Canada Communities in Bloom Judge Lucy Chang (left) learns about the community garden at Spruce Haven Park from Peggy George (right) of Melfort Communities in Bloom. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Communities in Bloom

‘Exceeded our expectations’: Communities in Bloom judges visit Melfort

Jul 16, 2019 | 5:21 PM

Canada Communities in Bloom (CiB) judges have nothing but bouquets for the City of Melfort.

The judges arrived to Melfort on July 15 as part of the 2,501 to 7,500 population category of the 2019 National CiB Competition.

Melfort previously won the category of cities with a population over 5,000 during the 2018 Saskatchewan CiB awards in September, as the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association gave the city five blooms, the highest grade possible.

Evelyn Alemammi, a CiB judge from San Diego, said visiting Melfort has been remarkable.

“We never know what to expect when we come into a town,” Alemammi said. “Melfort has really exceeded our expectations in a lot of ways. The first thing that struck me was how clean the city is. The streets are immaculate, the sidewalks are beautiful, the residences are very well maintained, downtown is attractive, it’s just a remarkable community.”

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Alemammi and Lucy Chang, a fellow CiB judge from Ottawa, have been toured around by Melfort CiB and have visited the Historic Post Office, golf course, museum, parks, and murals. They grade communities up to 1,000 points based on categories such as environmental action, floral displays, heritage conservation, landscape urban forestry, and tidiness.

Chang has been most impressed with Melfort’s amenities such as the community garden, composting area, skatepark, and Northern Lights Palace.

“It’s a good place for families,” Chang said. “There are a wonderful amount of amenities and green spaces here. The business area, some of them are very attractive. It’s a very nice place to visit.”

Both judges credited the hard work from Melfort CiB and the support shown by the city.

“They’re very correct in thinking that this is a good program for the community,” Chang said. “It brings the community together and from that you get so many things done for the whole town.”

Melfort was Alemammi and Chang’s first stop in their judging. They will depart Melfort on July 17 and fly to Ottawa.

From there, they’ll visit the Ontario communities competing in the same category – the Township of Madawaska Valley, Village of Merrickville-Wolford, and Town of Prescott – before travelling to the Maritimes and judging the Town of Bay Roberts, NL. and the Town of Windsor, N.S.

While Alemammi and Chang expect to finish their travels by the end of July, the most difficult aspect of their duties – grading the final scores – will be completed once they return home.

Results from the 2019 National CiB competition are expected to be announced in September 2019.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow