NEIGHBOURHOOD FUN
Annual event celebrates community
Six-year-old Hadley Koot works on her chalk masterpiece on 7 Avenue South during Neighbour Day in Lethbridge activities Saturday. Her family, watching on, live in Copperwood but came to check out the event in Upper Victoria Park.
In 2004, five garage sales were held on the same day on a stretch of 7 Avenue South in Upper Victoria Park. On a Saturday in 2017 yesterday, hundreds of people turned out to that same stretch of road for an event that is now officially called Neighbour Day in Lethbridge.
Organizers say the annual neighbourhood Sale and Fair event, formerly known as the 7th Avenue Sale, is like “nothing else in the city” and is a “can’t miss” cultural event.
“It’s a really great opportunity for nor only our community to come together and to chat with each other, come out of your doors into the streets, but also to invite all of Lethbridge what we have to offer,” said Dawn Leite, a committee member for the Upper Victoria Park Neighbourhood Association. “There’s lots going on. It’s just a really great opportunity for us to come together. It’s really about celebrating community. It’s people that make where we live a better place.”
Saturday’s event featured garage sales, food trucks, art activities such as Canada 150 chalk pieces, two areas of live entertainment and live music, a Volkswagen show and shine, a bouncy castle, and the Bookmobile.
It also included an expanded area with part of 14 Street South, just north of 6 Avenue.
“We throw down the ‘welcome’ mat and invite everyone to discover our ‘hood’ on their own terms,” said event coordinator Kevin MacLean, adding it became a formal fair type of event in 2015.
“You start small and you ask people ‘what can we do to make this a really great activity?’” Leite said.
“A lot of people come together with their suggestions. This year, we certainly looked at can we do a little bit more with having two stages, or two locations. It’s a natural, organic process. We’re just absolutely thrilled that the community supports this, and we invite to come. We look forward to next year.”