Inside the New West Spotlight
🌞 Weather - Sunny
😜 Rain Joke - Why does it rain on Halloween? ☔🧛♂
🗓 New West Events - 🍂 Fall Into Something Fun
🗞 New West Local News - Spooky Movie Night + Meet West-tin!
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Local New Westminster Weather
Historical Records for Today - Record high 22.8 1944 - Record low -2.8 1881
Check out all of our local New Westminster Events
Sunday October 11, 2026
☕ Coffee, Community and Conversation – 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
📖 Storytime and Craft- A Perfect Word to Gift the Moon – 11:00 AM
🦖 Kids Pokémon League - New West – 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
🎨 Acrylic Pouring at Arrieta Art Studio – 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
📿 World of Art Beading Workshop – 2:00 PM & 4:00 PM
🍽 Community Lunch at You N Me' Cafe – 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
🎙 Georgie's Local Sunday Night Open Mic! – 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
🎭 Mom’s the Word: Talkin’ Turkey – 7:30 PM
🎭 Vagabond Players Presents Things My Mother Taught Me – 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Monday October 12, 2026
🧘 Peace, Be Still Monday Meditation – 10:30 AM to 11:15 AM
🧩 Steel & Oak Puzzle Mondays – 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
💃 Opening Latin Fest 2026 in New West – 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
🎨 Downtown’s Living Room at Anvil Centre – 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
🎙 Begbie's Open Mic – 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM
🎭 Mom’s the Word: Talkin’ Turkey – 7:30 PM
Tuesday October 13, 2026
🗣 English Conversation Circles at the Welcome Centre – 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM
🧒 Toddler Time (1-3 years) – 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM
📱 Bring Your Own Device Tech Café! – 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
📚 BYO Book Club – 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
📝 Work BC Employment Services Drop-In (Queensborough) – 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM
🎷 Everyone Can Jazz Jam – 6:00 PM to 6:45 PM
🍺 Steel & Oak Beer and Board Games – 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
❌ All Candidates Meeting Richmond Queensborough - 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
🎲 Howe Sound Hot B*tch Rock & Roll Bingo – 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
🎭 Notorious Grey Fox Trivia Tuesdays – 7:00 PM
🎸 Georgie's Local Tuesday Night Jam Session – 7:00 PM
🎙 Quayside Tiki Tuesday Karaoke Nights – 8:00 PM to 12:00 AM
Get your costumes ready and bring the whole family for a spooky, screen-filled evening in Queensborough! The Queensborough Special Programs Committee, in partnership with the City of New Westminster, is hosting its 2nd annual indoor Halloween Movie Night on Saturday, October 24, at the Queensborough Community Centre.
The free family-friendly event runs from 5–8 p.m., with an afternoon of Halloween fun starting with crafts from 5–6 p.m. before the movie begins at 6 p.m. Costumes are highly recommended, and treats will be provided, so come ready for a little creativity, a little spooky spirit and plenty of movie-night fun!
The event takes place at 920 Ewen Avenue and is free to attend, but registration is required. Families can register by scanning the event QR code or using the registration link provided by the organizers. The course code is 262119.
Whether you’re dressing up as something spooky, silly or completely out of this world, this is a fun way for Queensborough families to celebrate Halloween together!
🤖 It’s Official — Meet West-tin!
After more than a year without a proper name, our New West Spotlight mascot can finally introduce himself.
Meet West-tin!
And what a journey it took to get here.
It all started back on June 17, 2025, when we asked New West Spotlight readers to help us choose a mascot. The final decision came down to two very different characters — the Tin Man and the Dapper Crow.
You chose the Tin Man.
For a while, he popped up here and there in New West Spotlight. But on February 13, 2026, he landed himself a full-time job when How Well Do You Know New West? became part of our daily routine.
Since then, he’s been walking around New Westminster with maps, magnifying glasses and iPads, peeking around corners, pulling carts, looking puzzled and generally getting himself into all kinds of places around the city.
And somewhere along the way, something unexpected happened.
“I Know Him!”
For my husband’s birthday, I had a T-shirt made featuring our Tin Man. He is a loyal detective who plays How Well Do You Know New West? every day, so it seemed like the perfect gift.
One day, he wore it to the mall while renewing our house insurance.
When he came home, he told me that someone had spotted the character on his shirt and exclaimed:
“I know him!”
That was the moment I realized our nameless Tin Man had become recognizable around New Westminster.
If people knew who he was, it was probably time we figured out what to call him!
Then Came 21 Names
We turned first to our New West Spotlight subscribers — the people who had been following his adventures from the beginning.
You sent us 21 different name suggestions, many accompanied by wonderful explanations about why each name seemed to suit him.
Then came Round Two.
Subscribers read through all 21 suggestions and chose their favourites, narrowing the list down to five finalists:
Westy
Westin or West-tin
Stan
Lem’u’tun (the watcher)
CheeKem
And then we handed the final decision over to the wider New West community.
For almost two weeks, people voted through the newsletter, Facebook and Instagram.
And when the votes were counted...
🏆 West-tin Was the Winner!
The name West-tin was originally suggested by Liliana Castaneda, who now has the wonderful distinction of naming the New West Spotlight mascot.
There is something rather perfect about it.
A little bit New West.
A little bit Tin Man.
And very much him.
🎁 And We Had a Little Fun Along the Way
Of course, we couldn’t simply ask everyone to vote without adding one of our favourite things — an ethical bribe. 😄
Our final voters were entered into a draw for a huge Shop Local Prize Basket, led by Full Basket Butcher as our Lead Prize Sponsor and filled with contributions from New Westminster businesses and community partners.
The lucky winner was Scott Gerroir, who took home the basket and his very own West-tin T-shirt.
Thank you to every business and organization that helped us turn a mascot vote into a celebration of shopping local.
And an even bigger thank-you to you — everyone who suggested a name, voted in either round, shared the posts, debated the finalists and followed along with the fun.
More than a year ago, you helped us choose the Tin Man.
Now, you’ve given him an identity.
Welcome to New West, West-tin. 💜🤖
And judging by how much travelling around the city he has already done, we suspect he feels pretty much at home
☀️ SUNDAY SCROLL + A LITTLE DETECTIVE WORK? 🔎🤖
Before you scroll past…👀 Have you figured out today’s West-tin mystery?
🎁 This week’s prize (October 8 - October 14):
Win House Cleaning Services from Seniors Services Society.
You play on Facebook and Instagram. You win in the newsletter.
Thanks to Dynamic Health & Fitness and Fuel Hut for sponsoring
🕵 “The First Detective on the Scene” 🕵♀️ monthly prize!
⛈ Rain Joke of the Day 🌧
🌧️ Why does it rain on Halloween? ☔🧛♂
Spooky seasoning. 🌶👻
Groan O' Meter
Meme of the Day
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