As the town of Sackville puts out the call for residents to participate in another year of Participaction’s Community Better challenge, the rewards of last year’s provincial win in the competition are going into action at Lillas Fawcett Park.
After polling town residents online last year, recreation staff chose to spend the $15,000 reward for being New Brunswick’s most active community on canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards for Silver Lake. They then approached Mount Allison’s experiential learning office to help find some entrepreneurs who might be interested in running a rental business at the lake for the summer. That’s where Bryden MacDonald and Riley Oremush heard about the opportunity, and how Maritime Paddle was founded.
CHMA stopped by Lillas Fawcett Park this week to meet the young entrepreneurs who open for business starting Saturday:
The town’s deal with Maritime Paddle includes a trade: they can use the town’s equipment in exchange for offering some free programs through the recreation department.
So far, there’s Learn to Paddle sessions happening on June 18 and 19, open to all ages. They will also host kayak races for adults on July 1 and July 9, as well as a series of Sunset Paddles for anyone 16 and over, on June 12, July 2, July 24, and August 6. More information is available in the Sackville recreation summer program guide.
Regular rentals from Maritime Paddle will be available throughout the summer starting on Saturday at 2pm. The team plans to be open most days throughout the summer, whenever weather is amenable.
“One of the things about Silver Lake, as the residents would definitely know, is that it can be pretty windy,” says Riley Oremush. “We want to make sure that if anybody’s renting they’re going to have as much fun as possible, and it’s never that much fun when it’s windy and when it’s really raining.”
Kayak and paddle board rentals will cost $20 for the first hour, and $10 for additional hours. Canoes are pricier at $30 per hour, and $15 for additional hours. In addition to the paddling gear, Maritime Paddle will offer snacks and drinks for sale at the park, as well as some games such as spikeball.
Oremush says the rentals are open to people of all skill levels. “If you are an entry level, or have never done it before, we will be giving you kind of an intro,” says Oremush. “And we’ll also be limiting you for the first hour to within the bay itself so that we can keep an eye and make sure that everything’s okay.”
