Used shipping containers will be turned into 'vendor village' on Saint John, N.B., waterfront
The stage is being set for a new development along the Saint John, N.B., waterfront from the team behind the Area 506 music festival, which would see shipping containers repurposed into a permanent vendor village.
The property, owned by the Port of Saint John, is located alongside the Marco Polo cruise ship terminal on Water Street – it was formerly being used as a parking lot – and will soon be the site more than 60 shipping containers.
"The idea is really starting to become a reality," says Area 506 logistics and operations director Darcy Leblanc. "The ground is breaking for all the infrastructure that has to happen underground – all the power and electrical."
It's a familiar concept for those who have attended the Area 506 music festival – container villages have been part of the programming since its inception back in 2016.
"The shipping container itself is such a critical part of the DNA of Area 506," says Area 506 founder and chairperson Ray Gracewood. "I think right here on the Saint John waterfront, being a port city, it's always been the thing that has set us up as a different kind of event."
They're now accepting expressions of interest for vendors for the site and Gracewood says when it comes to what type – they're casting as "wide a net as possible" and looking for a diverse range.
"Our mandate is to make sure we're populated enough with local products," he says, "so specifically New Brunswick and Maritime-based products – but also national retailers, services, local arts and crafts, galleries … also food and beverage is a big one for us."
The container village is expected to open in June of next year, and organizers say the idea is to mirror the local cruise ship schedules.
"It's going to be something exciting for the cruise ship passengers to come and see as they embark off the cruise," says Leblanc. "Tourists and our local community really have not had a chance to really visit and experience something like this."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
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.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'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.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.