what's good around St. John's | October 2022

fall is fun in St. John's

October you are moving fast! The first frost bit and people are getting to the fall groove.

Fall is glorious in Newfoundland and Labrador. The colours, the bite in the air, the excitement of good things to come.

Here are a couple of awesome favourites!

Blue sky moon and fall trees in St. John's. Mike Drover photo, October 2022

The Perfect Backyard Fire Pit

After a very hot summer, greenrocker Amanda and her family love the cool fall with the need for a fire.

It pairs well with a relaxing drink for the adults and of course s'mores for the younger ones. Some adults like the s'mores as much as the kids do.

Newfoundland Chocolate Company has a new Milk Chocolate S'mores Row House Bar - that is going to level up the s'more action!

Amanda says, “A few years back we tried a metal fire pit from the store but it rusted very fast and needed to be replaced, so instead of buying another one we made one. We have had this fire pit for 4 years now and it works beautifully with very little maintenance.”

Here's how:

We dug a hole in the spot we wanted in the backyard
We lined the hole with large stones leaving small spaces in between the stones which helps the water go through without flooding
When we are finished with the fire we put water on it to ensure it is put out and the water is gone the next morning.

Local festivals, films and shows

Nickel Independent Film Festival

Way back in August the Nickel Independent Film Festival held free screenings across the island! They were a hit.

Now it’s October they came back big with the 48-Hour Horror Film Challenge October 7-9. It was an Open Challenge to write, shoot and edit a short film or less in just 48 hours! Looking forward to seeing what comes out of that creative hot spot!

This year's entries aren't out yet, so we've included one from last year, above.

St. John's Women's Film Festival

Talk about a local hit! The St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival is one of the longest-running women’s film festivals in the world.

This year it’s happening October 19-23, in person and online. An amazing line up of films, shorts and sessions by women, for everyone!

Take it as much as you can! There’s films and shorts and a whole sweet section on local filmmakers with short films from Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Missus Downstairs

We think the film festival mentioned above is the grandest, but there are other film festivals around the world. And they have taken a shine to The Missus Downstairs. We gotta like that!

That bit of brilliance of Dave Sullivan, Mary Walsh, and the crew at Fibe TV1 has a couple of new laurel wreaths. It’s an official selection of

And season two is coming!

farmers HARVEST on The Avalon

Something good is the people who do the growing. Big shoutout to our local farmers! Some of our favourites include

Del Oliver of Oliver’s Farms
- Del and Dave grow veg and livestock and bring eggs, chicken, sausages and more to the St. John's Farmers' Market each week.
Karen Durfey of Ripple Trail Farms
- Karen and the team grow with great joy, and sell from their roadside stand and Whitbourne, the SJFM, and other locations
Trina Porter of The FARM
- In the latter part of the week you'll often find Trina at the Kelligrew's Stand on the Conception Bay Hwy *near* the corner of Jerathon Place!
Evan Murray of The Grounds Farm to Fork Cafe
- Murray Meadows does the growing, and you can eat much of what grows at the Ground Cafe!
Steve Ivany of Good2Grow
- Steve does a good bit of growing - and his training sessions help others grow too. Check the garlic tutorial!
Scott Neary of Green Farm
- - These guys offer an amazing subscription service for lettuce and microgreens!

MARKETS in and around St. John’s

O the Markets! They are goooood.

Throughout the year the regular markets keep good local things going, and there are many that pop up here, there and everywhere!

And now in October the Markets kick up into high gear and bring so many wonderful things together - like the Multicultural Market, Christmas Markets, Etsy Markets, Pop-Up markets at shops and stores.

Milestone Promotions create a slew of great market events, and often you’ll find vendors who don’t show up in other places.

Between now and Christmas there are tonnes.

Be sure to check out the Guide to the Good Markets Hub!

welcome NewComers

When people come to Newfoundland and Labrador for the first time, and want to stay and build new lives - that’s good! This province needs more people to thrive.

St. John’s Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) is all about making it easier for people to stay in St. John’s. That means helping newcomers fully engage in all aspects of social, economic, and cultural life. The St. John’s LIP builds on knowledge gained through other LIP’s across the country.

celebrate small business during Small Business Week

BDC Small Business Week is October 16-23 - great time to celebrate those small businesses you LOVE!

Canadian Federation of Business reports the top reasons Canadians choose to shop at their favourite small and local businesses included:

To support their community (56%)
To help small businesses succeed (50%)
The friendliness and vibe from the owner/staff (46%)
Convenience, such as proximity to home or work (40%)
Unique items and experiences and high-quality services or products (38%)
Good prices (29%)

What are your top reasons?

Tips to Go Green This Fall

Less is good!

Now that the World Health Organization is saying the end of the pandemic may be in sight, we’re getting back to re-focus on the other gigantic global issues we were grappling with before.

October 17-23 is Waste Reduction Week in Canada. (It’s part of Circular Economy Month.), and the City of St.John’s is on it. They’ve got some cool things on the go at the Humpday Market Wednesday October 19 - a compost give-away, Bike Repair Cafe, and backyard composting session!

The provincial entity responsible for guiding our province to a greener future through waste reduction education programs is highlighting companies that are doing good waste-wise, like Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

top townie HALLOWEEN Events in St. John's

O’Brien’s Farm After Dark

Hallowe’een is the 31st, and every kid for generations knows about the trick or treat.

But there’s something else to it too. Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of harvest season and the start of the ‘darker half of the year'. It’s also said to be the time when the veil between our world and the other world is its thinnest....the perfect time for spirits to escape!

Helping breathe new life into this ancient celebration is O’Brien Farm Foundation with After Dark.

They will share two spooky stories of Irish-Newfoundland folklore by event creator Kate Pitcher, and two NEW hair raising ghost stories from the O'Brien family vault, relayed by Irish playwright, Matthew Keenan.

Hike the trails of O'Brien Farm and hear dark tales of our Irish-Newfoundland heritage.

Pumpkin Fest at Lesters Farm

children on hay bales with scarecrow at Lesters Farm Pumpkin Fest

Pumpkinfest at Lesters farms is a Halloween favourite. Kids love the hayrides, the different activities set up in their fun area and the handmade halloween decorations, the corn maze (where they like to eat the corn off the stalk) and haystacks.

Trunk or Treat

There is a variation of the traditional Trick or Treat.

It's called Trunk Or Treat. It's a thing that communities do bring halloween fun closer together and remove barriers like stairs and distance from Halloween fun.

The Town of Holyrood has been up to for the past number of years, and the Town of Torbay does it too for members of their community.

Here's how it goes... volunteers decorate the trunks of their vehicles or the area around their vehicles in an open space, like a parking lot, and kids in costume trick or treat the trunks

The kids love it! But probably the adults love it even more!