MELITA, Man. – They’ve gone bananas over a banana in Melita, Man.
The community of 1,100 residents has been dubbed the banana belt due to its occasional above-average Canadian temperatures, so a group charged with promoting tourism there plan to erect a 30-foot-tall banana at the entrance to the town this month.
The banana statue will be one of the largest in the world and is expected to appeal to tourists from around the world, said Tanis Chalmers, Melita’s economic development officer.
Read Also
Ag in Motion speaker highlights need for biosecurity on cattle operations
Ag in Motion highlights need for biosecurity on cattle farms. Government of Saskatchewan provides checklist on what you can do to make your cattle operation more biosecure.
“If you’re trying to get attention, this is the way to go,” she said, explaining how some residents thought a bird was a more suitable mascot since Melita is known as the grassland bird capital of Manitoba.
“If you’re driving through Manitoba, you see black and white cows.… So, what stands out? The purple cow.”
The $106,000 banana, weighing 6,500 pounds, will have a bird in its hand as a compromise. Melita is best known as an agricultural community, but is increasingly becoming an oil industry service centre.
Gavin MacKenzie, a 30-year-old cattle farmer and full-time oil patch worker, said he recently built a home in the Melita area because of the quality of life rural Manitoba offers his young family.
“When I graduated from high school, nobody was farming or staying around, but now you see a lot of young guys taking over their dad’s operation and it’s because it’s a lifestyle choice,” said MacKenzie.
Young farmers are building five new houses within a 16 kilometre radius of his farm, he said.
“When you put it down on paper, farming doesn’t make the most sense, but we’re doing it for our kids and because we want them to grow up in a rural community.”
As MacKenzie watches his children play in Melita’s pool, built in 2008, he said that the community’s focus on recreation will pay dividends.
“We could go to Virden or Brandon, but because the pool is here, we come here and while we’re in town, we get other stuff too, like groceries and whatever it takes to get us by.”
Melita, which offers recreation centres that include an arena, curling rink and scenic golf course, has been selling many residential lots. The town is currently looking for a developer to create a new residential subdivision.
“We have very few lots in town left for sale, so with only five or so left, we’re soon going to be right out,” said Melita town councillor Bill Warren.
“We do have a housing crisis here because we have many new families that are moving in who can’t find homes, and our seniors lodge and personal care home are full as well.”
Warren said that land for a new residential area has been set aside and surveyed.
He cited the expanding oil industry in southwestern Manitoba as the town’s primary source of growth.
“Before, every second house was for sale and businesses were shutting down, but now homes have been selling like hotcakes and businesses are really picking up.”
In response to growth in oil activity, an industrial area was set up in Melita, with nine of the 12 lots sold.
Brian Teetaert, a Miller Farm Equipment employee and farmer, is building a new home in Melita that overlooks the rolling hills of the golf course. He said agricultural activity has always been a staple, but oil growth is certainly driving the current expansion.
“It’s a pretty progressive town, and with our hospital and all of the recreation, we tend to take it for granted but it’s a town that has a lot of pluses.”
