Centennial plans create excitement

By Heather Killen

Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

Time is running out to plan something special for Middleton’s milestone.

The town will celebrate its centennial next year, and organizers have been busy collecting ideas for special projects from various groups.

Susan MacDonald, recreation director, said the committee met recently and it looks like 2009 will kick off a year packed with special projects for the town.

“We plan to start the celebration at Rotary Park with a ‘Walk into the New Year’ on New Years Eve,” she said. “And it looks like the Macdonald Museum will host a special levee on New Years Day.”

Several local groups have already come forward with ideas for special projects. The Lion’s Club is proposing a tree-planting project that aims to plant 100 trees around town.

MacDonald said that this project could possibly be tied into a research project that is being conducted through the community college.

The Rotary Club and Soldiers Memorial Hospital are each proposing plans for special commemorative gardens in the town.

“It’s very exciting, a lot of people are starting to come forward with ideas,” she said. “But now we need to hear what people are planning and get an idea of the projects that are happening out there.”

The Annapolis Valley Regional Library has suggested creating a special permanent outdoor reading space that could be used for children’s theatre.

The committee has also been putting together a list of entertainment, and is applying for grants that could help cover the cost of entertainment, or other types of costs.

MacDonald added that the committee has already confirmed that two popular annual events will be hosted in Middleton next year.

“The mayor wrote a letter requesting that the opening ceremony for the Apple Blossom Festival take place here,” she said. “We’ve just confirmed that the opening will take place in Middleton.”

It also looks like the Valley Seniors Games scheduled for August 2009, will be hosted in Middleton. Hundreds of seniors from across the valley participate in this event each year.

MacDonald said that the town’s regular annual events will take the theme of the centennial next year.

The Heart of the Valley celebration will celebrate the town’s 100th anniversary, and events like the fireworks and the street parade will be planned around the town’s anniversary, she said.

The committee is now compiling a database of volunteers willing to help with the various events throughout the year, she said.

“We need a parade chair,” she said. “Chances are that there is a job for everybody, whatever talents and interests they have.”