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Community invited to evening with renown gardener

Free tickets available until Tuesday for Mark Cullen’s visit
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Horticulturist Mark Cullen will be in Trail May 5-6 as part of the Trail Community in Bloom’s Community Achievement Award. Submitted photo

A Community Achievement Award is certainly something that has to be celebrated with the entire community.

That’s the thinking when the Trail Community in Bloom (CiB) committee won the national award at the 2016 ceremony in Regina.

Along with the recognition came the honour of a “Day with Mark Cullen” the renown horticulturist, member of the Order of Canada, and one of the country’s foremost experts on gardening.

Cullen will be in Trail on May 5 and the local CiB committee wants the entire community to enjoy the visit.

“We’re going to have him tour town a bit,” explained Lana Rodlie of the local committee. “He’ll go to the high school for an hour or so with the horticultural class, he’ll be out at Home Hardware and on Friday night we’re having the Volunteer Appreciation Night at the Colombo Lodge.”

Rodlie stressed that the evening event is open to everyone in Trail.

“It’s for the entire town. Really it’s because the whole town has shined so much at the Community in Bloom level we are being rewarded with this.

“I really want people to know that this is for all the people in Trail that have helped the program. It doesn’t mean you have to be part of the committee.

“People who have done the Adopt a Highway program, businesses who have taken care of the stairways, and people who do gardening at their own home and keep their yards nice, that all helps make us a green city.”

However, she said people need to get their free tickets in advance by Tuesday so they can plan for the food and refreshments ahead of time. Tickets are available at Trail City Hall, Century 21 and Home Hardware. Tickets are limited to 300, the capacity of the lodge.

She added while tickets are free, people are encouraged to bring a food donation for the Food Bank.

Along with touring Trail and taking part in Friday’s events, Rodlie is hoping to give Cullen a good view on what’s happening in Trail.

“We’re taking him to the school. Also the Trail Area Health and Environment committee wants to meet with him too. We want to show him a reclamation site, where contaminated soil is removed from yards.

“We thought it would be neat to show him that because we’ve been trying to show Communities in Bloom what we do environmentally here. Maybe that will help to spread the word a bit better.”

She added they’ll take Cullen around town to show him the highlights of Trail all the while picking his brain for his thoughts on proper plants and trees for different parts of town.

“He might have some ideas to show us.”

Cullen will also make an appearance on May 6 at the Kootenay Healthy Lifestyles Expo at the Trail Memorial Centre before wrapping up his visit.