trend to where many had been before. In this case, the people we were following were the good people at the Campaign for Real Ale. The issue? Sizes of “pints,” and value for the money.

Despite Junuary’s gloomy skies, summer is here, and festival season is underway. Over the next few months, it’s party time in New Westminster, with outdoor events in every neighbourhood in the city. One event that is very close to my heart is the West End’s big neighbourhood party, Summerfest In Grimston Park. The third annual Summerfest celebration will be held on Saturday, July 14 from 2pm-midnight.

The Westminster Pier Park is now open! We’re in love with it.