Seventh Street Upgrades + Mushtari Begum Festival

Issue #366

Author

Carla McNeil
September 26, 2025

Inside the New West Spotlight

 🌧️ Weather - Cloudy with showers

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 🗓️ New West Events - Plenty of options to enjoy!

 🗞️ New West Local News - Seventh Street Upgrades + Mushtari Begum Festival

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Local New Westminster Weather

Historical Records for Today - Record high 21.7 2022 - Record low 7.2 2015

Check out all of our local New Westminster Events

September 26, 2025

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

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

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

🎶 Live Music with Rocky Riobo at Flapper Lounge – 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM

🎲 Friendsday Night Board Games – Doors open at 6:00 PM

🎲 Hitmix Bingo - Howe Sound – 7:00 PM

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

💃 Live Band Swing Dance at Sapperton Hall – 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM

🎸 Live Music at The Terminal - Mike Van Eyes – 8:30 PM to 11:30 PM

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

🎲 Board Night Game – Phantom Alley

September 27, 2025

🗣️ Spanish Conversation Drop-in – 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

🎉 Fraser River Discovery Centre: RiverFest 2025 – 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

🗣️ English Conversation Circles – Saturday Sessions – 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM

🪩 RiverFest: DJ O Show – 11:00 AM

🧶 Knitting & Crocheting Circle – 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

🛍️ Hyack Square Market Days – 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

🎨 New West Craft at River Market – 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM

🛝 Leader in the Park at Westminster Pier Park – 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM

🎭️ RiverFest: Shan E Punjab Arts Club – 12:00 PM

🎉 Ukrainian NewWestFest 2025 – 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM

🥌 Try Curling (Ages 5-20) at RCCC – 12:30 PM to 3:00 PM

🪡 Needle Felting Workshop at Arrieta Art Studio – 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM

📖 Ukrainian Storytime (All ages) – 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM

🎶 Live Music Saturday's at Flapper Lounge – 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM

🏊️ Youth Swims at təməsew̓txʷ – 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM

🎭️ Vagabond Players Presents Making A Killing – 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM

🕺 Saturday Dance Party at Georgie's – 10:00 PM to 1:00 AM

🕹️ Fighting Game Night – Phantom Alley

September 28, 2025

🎉 Fraser River Discovery Centre: RiverFest 2025 – 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

🛝 Leader in the Park at Westminster Pier Park – 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM

🎭️ Mentiras: Drag Brunch at El Santo – 12:30 PM to 3:00 PM

🎤 Cindy's Art and Karaoke Cafe – 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM

⛸️ Public Skate – 1:15 PM to 2:45 PM

🎭️ Vagabond Players Presents Making A Killing – 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

🧑‍🍳 Baking (Ages 6-12) at Queensborough Centre – 2:15 PM - 3:45 PM

🧘 Yang Tai Chi 24 form – 5:00 PM

🎙️ Georgie's Local Sunday Night Open Mic! – 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

🏈 Sunday and Monday Night Football – at the Terminal Pub

Have you noticed the work starting up on Seventh Street? The city’s giving that stretch between Queens Avenue and Sixth Avenue a big upgrade as part of the new Active Transportation Plan. It kicked off this September and should wrap up by December.

They’re adding protected bike lanes, better sidewalks, and some traffic calming. Plus, Seventh is officially becoming a one-way northbound street between Queens and Fifth.

The crews are working their way up block by block, starting at Agnes and heading toward Belmont. Most of the work happens on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., so expect some lane closures, detours, and less street parking while it’s going on. There’ll be traffic control folks around to keep things moving, and you’ll still be able to get to homes and businesses. Garbage and recycling pickup stays the same too.

It might be a bit inconvenient for a few months, but once it’s done, it should feel a lot safer and more comfortable for walking, biking, and rolling through Uptown. This is just the first step in the city’s bigger plan to make getting around without a car easier for everyone.

Stay up to date on progress by checking the city’s website or following along on social media.

The Mushtari Begum Festival is back at the Massey Theatre on Saturday, October 4, 2025 (7–9 p.m.) — and it promises to be a dazzling evening of rhythm, melody, and movement! ✨

Now in its 14th year, this one-of-a-kind festival was created by New Westminster’s own Cassius Khan and Amika Kushwaha to honour Khan’s late mentor, the legendary Ghazal Queen Mushtari Begum. Since then, it has blossomed into a stage where some of Canada’s and India’s finest artists come together to celebrate the timeless beauty of Indian classical traditions. 🌸

🎤 This year’s lineup includes:

  • Hari Pal on Tabla with Amika Kushwaha on Harmonium

  • Baljit Singh Ensemble of Dilruba Jugalbandhi with Ustad Amarjeet Singh on Tabla

  • Mridangam master Keerthy Raghavan with vocalist Remya Rajiv, violinist Shriram Rajagopalan, and Prakriti Hemmige on translations

  • Cassius Khan on Ghazal/Tabla, joined by Kushwaha, Baljit Singh, Ashifa Tharani, and Ram Singh

🎟️ Tickets start at just $24.05, making this the perfect way to kick off the fall season after Massey Theatre’s summer renovations.

👉 Don’t miss out on this enchanting evening — get your tickets here.

⛈️ Rain Joke of the Day 🌧️ 

🌧️ How do raindrops stay organized? 🗂️ 

They always have a “drip” plan! 📆 

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