P.E.I.'s longest-serving dairy bar celebrates 70th birthday

Island resident Paul Brown was at Victoria Park on Saturday, spending time with his dog, Harley, as 70th birthday celebrations were starting at the Kiwanis Dairy Bar in Charlottetown.

Brown remembered visiting many years ago as a kid. He said that the dairy bar is only a few years older than he is.

"Congratulations to the Kiwanis, they do such a great job with this dairy bar," he said. "So, it's been around a few years longer than I have, and I've eaten lots of ice cream from there,"

Brown said the park hasn't changed much over the years. "It's just so nice to see people here enjoying themselves," he said.

The dairy bar celebrated its birthday and grand reopening at Victoria Park, offering free hot dogs and low prices for fries and ice cream, at only 70 cents.

The renovations are the first major update for the space since the 1990s.

Dozens of people showed up to the event, including members of the cadets, firefighters, a member of the Canadian Armed Forces and paramedics.

Basil Hambly, a member of the Kiwanis Club and operator of the dairy bar, called Saturday a milestone.

"For one, 70 years in business, and two, that it's a service club that the funds … help the community." 

The Kiwanis Club is an international, non-profit organization, founded in 1915. It serves children around the world.

Proceeds from Saturday's event will be used to support the club's charitable efforts.

Karla Bernard, the MLA for Charlottetown-Victoria Park, echoed Hambly's thoughts on the business staying open for so long.

"I'm coming to celebrate with them and show my support," she said.

"I think that's incredible, 70 years … not a lot of businesses, or a lot of organizations can say they've had a project going for that long," Bernard said. "So, I think that shows a lot about the organization and the individuals involved and their commitment to the community."

Bernard said the club does a lot of great work in the local community.

"It's a service the community loves," she said. "Dairy bars are so unique to P.E.I.

"I think it's a special gem that we have in Victoria Park."

Longtime volunteers 

Shantol Clarke volunteers at the Kiwanis Club.

"It always feels good to see kids smiling and seeing what we can do in the community and throughout the world, so it's awesome," Clarke said.

Clarke said some Kiwanis Club members are part of the different organizations that showed up, like paramedics.

"We have some people in our club that actually work in some of these places, so we just asked them to come along and support the community," she said.