'It's going to be the core of downtown': Festival Square officially opens to the public
After nearly a decade of planning and two years of construction, Lethbridge's festival square is finally open.
"This street is a happening street already, and it's just going to get better," said Penny Warris, one of the owners of Analog Books.
A grand opening ceremony, complete with a ribbon cutting and free barbecue, was held Wednesday morning with residents, city officials, business owners members of the Downtown BRZ and many more.
"It's obviously the opening of a new public space to bring people down into the downtown, but it's more than that to many of the people that worked on these projects," said the city’s urban revitalization manager, Andrew Malcolm.
"It's kind of the final piece of over ten years of planning, of seeking out funding."
Festival square market plaza cost $1.71 million, which was made possible with funding from the federal and provincial governments.
The event also celebrated the near-completion of the Third Avenue reconstruction project, which cost over $10 million with the money coming from the Canada Community Building Fund and the City of Lethbridge.
"We're finally here, we've got this opening," said Mayor Blaine Hyggen.
"We've heard about it for so long. But there was so much infrastructure work that needed to be done as well. Stuff that we don't see, so that needed to be done prior to what you would actually see out and about."
One of the biggest benefactors of the completion of these two projects are local businesses who expect to see a large bump in foot traffic this summer.
Festival Square in Lethbridge
"It actually was one of the reasons that we decided to open on Sixth Street because we were aware that this was in the works from years ago," said Warris.
"It's going to be the core of downtown," added Warris’s husband Scott Warris,the owner of Analog Books.
"It's going to be the main draw, and the more people we can get down here, the more comfortable people will feel in coming and that's what we love to see."
‘Lighting Up Festival Square’ events are being held today through until Saturday and feature live music, arts and much more.
All events for lighting up festival square are free to attend and you can find all the details on the Downtown BRZ’s website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.