Some people celebrate birthday milestones with big family gatherings or trips, but Evelyn Benson will be signing copies of her latest book.
Benson will be doing a book signing at Black Bond Books in Royal City Centre on Saturday, Feb. 1 from noon to 2 p.m., a day before she celebrates her 80th birthday. Benson’s book, A Century In a Small Town – One Family’s Stories, sold well over the holidays, but she’s still hard at work promoting the book.
“Promotion is hard work,” she recently told her daughter Janet. “I should have written this book when I was 60 – not 80.”
Janet tells The Record a followup book could be in the making, as her mom has been compiling a list of other stories and anecdotes that didn’t make the book; she’s already up to 84.
“She is an inspiration to all of us, but especially to other seniors. Her motto is it’s never too late,” Janet wrote in an email to The Record. “She always urges her audience and her readers to write their family stories down or record them for future generations. She believes that everyone has stories to tell, which will be lost when they pass away.”
Greener bills
The City of New Westminster is aiming to make it easier for people to pay their bills.
The city is now providing an eBilling option for city utility services, part of its efforts to commit to environmentally sustainable practices.
“We embrace opportunities that better protect the environment and reduce paper use,” said Mayor Wayne Wright in a press release. “The implementation of eBilling is another way we are able to do our part.”
Utility customers can register their accounts and sign up for eBilling through MyCity, the city’s secure online account management portal. Once customers are registered, they will receive their bills by email when their account is ready for viewing.
Uptown question
An event that drew a younger crowd to uptown New Westminster may or may not take place this summer.
Uptown businesses partnered with the Hyack Festival Association for the Uptown Live events in 2012 and 2013.
The festivals featured performances on stages in the Uptown area, as well as food trucks, kids’ activities and booths by various organizations.
Bart Slotman, vice-president of the Uptown Property Group, which was one of the event’s sponsors, couldn’t say whether Uptown Live will take place this year
“We are basically waiting to see how things shake out. We would like to do Uptown Live again. As you know a lot of things are up in the air. We are just basically sitting back and seeing how it all pans out with Hyack and the granting and those things,” Slotman said. “We will see what happens. It is too early to tell.”
Family Day
Local families will want to mark Feb. 10 on their calendars, as that’s the day the City of New Westminster is holding Family Day 2014.
Royal City residents flooded Fraser River Discovery Centre for last year’s inaugural Family Day event held by the city. This year’s event returns to Fraser River Discovery Centre and its neighbour, River Market.
Last year’s inaugural event was a hit, with families lining up around Discovery Centre to enjoy the day’s fun.
Send Around Town ideas to Theresa, [email protected]. You can also find her on Twitter, @TheresaMcManus.
