Good morning, Saint John! SJ Today turns two today. The first issue went out on October 30, 2024, to my mom and my partner. The mailing list has grown a little since then.
Thanks for reading, replying, sharing, advertising and supporting the businesses that support us. This thing has become a huge part of my life, and I’m grateful you’ve made it part of yours. There’s plenty more I want to do with it, and I’m glad you’re along for the ride!
Here’s the lowdown for the day:
A fine time to get texts 📱
An extra hour to raise spirits ⏰
Home is where the haunt is 👻
Have a fantastic weekend!
-Geoff Walsh, Publisher
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NEWS NOTES
Your next parking reminder could be a text 📱
Your phone already reminds you about everything else. Now it can remind you to move the car.
Saint John has launched free parking text notifications covering parking bans, alternate-side schedules and other parking updates. Residents need to sign up separately, even if they already receive the city’s emergency alerts.
The service adds another way to get the information alongside the city’s website and social accounts. Monthly permit holders will still receive their usual lot-specific emails.
A little less relying on the neighbour moving their car as your reminder.
Christmas help starts with November registration 🎄
The Halloween candy is still on the counter, but registration for Christmas meal support begins in November.
Saint John Community Christmas Exchange works with local churches and agencies where households can register for help. Businesses, organizations and individuals can also sponsor families or donate toward their Christmas meals.
Last year, 50 partner churches and organizations helped provide meal support to 2,287 households. The Exchange also helped register 1,347 children for toys through The Salvation Army.
For information about getting support or helping out a family, call 506-634-7868 or email [email protected].
The wait behind the hospital wait 🏥
Getting patients into hospital beds also depends on helping other patients leave them.
Horizon’s latest quarterly update says patients medically ready for discharge but waiting for long-term care occupied an average of 41% of its acute-care beds as of September 30. That’s across the network, rather than a Saint John Regional Hospital figure.
Horizon has taken over long-term-care assessments for those patients in Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton, reporting wait reductions of up to 13%.
Emergency department diversion teams have also helped more than 640 medically stable patients return home since November 2025. Behind the waiting-room chairs is a much bigger game of finding space.
One more hour for the boos ⏰
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year and won’t again until 2037, so take full advantage. Stay up eating candy, hit a costume party or watch one more scary movie. Whatever keeps you up, the clocks are giving you an extra hour to recover.
Clocks go back one hour at 2am Sunday, November 1. Set yours back before bed Saturday. The kids and pets may decline to participate.
Top clicks of the week 🏆
Monday - Route 1 lane closures til Nov 13
Tuesday - 18 affordable homes for seniors coming to Roxbury Drive
Wednesday - SJ Today celebrates 2 years with the Saint John Dinner Club!
Thursday - Quispam’s solar power survey
*Nothing in this section is sponsored, just things you need to know. We’ll always let you know if items are sponsored.
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EVENTS
What’s Happenin’
What we’re doing this weekend
Port City Manor Haunted Yard | October 30–November 1
We’re checking out a house where the skeletons have outgrown the closet. Oliver Colpitts’ Port City Manor is haunting its new home at 40 Gaelic Drive on the west side, with low scares from 6pm–7pm and high scares from 7pm–9pm. The lights and animatronics run nightly from 5pm–10:30pm, giving you plenty of time to admire the neighbours before they move.
Saint John Arts Centre exhibition opening | October 30
Six exhibitions open at 20 Peel Plaza, including Kevin Goggan’s paintings of Saint John, Theresa MacKnight’s Pivotal Moment and Día de los Muertos SJ’s Where Memory Lives. Meet artists, explore the galleries, admission free. Found on the municipal and Uptown calendars.
JB Smoove | October 30
Find out what Leon gets up to without Larry David. Curb Your Enthusiasm favourite JB Smoove brings his stand-up to Imperial Theatre at 7:30pm. Regular tickets are $75–$85, with member pricing available. An evening of questionable advice seems like a reasonable Friday plan.
Trick or Treat at Market Square | October 31
We’re giving the costumes an indoor test run before the neighbourhood candy circuit. Market Square has 11 treat stations from 1pm–4pm, plus a 1:30pm show featuring members of the Magic Circle of Saint John. All ages are welcome. Teens and adults will need to remove full-face masks inside, though face paint and partial masks are fine.
Sea Dogs vs. Moncton Wildcats | October 31
We’re hoping Moncton leaves town with an empty bag. The Wildcats visit the Sea Dogs at TD Station for a 4pm Halloween matchup. A little provincial rivalry before the door-to-door sugar collection begins.
Y2K Halloween Dance Party | October 31
Revisit some frightening fashion choices. DJ Livin’ Large brings ’90s and 2000s hits to Hampton Brewing from 8pm–11:30pm, with a costume contest adding to the evidence. The party is outdoors under cover, with fires going, so dress for late October underneath whatever you’ve resurrected from 2003.
Alebrijes Gala Production | November 1
We’re trading Halloween masks for the fantastical creatures of Mexican folk art. Alebrijes brings dance, music, visual art and storytelling to Imperial Theatre at 5pm as part of Día de los Muertos Atlantic Canada. The all-ages production runs 90 minutes, with tickets at $50. A colourful finish to a weekend spent mostly admiring things in the dark.
*Nothing in this section is sponsored, just things you need to know. We’ll always let you know if items are sponsored.
LOCAL PICS
WHERE WERE WE WEDNESDAY? 📸
📍 On Wednesday, we shared this public timepiece and asked if you could clock it. Turns out, it didn’t ring a bell. Time to put you out of your misery…you’ll find it in Quispamsis’ Arts and Culture Park. Better luck next time!
📸 Your next photo could be our next feature. Hit reply and send us a local pic from your camera roll. Tell us where you took it so we can give you the credit!
SIDE NOTES
🌅 8:00am | 🌇 6:14pm
Today’s Tides 🌊
High Tide | 3:11 AM(Fri 30 October) | 7.57 m(24.84 ft) |
Low Tide | 9:21 AM(Fri 30 October) | 1.23 m(4.04 ft) |
High Tide | 3:31 PM(Fri 30 October) | 7.99 m(26.22 ft) |
Low Tide | 9:54 PM(Fri 30 October) | 0.87 m(2.85 ft) |
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Thanks!
Thanks for reading SJ Today - If you found it useful, share it with someone who hasn’t heard of SJ Today yet….and thank you for being here!
-Geoff Walsh - Publisher