Blue sky and a downtown Trail park in full bloom, nestled next to the mighty river, served as a perfect backdrop for Communities in Bloom judges to take a rest from the heat during their tour of the city on Tuesday.
This is the first time Anne-Marie Parent and Susan Ellis, both from Eastern Canada, have made a visit to the Silver City. And both were taken aback with the impressive landscape, and history, of a big-industry town.
“It’s a beautiful and stunning natural setting with the river defining both sides,” Ellis said. “The Italian influence is obvious, you feel like you’re in a little village in Europe,” she continued.
“The Communities in Bloom effort, the public’s, the municipality’s and Teck Metal’s effort is astonishing - they’ve really worked hard to overcome a rocky history,” Ellis said.
“And they have done that. So it’s something that is now fading into the distance and they are left with the legacy of all these legacy projects, which are amazing. So it’s a very nice, welcoming town that should be proud of all these things that are happening.”
Though it will be a few months before volunteer gardeners find out how the Silver City has fared, one thing is certain, the town has left an indelible mark on both judges.
“This little town, cuddled in all these mountains and the river that flows through, and then this big industrial plant right in the middle,” said Parent. “Normally (that) would have a great impact, but then as you circle around the little streets, you almost forget it’s there, until you look up and see the chimney stack. Otherwise, everyone has tidy little gardens they’ve created for themselves, these little sanctuaries that are really, really, great.”
The judges arrived in Trail on Monday to adjudicate the city alongside Rosemère QC and Summerside P.E.I. in the Class of Champions, medium category, for the 25th Edition of Communities in Bloom. They leave for Edmonton today, with results of the competition being announced at the annual symposium, which will be held in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia this fall.