Addictions experts will be gathering in New Westminster for the upcoming Recovery Capital Conference of Canada.
New Westminster MLA Judy Darcy, who is British Columbian’s minister of mental health and addictions, is the opening keynote speaker at the conference that’s taking place in September. Dr. Joao Goulao, who is Portugal’s national drug coordinator and is credited as being the architect of Portugal’s policy to combat drug overdoses, will also speak at the conference, which has a theme of Stronger Connections = Stronger Communities.
A press release from the New Westminster-based Last Door Recovery Society states the conference’s goal is to work to eliminate health-care silos and move the country’s treatment community toward the creation of more effective, comprehensive systems of health care that includes a full continuum of care for all Canadians. Recovery Week, which is Sept. 4 to 10, includes the conference on Sept. 7 and 8 at Anvil Centre and the Recovery Day Street Festival in New Westminster.
The Recovery Day B.C. Festival takes places on Saturday, Sept. 9 from noon to 5 p.m. near Sixth and Sixth in uptown New West and is a celebration of recovery from addiction. It includes a kids zone featuring face painting, clowns and a bouncy castle, food trucks, mental health and addiction wellness information booths, a street circus for the whole family, two live music stages, TEDx-style speakers, and a memorial centre to honour those lost to addictions.
“This is a substance-free, wicked-awesome and family-friendly event all in one,” states the event’s website. “Part music festival, part carnival, part educational event: Recovery Day B.C. is a celebration, a rally, a memorial for those lost, and a tool to raise awareness for recovery while reducing the stigma of addiction recovery.”
For details on Recovery Day B.C., go to www.recoverydaybc.ca. More info on the conference can be found at www.recoverycapitalconference.com.
Input wanted
The Downtown New Westminster Business Improvement Association has wrapped up its Fridays on Front event– and now it needs your help.
With the Fridays on Front drawing to a close on Aug. 25, the BIA is asking for the public’s feedback for the event held for the first time this summer.
It’s asking community members to provide feedback via a brief survey that can be found at tinyurl.com/FrontSurvey.
Save the date: Sept. 30
As part of World Breastfeeding Day, New Westminster Public Health is holding a 2017 Breastfeeding challenge on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 10 a.m. to noon, with latch-on taking place at 11 a.m. The challenge is aimed at getting the most mothers breastfeeding simultaneously in a set geographical area.
Food, entertainment and prizes are part of the breastfeeding challenge, which takes place at New Westminster Public Health, 218-610 Sixth St., which is upstairs in Royal City Centre mall. To register, mothers can call 604-777-6731 and leave a message.
Save the date: Nov. 3 to 5
The Royal City Gogos are hard at work on plans for their sixth annual Artisan Craft Sale, which takes place Friday, Nov. 3 (4 to 8 p.m.), Saturday, Nov. 4 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and Sunday, Nov. 5 (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) at the Unifor Hall, 326 12th St.
All proceeds are donated to the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers Campaign in solidarity with African grandmothers caring for children orphaned by AIDS.
Do you have an item for Around Town? Send ideas to Theresa, [email protected].
