Excitement grows for opening of Area 506 container village in Saint John
With more than thirty modified shipping containers now set up along the uptown waterfront, and more set to arrive soon, the Area 506 container village is starting to take shape.
The container village, which will include retail shops, a 120-foot long graffiti alley, a waterfront beer garden, stage, and more, is slated to open to the public next month – the culmination of a project that’s been a year and a half in the making.
“We started our infrastructure build last fall in terms of the undergrounds, the next step was just last weekend where we brought in most of our shipping containers,” says Area 506 founder Ray Gracewood.
“The last two months or so we’ve been focused on creating the retail containers, so that’s the welding work, the electrical work, the carpentry work – all the things that need to happen before the shipping containers get on site.”
The shipping container village concept will be familiar to Area 506 festival-goers, but this time it won’t be dismantled when the concert series is done.
“We always had anticipated six years ago to say wouldn’t it be cool if we could have a permanent home where we could really lean in and really create an opportunity not just for people from Saint John but also the province,” says Terry Wagner, director of partner success. “And for us to be really proud of where we’re from.”
The new container village will open just in time for the arrival of the Oasis of the Seas on June 8 – a cruise ship that has a passenger capacity of 5400 people.
“We’ll have an open house that first week as well,” says Wagner. “And we’ve just announced our first concert in our waterfront concert series happening with July Talk on June 11.”
There will be 54 containers in total.
“At the end of the day I think it’s a special and unique property for the Saint John waterfront,” adds Gracewood.
“I think it’s very specific to this area being a port city, and I think it’s going to be a really unique experience for people to come and visit.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
BREAKING McGill University seeks emergency injunction to remove pro-Palestinian encampment from campus
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.