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Editorial: Blackberry spirit

It began as a bold idea in the summer of 1993: to combine several community events into a week of fun with a blackberry twist.

It began as a bold idea in the summer of 1993: to combine several community events into a week of fun with a blackberry twist. Since then, organizers, berry crops and several of the original events have come and gone, but Powell River’s annual Blackberry Festival keeps on thriving in the community, much like the stubborn stems after which it is named.

The event originated as a blackberry wine-making contest, held for several years at Willingdon Beach. Legalities surrounding the consumption and display of open liquor beside the sea led to the event’s demise, but soon prompted organizers to stumble across the event’s current formula.

Focus shifted toward a different type of spirit--the spirit of community—and the Blackberry Festival was born, culminating in the now-famous Blackberry Street Party held at the end of festival week. It and the Hospitality Olympics, the two original attractions that remain, have been joined in recent years by Movie Under the Stars, the Blackberry Mile running event, Arts Alive in the Park and Blackberry Days at the Open Air Market.

Many local businesses continue to support the festival by modifying their menus and merchandise to fit the theme. A few come to mind, including Cranberry Pottery’s iconic blackberry pattern and Townsite Brewing’s brand new Blackberry FestivAle. And then, of course, there’s the street party which attracts dozens of businesses and organizations and thousands of people each year.

Where else but in Powell River would an entire main artery of traffic be barricaded, or rather, berry-caded, for pedestrians only with the purpose of socializing and devouring blackberry goodies by the plateful? The street party has become Powell River’s annual reunion, a truly unique event that many attend and treasure. The community is truly lucky to have such a fun-filled and well-organized summer party.

As the countdown begins for the Blackberry Festival’s first event this weekend at the Open Air Market, so does the countdown for blackberry season. Soon, bankside brambles across the city will be bursting with fruit, many a purple-fingered resident will emerge from a favourite berry patch to attend one or many of the events this week.

Over these last 19 years since its inception, the Blackberry Festival has grown to become a week of fun for the whole family, just going to show that you certainly don’t need wine to have a good time. That said, the new Blackberry FestivAle might be worth a try...