'You can feel it': Tourism season starts early in Saint Andrews
After a "banner year" last year in the town, Saint Andrews' tourism chair says the season has gotten underway "much earlier" than past years.
Paddlefest, a music and nature festival running for more than 25 years, was held from May 16 to 19, and is usually the "unofficial kickoff" to the tourism season, according to Christie Kennedy, chair of Explore Saint Andrews and owner of the Treadwell Inn and Chandler Room. But this year, she said some restaurants and businesses opened earlier and accommodations began filling up "much earlier" than past years.
"What I found this year in particular is that a lot of the inns and accommodations were busy a couple weeks before normal," she said. "It's been really good. Paddlefest brings the energy for the season and it brings the fun, but we were all starting to get busier earlier than normal, which is a great thing."
Paddlefest's artistic director Luke Macdonald said it was a good year with "strong attendance," with a main-stage music lineup including Jenn Grant and Boy Golden as well as nature activities including kayaking and the Wharfbound Trail Run, which saw 130 runners. He estimated around 800 to 1,000 people came through the main stage tent, with 1,500 to 2,000 people coming to town to see the other activities, including a free community stage introduced last year.
"It was just a great weekend all around, we had really great weather, which is key, because we normally don't," Macdonald said. "That helped make it just a really fun, vibrant weekend. The energy was great, everybody was having a good time."
Some of the "magical moments" included Grant playing as her kids were babysat by community members in the crowd, with one of her sons joining her on stage to sing, as well as Fredericton's La Patente playing on through a power outage on Sunday, Macdonald said.
"That was another example of the magic of a small festival," Macdonald said. He said they're trying to "grow a little bit every year ... and keep that small festival feel," and that this year offered a "good mix" of programming.
Macdonald said they got "pretty close to a sell out" for the main-stage programming and other shows, but there were some tickets available at the door, and other free events for those without tickets.
Kennedy said Paddlefest was "amazing," and that the "patios were full, the bars were full, the restaurants were full."
"I felt like the visitors that attended this year were respectful and they were just here for a good time, there was very, very little disruption," she said. "It was a really really good feeling this year, and Luke Macdonald and his team blow it out of the water every time."
Kennedy said that despite some rainy days "that hampered things a little bit", last year was an "amazing year" for tourism that continued a post-pandemic upswing for local businesses. She said that there's an "energy in town" as people get ready for this year's tourism season that includes new investments in the Algonquin Resort, new offerings at the Huntsman Aquarium and new businesses.
"Last year was a banner year for us, for the whole town and all the attractions," Kennedy said. "Everybody has kind of upped their game this year, and you can feel it in the town."
She cited the Marmalade Boutique and Salt Bight Restaurant on Water Street as new businesses that had opened up, with William & Water Restaurant &; Bar celebrating its first anniversary.
She said that the tourism business often relies on "a few short months to make all our money," but there have been more events to extend the schedule year-round, and more businesses are working on all-weather itineraries in case of rainy days.
For information about future events in Saint Andrews, Kennedy said to check Explore Saint Andrews' online calendar at https://explorestandrews.ca/what-to-do/.
Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Telegraph-Journal
