Jan. 21, 2009
They're the bane of children around the country and could be on the way out as the focus of a festival in Rogersville.
Every summer the village hosts the Brussels Sprouts Festival, which has become a major event, but farmers in the area no longer grow the small green vegetable. Cranberries may soon replace them as a major industry if a plan by Ocean Spray goes through.
Lake Despres eco-forest coordinator Jimmy Bourque was part of a group that met with Ocean Spray last week to give a presentation on plans for the eco- forest project.
Bourque said company representatives at the meeting mentioned Ocean Spray organizes a cranberry festival that attracts over 100,000 people.
A cranberry festival in Rogersville would help attract people visiting Kouchibouguac National Park, increase tourism and help businesses, he said.
"It would help the economy."
But Bourque isn't just concerned about the financial aspects of the Ocean Spray plan, which is why his group met with the company before a public meeting held last week.
The eco-forest project wanted to do something with the lake because the community used to use it a lot, he said.
"The people around here wanted to revive it again."
Bourque said the group planned to incorporate forestry and the peat bogs around the lake into the project before Ocean Spray's announcement and the cranberry fields would give peopl something extra to visit as part of the eco- forest.
"It even enhances it."
Ocean Spray's operation will be in the same area as the eco-forest project and the company is willing to work with them, he said.
"It means they don't want the people out of there."
Rogersville mayor Bertrand LeBlanc said the Ocean Spray representatives were interested in a festival and might invite him to the one in Massachusetts to see how they do it.
"On a community level they were very interested in seeing it through."
The village council has been very involved with the Brussels Sprout Festival and may be an active partner in a future cranberry festival, he said.
"I think village council would be very open to the idea."
LeBlanc said everything is in place to have the event and with Ocean Spray's plans for the area the numbers are there.
"I think it has all the possibility of being a premier event in the region."
Even though brussels sprout production in the Rogersville area peaked in the 1980s, LeBlanc said the current festival still bears their name.
"We just kept with it because it was familiar and people associated with it."
But with Ocean Spray coming to the area, if Rogersville doesn't have a cranberry festival, somebody else will, he said.
"I think it would be a good idea to go down and see what's going on."
Rogersville-Kouchibouguac MLA Rose-May Poirier said people have been giving her positive feedback about Ocean Spray's plans since the public meeting and there has been talk about changing the brussels sprouts festival for a while.
"Maybe this could be something that could be opening new doors for the community."
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