'It's exciting': Nova Scotia's Apple Blossom Festival ready to bloom after 2 years
Nova Scotia's Apple Blossom Festival is returning after being cancelled the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival's president says people can expect a mix of old and new events at this year's event.
“It’s really great to draw people in, not only from the valley, but from different parts of Nova Scotia and the country,” says Logan Morse, the president of the Apple Blossom Festival.
The festival is expected to attract tens-of-thousands of visitors, providing some form of normalcy to the Annapolis Valley following two years of pandemic-related restrictions.
“It’s also in a way saying, we’re getting away from COVID, things are getting back to normal which I think the community wants,” says John Lohr, the MLA for Kings North.
“I think it’s exciting. It’s exciting that people finally have something to look forward to. It’s a big party, it’s fun,” says Annapolis Valley resident Cyndi Ansems.
Local businesses are also looking forward to the rise in customers after struggling to keep their doors open in recent years.
“We haven’t been able to do it the last two years and things are just opening up now, so it means a lot to us because a lot of businesses have taken a hard hit,” says Rhonda McFawn, a bartender at Paddy's Pub in Kentville, N.S.
The 88th Annual Apple Blossom Festival runs from May 25 to May 30.
Opening ceremonies for the festival take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Main Street Station ballroom.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.