The 17th Edition of the Communities in Bloom National Awards Ceremony took place this past weekend in Quebec City.

 

A number of Westman communities walked away with awards.

Killarney-Turtle Mountain won a National award for its population category of 1,501 to 3,000 people.

 

Killarney-Turtle Mountain was also recognized for getting youth involved in their bloom program.

 

The Town of Boissevain, a finalist in the International Challenge Small population category of the 2011 National Edition of Communities in Bloom, received a 5 Bloom rating and a special mention ­for Farmers' Market.

Following their evaluation of the community, volunteer judges Alex Pearl and Berta Briggs said:

Boissevain is the visitor’s first introduction to Canada as they come from the south through the International Peace Garden border crossing.  A beautiful town, the weekly Farmer’s Market demonstrates Boissevain is also a vibrant and sustainable community.  The site of the Market is a recently revamped and nicely treed space, complete with new amenities.  The friendly vendors sell a wide variety of locally produced foods.  Each week a different non-profit group prepares and serves a lunch using local foods.  The market bustles with live music from young buskers and laughing families, providing a little window into life in the Town of Boissevain.

 

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Artspark in Boissevain

 

The City of Brandon had to bow out of the competitive division this year due to flood fighting efforts in the community.

However the Wheat city did win the Floral Displays Ouytstanding Achievement Award.

 

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Brandon’s Community Development Coordinator Elaine Arvisais attended the conference in Quebec City and accepted the award on the city’s behalf at Saturday night’s awards gala.

 

While unprecedented spring flooding forced the city to withdraw from the formal Communities in Bloom competition this year, it did not deter city staff and countless community volunteers from working hard to ensure Brandon’s medians, unaffected parks and public spaces remained colourful and vibrant.

 

“It was an honour to represent the City of Brandon, our devoted staff and volunteers in accepting such a significant award,” said Arvisais. “Without the creative minds and growing skills of our Parks and Greenhouse staff and the tireless effort of our volunteers, we would never have been in the position to bring home such prestigious hardware.”

 

The City of Brandon is renowned for its bountiful floral displays, both in ground and in beautiful lush baskets, with 40,000 to 50,000 annuals started from seed in its greenhouse each year.

 

Also, during the Communities in Bloom Achievement & Special Awards, the City of Brandon received recognition for its work with community gardens and was one of the top three communities in the Community of Gardeners category.