Preparations for the festive season were evident in downtown Barry’s Bay on the last Friday in November. Madawaska Valley Operations Department took advantage of milder weather to begin hanging the holiday lights along the main street and Operations Supervisor Mike Phillips said the winter baskets prepared that morning by the Community In Bloom volunteers would soon follow. Above: Madawaska Valley Gardening Club members with winter baskets. From left (front): Elser Lee Faith Archer, Ritsuko Honda, Maryjka Mychajlowycz. (back): Sharon Mahussier, Peter and Anna Dolan, Enis and Allan Yarascavitch, Jeneene Brunton (absent Soulan White).
As a contribution to the Madawaska Valley Communities in Bloom initiative, volunteers from the MV Gardening Club usually assemble to create festive hanging baskets and planters for the village. This year, because of COVID-19 restrictions, the Gardening Club limited participation to Board members to keep numbers to ten or fewer, while other members such as Eden Buidroz and Sandy Kingsmith provided evergreen boughs, other foliage and decorative elements. By mid-morning the volunteers had produced more than 40 hanging baskets and planters; only a handful fewer than in previous years. Past President Peter Dolan commented that they “channeled Kevin Newman,” referring to the Petawawa florist who demonstrated his wizardry by creating Christmas baskets at many MV Gardening Club meetings in previous years.
Above from left: MV Gardening Club President Jeneene Brunton, Past President Peter Dolan, even a bird’s nest made it into the festive arrangements)
Sign of the times at Railway Station
On the same morning, Nature of Design installed new signage at the Barry’s Bay Railway Station. Thanks to a design supplied by StationKeepers MV, the historic facility now sports a brand-new locomotive engine.
New Railway Station sign installed by Matt Cherry (left) and Kevin Fabian from Nature of Design
Many shops and residences installed seasonal decorations to take part in the township’s Holiday Lights Tour. Madawaska Valley Township plans to provide a route map so residents can vote on their favourites, with prizes of local business gift certificates to the winners. Details at madawaskavalley.ca
