E.O.V dropped in to pay a visit with Joanne Ellis early this week and we asked her to share what upcoming events Downtown Summerside has planned for this summer.
Joey Blacquiere
What kind of events and entertainment do you have coming?
Atlanticade is coming up and that’s about the first thing. It runs from June 26th to July 02nd. The Highland Gathering is that same weekend too, so there should be lots for everyone to do.
The Lobster Carnival this year is July 05th to July 13th and we do the SideWalk Sale, so we are working hard and getting lots of entertainment secured for that and looking at setting up fun games and activities for the whole family.
Shawna Chappell
Where Downtown will the events be held?
We are still in the middle of planing right now. The events will be in the downtown area of course. Some maybe along Summer street here and the Sidewalk Sale is always on Water street. Those are the biggest things underway right now.
Joni Miner
Who is helping organize all these events?
We have a Marketing Committee as well as myself and volunteers, so everybody works together to get those things underway. A big part of what we do is based on volunteers. Our volunteers come in and help us with set up and that sort of thing but the majority of the planing is done by the Marketing Committee.
Shawna Chappell
How far in advance do you plan for each event?
Last year! Most of our events are a year in the planning but the big kick is coming on right now. A lot of the things we will want to have finalized by the end of the month and then we will work out the logistics of it. It’s definitely a long process, as they are big events.
Joey Blacquiere
How do you decide what events to bring to Downtown Summerside?
Most of the focus is on Economic Development and on community support so that is a big reason why we chose to support Atlanticade because it does bring in so many people to the area. Also family involvement is important to us so last year we started “The Witches on Water Street” to bring a lot of the families back to the downtown area and make it something that everyone can look for word to. It was a big success and a lot of fun. We had lots of positive feedback.
Joni Miner
Do you already have all your volunteers for your upcoming events?
No, it is always a work in progress. We do have a few people that come on year after year but we always need more and you can never have to many hand on deck .
Catherine Dickson
How do you go about getting your volunteers? Do you put a call out?
We do put calls out. For example, the last event that we did we sent an email out though the Harbourfront Theatre as they have a great group of volunteers that they work with. And we will likely do that again. We’ll probably put a couple of ads the paper and it will also go in the news letter and just about whatever creative way we can get the word out. It’s a great way for people to meet new people and if anyone is interested in volunteering they can always contact us by email, phone or drop in! We’d be happy to have them come on board!
(From left to right: Shawna Chappell, Joey Blacquiere, Joanne Ellis and Joni Miner)
Photographs taken by Catherine Ann Howatt-Dickson
