The hustle and bustle of the holiday season may be in the rear-view mirror, but there’s no reason to be bored in New West.
Whether you want to learn to dance, meet new friends, get some tech help, or enjoy some live entertainment, you can do it all in New Westminster this weekend. Here are the Record’s Top 5 events to check out in New West from Friday, Jan. 10 to Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025.
Friday, Jan. 10
Secret Balboa Club
Put on your dancing shoes and enjoy a fun evening of dancing and socializing with your balboa enthusiasts at this week’s Secret Balboa Club dance. (Balboa is a type of swing dancing.)
- When: Friday, Jan. 10, 7:30 to 9:45 p.m. (A beginner balboa lesson is from 7:30 to 8 p.m. and a social dance runs from 8 to 9:45 p.m.)
- Where: təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre (Fitness room 2C on the second floor), 65 East Sixth Ave.
- Details: $10* cash or e-transfer (*Or pay what you can; no one will be turned away due to lack of funds.)
Friendsday Night
Drop in to the Friendsday Night board games night to play games as this casual event hosted by the Oligarchy Games Club. Attendees are welcome to bring games, but there will also be a selection of games to choose from. It’s open to all ages, but minors under 13 years of age must be supervised by an appropriate guardian. (Food and drink are available at a reduced price from the kitchen upstairs.)
- When: Friday, Jan. 10, 6 to 11:30 p.m. Doors are closed around 8 or 9 p.m., so you’ll have to alert organizers if you arrive later.
- Where: Phantom Alley, 527 Front Street Mews
- Details: Admission is $5 for the venue fee. It’s best to pre-register online, so you don’t get turned away if the space is at capacity. More information is available online.
Saturday, Jan. 11 and Sunday, Jan. 12
Someone Like You
Enjoy some great live entertainment when the Arts Club Theatre on Tour brings Someone Like You to New West, a production described as a millennial take on Cyrano De Bergerac. “This charming new comedy launches the mistaken identity of Cyrano de Bergerac into 21st–century Vancouver with millennial manifesto, dating apps, and the quest for self-love.”
- When: Saturday, Jan. 11 (7:30 p.m.) and Sunday, Jan. 12 (2 p.m.)
- Where: Anvil Theatre, 777 Columbia St.
- Details: Tickets are available online. Note: This production includes coarse language and mature subjects including psychological abuse. It may contain theatrical devices such as water-based fog and haze.
Sunday, Jan. 12
The Way We See It
Check out The Way We See It, a presentation by A Colour Collective, a group of painters and photographers from the PotteryWorks studio. Supported by the Community Living Society, PotteryWorks is a collective of talented painters, potters and jewelers overcoming disability through their art. The Way We See It exhibit includes a collection of landscapes and abstracts from PotteryWorks Colour Collective studio sessions. It’s running until Jan. 29 in the Community Art Gallery in Anvil Centre
- When: Anvil Centre is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 8 pm on Thursdays. As part of the Art Sundays initiative, free arts programming is taking place on Sunday, Jan. 12 from 2 to 4 p.m.
- Where: Community Art Gallery, third floor of Anvil Centre, 777 Columbia St.
- Details: Free
Free Technology Help
Get answers to your technology questions at the Tech Drop-in with Teens Teach Technology session. Local teens will be able to provide help with your device, answer questions about websites, help you set up email, use Google Docs, transfer photos and more. Community members are invited to bring their phone, tablet, laptop or general technology questions to the Tech Drop-in, which is facilitated by volunteers from Teens Teach in collaboration with the New Westminster Public Library.
- When: Sunday, Jan. 12, 2 to 3:30 p.m. (Subsequent sessions will be offered on Sunday afternoons from January to March 2025)
- Where: New Westminster Public Library main branch (second floor), 716 Sixth Ave.
- Details: Free. (New West teens interested in joining the volunteer team can fill out forms online.)
