Cheers & Jeers
CHEERS: To Charlottetown police for taking extra precautions because of road closures before allowing the Santa Claus parade to begin Saturday evening. There was some confusion around the 5 p.m. start but police opted to err on the side of caution before the parade launched down University Avenue. The 30 minutes or so delay caused some issues for parade watchers but a good crowd was on hand when Santa arrived downtown.
The weather co-operated with light winds and temperatures around 0 C, much nicer than Friday’s chilly conditions for the start of the city’s Wintertide Holiday Festival. In light of the terrible tragedy in Yarmouth, N.S., the same evening, the police decision was certainly justified.
CHEERS: To Lisa Jackson and Nancy Russell for their efforts in organizing the 35th annual Curl For Cancer fundraiser held Saturday at the Charlottetown Curling Club. The event raised thousands of dollars to support the fight against cancer. Let’s hope a few more teams support the effort next year.
JEERS: To people who are more concerned with posting to social media than actually helping out fellow citizens in immediate peril. The latest case in point happened last weekend when a vehicle overturned in the Upper Rawdon area of Nova Scotia. Instead of helping to get the driver out, a number of people on the scene were more concerned with taking photos and video on their iPhones to post to Facebook and twitter. Flames broke out and the man was hauled out of his vehicle just in time by people who expressed disbelief with the lack of action being shown by many so-called concerned citizens.
CHEERS: To participants in the fourth annual Victorian Christmas Weekend held over three days in the capital city. The weekend featured an open-air market and plenty of festive activities for the whole family, coinciding with the city’s Christmas parade and Wintertide festival. The Victorian Christmas Market was reminiscent of European festivals with the open-air pedestrian market along two blocks of Queen Street. It doubled in size from last year to accommodate a growing number of vendors. The holiday events attracted huge crowds into the city for the weekend, making for traffic delays, but everyone managed to arrive and depart safely, using caution and slowing down for pedestrians.
CHEERS: To hockey school pioneer Alan Andrews of Cornwall who became a member of the Order of Canada last week, accepting the member insignia from Gov.-Gen. Julie Payette. Andrews founded a well-known hockey school over 40 years ago and has mentored and coached thousands of players of all levels. His innovative curriculum, which has been emulated across the country and beyond, focuses on technical skills as well as lifelong lessons in sportsmanship and team spirit.