Ready to celebrate
Atlantic Canadians looking forward to May long weekend with fun activities
After spending the last two years wondering, with bated breath, about how to celebrate summer, many Atlantic Canadians are especially keen to make the most of the season with outdoor social events, family excursions, and reunions.
In 2014, Natalie Loo, Jordan Ellis, and Nancy Ford organized Hunter River’s first community yard sale in P.E.I. Being part of a rural community, they wanted to start something that would bring people together over the May long weekend with a common goal in mind.
“We started in a small parking lot, but vendor demand has necessitated moving into the much larger Central Queens lot. Each year, the sale has grown. We’ve had over 30 vendors in the past, so there is always a wide variety of used goods for sale,” explains Loo.
She says that items vendors have to offer include housewares, clothing, furniture, collectables, toys, and maybe even a kitchen sink.
“Central Queens Elementary School kindly allows us to use their parking lot, so there’s plenty of room and even a playground to occupy the kids.”
Non-profits that have supported the yard sale include MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) Central, which hosts a fundraising barbecue each year, the Canadian Diabetes Association, and the Girl Guides, which will sell their famous cookies.
“But due to the pandemic, we have been unable to host the yard sale for the last two years. So, I think we all missed getting together with neighbours, shopping, chatting, and enjoying a sense of togetherness,” says Loo.
“There’s a strong community
feeling, with no charge to attend and no need to drive around. People often send me messages in the middle of the winter in anticipation of the sale. Many vendors and shoppers return each year, which is an indication that it’s successful for all involved."
The yard sale takes place on May 21 (rain date May 28), from 8 a.m. to noon.
ALL ABOUT FAMILY
For Brenda Armstrong, the May long weekend brings a long-awaited family vacation.
Armstrong, her husband Stephan Bendiksen, and their twin girls are gearing up to fly to the Scandinavian country that encompasses mountains, glaciers, and deep coastal fjords before heading to Europe to marvel at architectural masterpieces. Bendiksen's family lives in Norway while Armstrong's family is in Witless Bay, N.L.
"It will be our first time being able to go to Norway with the children due to the pandemic. So, we’re making the best of an extended threeand-a-half-week adventure,” says Armstrong, while acknowledging she planned the trip more than a year ago.
“After getting through the pandemic while raising twin toddlers without family support nearby, it is a huge welcome recharge."
The family of four were scheduled to depart on May 19 and return on June 14 to their remote mining town of Labrador West, where Armstrong works as the principal advisor of communications for Tacora (Scully Mines).
“We relocated to Lab West when our twin girls were 10 months old to work in the mining industry. It is an incredible place to raise a family, and I’m lucky to work for an employer that encourages and supports a work-life balance,” she says.
Armstrong’s unforgettable vacation combines spectacular nature, historical monuments, vineyards as far as the eye can see, and terracotta-tiled homes, and will be the first time she has taken time off from work longer than seven days.
“In June, the twins turn four and have adjusted to shorthaul road trips, but this will be our first long-haul trip by road and then sky.”
The family plan to drive 16 hours to Montreal to catch an Air Canada flight, which is no longer available in Labrador West.
Their first stop is Paris, where they plan to soak in the vast, tree-lined boulevards and
pretty parks from corner cafés, watching the world go by, before climbing the must-see Eiffel Tower.
They will then fly to Bergen, Norway, for 10 days to spend treasured time with Bendiksen’s family while exploring the colourful wooden houses and panoramic mountain views.
“My husband and I will then fly solo to Florence, Italy, while the grandparents watch the kids, so that we can experience our first kid-free vacation," she says.
"Our girls count the days and are excited to meet their grandparents and see the Eiffel Tower because they recognize the landmark from the children’s show Peppa Pig Goes to Paris.”
HITTING THE ROAD
For others, the May long weekend brings an explosion of 1970s and '80s murals, side pipes, velvet interiors to the minimal and modern on four wheels.
Cindy Webber created the Freedom Street Vans club two years ago, which encompasses all of Nova Scotia and is one of four operating in the province.
Outside of Nova Scotia, there are other clubs under the Maritime Van Council for other enthusiasts, she says.
Webber and the group are gearing up with their custom and nostalgic vans for an adventure.
“We call it our first runner or starter because the area where we camp is within an hour’s drive for most club members, so if their vans (many are locked away over the winter) break down, it will not be too much of a hassle to repair,” says Webber, who owns a 1984 Chevy van.
The club will celebrate the Apple Blossom Festival in Annapolis Valley at a quiet campsite with 15 to 20 vans, ranging from a 1981 Chevy to a 2007 Honda Odyssey.
“But it doesn’t matter what kind of van you drive, how big or how small, this club is all about the attitude that comes with it,” she says.
Webber notes club members get together on Friday nights, and during the summer, travel across Atlantic Canada.
“We have a great time together, like seasonal camping, but we are always very respectful," she says.
"We are all like-minded people (most of us over the age of 40) moving from place to place. And we are always happy to welcome new members, especially young people, to keep the club alive.”
Over the decades, van life has gone from having a fringe and rowdy reputation to appealing to a much more comprehensive range of people.
Members of the club include people from all walks of life, from retirees, mechanics (15 in the group), doctors to lawyers, says Webber, who expanded her property by two acres this year so she and her husband can host a 50-van event.
“My husband and I host an event every year. He’s a body tech in Halifax, so he does all our paint, body, and mechanical work on our vans,” notes Webber, stressing the club is not all about just the show of vehicles but rather the fun, and the positive attitude, that goes with the van.