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Take a Walk on Main Street

Mar 21, 2012 | 10:06 AM

With the official arrival of spring, it seems only fitting to write about, what is in my opinion, one of the most exciting times of the year.

There is almost nothing as refreshing as when the snow finally leaves the ground and the first signs of life begin to emerge after a long cold winter.

My yard has already started to remind me of the work I put off last fall, as well as the new work my puppy left me and so kindly covered in snow so that I would not find it until now.

March in Saskatchewan can be many things, and lucky for us, the whole month has been a lamb. Spring is rejuvenating to the human spirit. As the sun shines down and melts the ice, we are encouraged in that we do not have to spend our entire lives cooped up in a man made structure; whether it be home, work, or the car.

The smell of damp earth emerging is absolutely intoxicating and the birds returning fill the air with song. It has been far too long, and I welcome spring with open arms. For downtown Prince Albert, spring is the start of our outdoor activity season. It is the time of year when the paper work is done and our imaginations begin to break out with ideas of how we can make 2012 even better than last year.

How can we improve on our annual street festivals? What types of activities will get the people of our fine city excited about summer on Main Street? What is something that we have never done before? The possibilities are endless! Events already lined up for this summer include: Street Fair 2012 (Jun. 16), 125th Fireman’s Celebration (July. 27), Main Street 1912 Festival (July. 28), Summer in the Square (Wednesdays July. 18 – Aug. 29), Centennial of Flight Air Show (Aug. 5), and the second annual Drive In Movie (August, TBD). Just with these events, this summer’s line up is bigger and better than ever before, and we could not be more excited!

In addition to these amazing events, the Main Street Prince Albert project will be getting under way as we move into May.  With the start of construction season in the near future, at least four buildings in the downtown will be getting façade renovations done this summer; with another four each in 2013 and 2014. What this actually means for downtown Prince Albert, is that 20 per cent of our historic buildings will be receiving new facades over the next three summers. This is possible through the contributions of hard working property owners, the Main Street P.A. and PADIDA organizations, and the Saskatchewan government. More information on the Main Street program can be found on our web site at www.princealbertdowntown.ca.

As we move forward with our summer activities, we will try and keep everybody as up to date with what is happening on Main Street during the summer of 2012.