Despite drought, the Prairies took two of the nine categories in the
national greening called Communities in Bloom.
Winners for 2002 included Beausejour, Man., for the 1,000-3,000
population category and Westlock, Alta., for 3,000-5,000. The Canadian
Classic category was won by Langley and Williams Lake, B.C. There were
95 communities in the competition’s 8th year.
Petunias are Westlock’s official flower and the town dressed up with
120 hanging baskets of them this summer. Now in its fifth year in the
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national competition, Westlock has learned from past judging
experiences.
But the most important factor, said town planner Colleen Thome, is
getting all parts of the community to participate – from commercial to
residential to non-profit organizations.
While some quit watering their flowerbeds to save moisture for farmers,
Thome said a timely rain just before the judges arrived “freshened
things up.”
Westlock, whose town motto is “the best blooming town in the West,”
will now sit out next year’s competition in favour of a new role,
perhaps mentoring another community, Thome said.
Beausejour mayor Fred Kazina said his town has been in the competition
since 1997 and it has been adding on a bit every year. While drought is
not an issue for this eastern Manitoba town, flooding is. One year it
got more than 300 millimetres of rain in 10 days.
Kazina said two factors helped his town win this year: it started a new
2.3 acre park; and it preserves heritage through an agricultural
museum, maintaining the ruins of a former glassblowing factory and
improving a park where the railway station used to be.
