Schubert’s Last Masterpiece + French Reading Buddies

Issue #476

Author

Carla McNeil
January 14, 2026

Inside the New West Spotlight

 🌫️ Weather - Fog Patches

 😜 Rain Joke - What do you call a rain cloud that loves to tell stories? 📚️ 

 🗓️ New West Events - Picking up the pace, with more things worth checking out.

 🗞️ New West Local News - Schubert’s Last Masterpiece + French Reading Buddies

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Local New Westminster Weather

Historical Records for Today - Record high 13.8 2023 - Record low -9.3 2024

Check out all of our local New Westminster Events

January 14, 2026

💰️ Financial Aid (Welfare) Worker at NWPL – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

📝 CRA & Service Canada Clinic – 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

☕️ Coffee & Real Estate Chat – 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM

📖 Babytime (0-23 months) – 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM

👶 Mom + Baby Meet Up at Cove Indoor Play – 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 CaRT Peer Navigators – 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

🧮 Free Tax Help for Small Businesses – 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM

🍽️ New West Fun-loving Retirees Lunch – 11:45 AM to 1:45 PM

🎒 After-School Drop-In (5-12 years) – 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM

🙋 Community Events Workshop – 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

🌃 Pyjama Storytime (all ages) – 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM

❓️ Georgie's Local Trivia Night – 7:00 PM

🏃 Steel & Oak Run Club – 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Connect Youth (13+) – 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM

❓️ Frankie G’s Trivia Night – 7:30 PM

January 15, 2026

🗣️ English Conversation Circles at the Welcome Centre – 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM

👶 Babytime (0-12 months) – 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM

🤝 New Westminster - Women In Business Networking – 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM

🧑‍⚕️ Chronic Conditions Self-Management Program – 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM

🍼 Baby Social (0-23 months) – 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM

📚️ Douglas College Library Orientation - New West – 12:00 PM to 12:45 PM

📖 Tigrinya Storytime (all ages) – 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM

🍅 Farmers Market – 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM

🎨 "Journey" Art Gallery Opening – 4:30 PM to 8:00 PM

📝 SFU Writing Consults – 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM

📚️ Drop-in Wildfires Bookshop – 5:45 PM

🎙️ Georgie's Local Karaoke Night – 7:00 PM

🎭️ Bee's Knees Burlesque at The Flapper Lounge – 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

🎙️ The Terminal Pub Colossal Thursdays Karaoke – 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

🎤 Notorious Grey Fox Open Mic Jam – 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM

January 16, 2026

👦 Toddler Time (12-36 months) – 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM

👶 Babytime (0-12 months) – 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM

🍼 Baby Social (0-23 months) – 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM

👪️ Family Place Storytime & Play Lab – 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM

🎲 Friendsday Night Board Games – 6:00 PM to 11:30 PM

🎲 Howe Sound Hitmix Bingo – 7:00 PM

🎙️ Weekly Karaoke Every Friday – 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM

🎙️ Notorious Grey Fox Karaoke Friday Nights – 9:00 PM until Close

The second clue will be published at 6:15 AM. Visit our Instagram and Facebook pages and see if you can guess where the Tin Man is hanging out. This one is harder.

Don’t Miss This Intimate Chamber Music Event

This January, the Vancouver Chamber Music Society, in collaboration with Anvil Theatre, presents Final Light—an unforgettable afternoon of chamber music that brings the timeless brilliance of Franz Schubert to the stage.

Returning after a riveting 2023/24 debut, Nexus Chamber Music performs Schubert’s Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major, D.929, widely regarded as one of the greatest chamber works ever written. Composed in the final year of Schubert’s life, the trio is expansive, deeply lyrical, and emotionally profound. From the haunting elegance of the slow movement to the triumphant return of the march theme in the finale, the work unfolds with tenderness, invention, and extraordinary unity.

This performance features an exceptional trio of rising stars: Evren Ozel, Bronze Medalist at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; Alexander Hersh, top prize winner at the Naumburg International Cello Competition; and violinist Stephanie Zyzak, celebrated for her expressive depth and searching artistry. Together, they offer an interpretation that is intimate, powerful, and deeply moving.

Photo courtesy of NWPL

The New Westminster Public Library is looking for high school students who speak some French to join its French Reading Buddies volunteer program. This is a great opportunity for students to earn volunteer hours while making a real difference in a child’s learning journey.

Volunteers are paired with young readers and help support their French reading skills once a week after school on Fridays. It’s a rewarding, low-pressure way to build leadership skills, boost confidence, and give back to the community—one story at a time.

Perfect for students who enjoy working with kids, love language learning, or are looking for a meaningful extracurricular activity, the program helps foster literacy while building positive connections between mentors and young learners.

If you’re a student who speaks some French and wants to make an impact, this is a wonderful way to get involved locally.

📧 Interested in volunteering?
Email [email protected] for more information.

⛈️ Rain Joke of the Day 🌧️ 

🌧️ What do you call a rain cloud that loves to tell stories? 📚️ 

A narrative nimbus! ☁️🗣️ 

Groan O' Meter

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