Newly rebranded, revamped Summerside Lobster Carnival for 2017
What's old is new again: 61-year-old fair goes back to its roots
Summerside, P.E.I.,'s annual celebration of lobster is changing once again — the Summerside Lobster Festival will once again be called the Summerside Lobster Carnival.
It was only three years ago, in 2014, the carnival was rebranded the Summerside Lobster Festival. Lobster dinners and the midway were eliminated, the fair moved to the city's waterfront, and it was extended to a week-long event.
"Many people from the community came through our door, emailed or called, and told us that they would really like to go back to the roots of the carnival which started in 1956," said Marlene Campbell of Culture Summerside, the city's culture and history division.
When the previous organizer of the festival, Don Quarles, left for another job, the city tasked Culture Summerside with looking after the fair for 2017.
The fair will now be a three-day event, July 13 to 15. The carnival will move back to its original site, the grounds of Credit Union Place, formerly Cahill Stadium. The midway will return, and the parade route this year will be longer and include three marching bands.
'Celebrate the role of lobster'
Most importantly, Campbell said, the carnival will dovetail with major harness racing events at the Red Shores Summerside Raceway including the Governor's Plate.
"The original mandate of the carnival was to celebrate the role of lobster in the Island economy and way of life," Campbell said, so lobster will be emphasized.
Norm Peters, a P.E.I. lobster fisherman for more than 50 years known as "The Bearded Skipper," will have a tent open to the public to ask questions about lobster traditions old and new.
"I'll tell them about how we used to go to the woods in the 50s and cut the bows for the lobster traps then steam the bows — how it changed over the years," he said. Peters also recalls when lobsters were harvested and spread on fields for fertilizer.
They will have cooking demonstrations by Robert Pendergast, who will show how to cook with frozen lobster, lobster mac and cheese, and more. There will also be a public biscuit and roll competition.
The grand marshal for the parade will be 100-year-old Mildred Savidant, who still volunteers in Summerside.
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With files from Angela Walker