With the last finishing touches on the way, the City of Lethbridge has officially launched the new and improved Festival Square Market Plaza.
Taking place over the course of a three day festival, the launch is called “Lighting Up Festival Square” and kicked off Wednesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony, following a smudge and blessing from Blackfoot Elder Tom Little Bear.
“It’s kind of the final piece of over 10 years of planning, of seeking after funding, the detailed planning, engineering, and then construction through a pandemic, which was definitely not easy, both in terms of the project team, but obviously as well as all the businesses that had to deal with construction complications and issues as well as dealing with changing restrictions and what they had to do with their business” says Andrew Malcolm, Urban Revitalization Manager for the city.
Mayor Blaine Hyggen says one of the things he’s most excited about is the amount of foot traffic we’ll see downtown going forward.
“A great place for families to come and you’re hearing about the different stores that are gonna be opening up, the shopping that can be done, and by foot!” says Hyggen. “Foot traffic that’s going to happen down here, feet on the street keeps things safe as well down here, so that’s really exciting as well.”
Festival Square Market Plaza received the full $1.7 million in funding through the Province of Alberta’s Provincial Municipal Stimulus Program, and will act as a vibrant space that can play host to a wide variety of markets and activities in the future. More information on the festival can be found here.