ANTIGONISH: As the summer season approaches, local municipalities are looking forward to a return to normalcy, with numerous events returning after going on hiatus due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, Warden Owen McCarron told reporters following their regular council meeting on June 14 that it’s going to be an exciting summer for residents and visitors to Antigonish.
“We’re very excited to see things opening up. Obviously some traditional things like a Canada Day celebration, the Highland Games, the Highland Games parade, which everybody looks forward to as well,” McCarron said. “We’re seeing Riverside Speedway just had a big race on the weekend and the IWK250 is coming up in mid-July, so those are signature events that people look forward to.”
The warden suggested it’s those face-to-face engagements they’re looking forward to the most.
“I think the community is really looking forward to getting out and support that stuff,” McCarron said. “And the Eastern Nova Scotia Exhibition, a two year hiatus there and I can tell you the organizers are busy working on things getting that ready. That’s always a showcase to end summer.”
McCarron said it’s encouraging that there is an energy in the community.
The following day during the regular council meeting for the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG), District 1 Councillor Paul Long advised council the municipality has more summer employment positions available for youth than they had applications to fill them.
Long indicated in the past, youth summer jobs were usually filled by university students, however in the past few years, they have had to rely on high school students, some as young as Grade 10, to fill the positions.
Warden Vernon Pitts explained he expected this situation would occur and it will continue due to the aging demographic throughout the municipality.
Following the meeting Pitts told reporters the municipality is expecting a much better summer tourism season.
“Down in my area, the Acadians are moving forward with their celebrations. It’s going to be good,” he said. “There’s not as many perish picnics but it’s not due to COVID, it’s not due to finances, what it’s due to is lack of volunteers.”
The warden explained with an aging population, every year there are fewer volunteers.
“The volunteers that are presently out there volunteering, as some people would say, as we get older, we don’t want to volunteer as much,” Pitts said.
Mayor of the Town of Antigonish, Laurie Boucher told reporters following their regular council meeting on June 20, senior staff are very excited to see people start coming back into Antigonish.
Boucher indicated council is extremely optimistic about the Nova Scotia Summer Fest re-location to Columbus Field in downtown Antigonish.
“It’s very exciting. I’ve had a number of people talk to me about it that aren’t from Nova Scotia or are not from Antigonish that are excited to come to the fantastic lineup that Mr. Mattie and his team put together,” Boucher said. “We have the Highland Games coming, we have the Street Fair that’s going on again, art shows will be hosted in Chisholm Park again and in the fall we have the exhibition.”