Santa and Ralph the Elf will be putting in an appearance at next week’s Christmas for Kids party.
The Fraternal Order of Eagles #20 New Westminster is hosting the annual party and encouraging parents to register kids up to 10 years of age for the bash that’s being held on Friday, Dec. 15 from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at St. Barnabas Church hall, 1010 Fifth Ave.
“It’s a fun event,” said Joan Nelson, conductor with the local Eagles. “They do games. We have a fish pond. We have a candy count. We have a snowball toss. We have Santa of course. They get pictures with Santa.”
Attendees can also make an ornament to take home and enter to win door prizes. Goodie bags and candy canes are also part of the day’s fun.
Kids must be registered by Tuesday, Dec. 12 by contacting Joan at 604-521-2391 or [email protected].
Serving up holiday spirit for kids
Royal City residents are invited to enjoy a tasty breakfast and help local families in need at a pancake breakfast.
The 11th annual Christmas for Kids toy drive takes place on Wednesday, Dec. 6 from 7 to 10 a.m. at the Paddlewheeler Pub in River Market. Anyone bringing an unwrapped gift valued at $15 or more will receive a free pancake breakfast including pancakes, sausage, eggs, fresh fruit, juice and coffee.
In addition to donations of toys, games, books and puzzles, people can also make cash donations. All donations will go to New Westminster Family Place and the Lower Mainland Purpose Society for Youth and Families.
Missing candles return mysteriously
The Mystery of the Missing Candles was solved – sort of – soon after it began.
Karen Baker-MacGrotty, honorary colonel of The Royal Westminster Regiment, spearheaded the No Stone Left Alone event in New West, which saw community members place poppies and candles on the graves of 450 veterans in Fraser Cemetery in time for Remembrance Day. When she popped by the cemetery on Nov. 19, Baker-MacGrotty discovered about 50 of the candles had gone missing.
“I was shocked, absolutely shocked. This is our soldiers,” she said. “Who would take something from the graves that doesn’t belong to them?”
After verifying with the engineering operations department that city staff hadn’t removed the candles and poppies from the graves, Baker-MacGrotty contacted the New Westminster Police Department. She also reached out to the Record, with the hope of appealing for the return of the long-burning candles that will be relit at another time.
But as quickly as the candles disappeared, they reappeared. A couple of days after the candles went missing, a New West police officer visited the cemetery and called Baker-MacGrotty when he could see nothing amiss.
“All the candles are back,” she said. “I am giddy. I am so happy. All’s well that ends well.”
As for the whereabouts of the candles when they weren’t where they were supposed to be?
“We don’t know,” Baker-MacGrotty said.
Anvil Centre takes on a new hue
If you’ve wondered why Anvil Centre has been lit up in orange, wonder no more.
The City of New Westminster is lighting Anvil Centre up in orange from Nov. 25 to Dec. 10 to show support for the Orange the World campaign, initiated by United Nation’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women and the Grandmothers Advocacy Network (GRAN). The campaign’s theme is Leave No One Behind: Ending Violence against Women and Girls and uses the colour orange as a uniting theme to symbolize a brighter future free from violence.
UNiTE invites organizations around the world to light up their buildings in orange in symbolic support of the campaign, with GRAN drawing attention to the challenges older women in Africa face as a marginalized group.
