Winterfest is here, and so CHMA called up Jessica Wilson, the brand new programming director for Tantramar recreation and special events, to ask about the festival’s events and her new job:
Wilson is just finishing her fourth week of work for the municipality, taking over for Deanna Cadman, who served in the position for decades. “Everybody has been super welcoming and very, very supportive,” says Wilson. “It’s definitely going to be a year long teaching session because of all of the events and programs that the municipality puts on throughout the year,” she says.
The position is a perfect fit for Wilson, who just graduated from Dalhousie University with Bachelor of Science in Recreation and a Bachelor of Management. “This is definitely exactly what I was looking for,” says Wilson. After a few summers working in municipal recreation in Cumberland County and Cape Breton, Wilson says she “fell in love with it.”
“And I found that working for a smaller municipality is definitely the best because you get to go out and you get to meet the people, and everybody gets to know who you are,” says Wilson. “It makes everything feel so comfy and welcoming, and you just you want to come to work every day.”
Wilson is hitting the ground running with Winterfest kicking into gear this weekend, including the Frosty Outdoor Party Friday night at Bill Johnston starting at 7pm, with fireworks slated for 8pm.
“It’s definitely going to be a very jam-packed weekend,” says Wilson. The Winterfest brochure and listing of events is available at sackville.com/winterfest, and Wilson is doing her best to keep the event page on Facebook up to date. “If there’s any updates or anything, it’ll probably be on social media that you’ll see like the big updates.”
Wilson says that in addition to the many town-planned events for Winterfest, it’s nice to see other organizations and businesses get involved and contributing especially to the cultural events on offer. “We absolutely love that,” says Wilson, “that the community loves putting on as much as they can for the citizens… We try to cooperate with as many people as possible and as many businesses.”