GAGETOWN, N.B. - There were no longer dampened spirits in Gagetown today as hundreds gathered to show their support for businesses in the community that have spent the last few months recovering from the spring floods.
This weekend volunteers stepped up to help local businesses still trying to get back on their feet by holding a festival they called “High and Dry”.
"There's been businesses that are still recovering, still trying to get their businesses repaired and opened to tourists again,” Gagetown Deputy Mayor, Robert White told CTV Atlantic.
Between the floods, and ferry service shut downs, tourism in the town has suffered and the festival gave those businesses an opportunity to revive themselves today by bringing more traffic into the area.
"The Chamber of Commerce here in Gagetown thought 'we should do something to help our businesses that were really hurt by the flood.' So we thought, 'hey let's throw a free party,” said festival coordinator, Paul Mennier.
Mennier calls the festival an opportunity to celebrate the people who took a beating from the beautiful river.
"When this happened to the village itself, the village and the surrounding communities have really come together to help these people get back on their feet and to get back to making Gagetown what Gagetown is,” he said.
Hundreds who weren’t affected by the flood came out to show their support, and the day became one of resilience and a reminder that what had once fallen apart could be put back together with the help of a community.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kate Walker.
