Recreation project sparks ‘good vibe’ in Creignish

October 4, 2024

It may not be Hollywood’s Field of Dreams, but Creignish volunteers are hoping that ‘if you build it, they will come.’

The Creignish Recreation Association recently completed work on a new playground facility for the community, as well as a multi-use court that will accommodate both tennis and pickleball. The project received $200,000 in funding from the provincial government, as well as a contribution of $35,000 from the Municipality of Inverness County.

The association also chipped in $40,000 for the project, which association treasurer Donald MacCuspic says has provided “a sense of rejuvenation in our community.”

“We have a good vibe here in the community,” he says. “We’re going to have a first-class playground and multi-use court facilities. We’re hoping that’ll help position us as an area where young families will be keen to relocate to.”

A great deal of the excitement around Creignish these days is due to the success of the association’s Friday Night Happy Hours, which began in September 2022.

Nearly $20,000 has been raised in just two years through a tip jar at the bar during the weekly event, and that money went into the new project.

MacCuspic says Happy Hour organizers had no idea what to expect when they launched the event at the Creignish Recreation Centre Hall, noting that it took most of the summer of 2022 to get everything in place, including the proper licensing.

“That first one back in 2022, the deck was packed,” he recalls. “So, we said let’s do it again next week, and one thing led to another, and the crowds kept getting bigger and bigger. It slowly kept growing and growing and now it’s really turned into a thing.”

“The crowds have consistently grown over the years. In year one, if we had 50 people, we’d think that was a good crowd. Now we’re consistently getting around 100 and up to 150 at times.”

“The part we like is that there’s everyone from 19 [wet bar available 🙂 ] to 90-year-olds who come. It’s truly a community event.”

Colleen McNab, who spearheads the Friday Night Happy Hour, says they learned early on that patrons wanted live music, adding that the response from local musicians has been incredible.

“We have music booked till the end of this year,” she says. “We don’t have a problem filling the spots at all.”

McNab says they didn’t want to charge a cover to get people through the door, so they established a tip jar, from which they pay the performers.

“We have a tip jar on the stage, and we talk about it while they’re playing,” MacCuspic explains, “and usually at about 8.30 we pass the tip jar through the crowd, and (the performers) must be fairly pleased with what they’re receiving because pretty much all of them are keen to come back and play again.”

“There are 35 musicians that have been through this door in the two years, and a lot of them are staples,” McNab says. “They’ve been carrying us through the winter months.”

She says they guarantee each performer a minimum of $250, and that they don’t have to top up the contribution in the tip jar very often, noting that they also give a thank you card to each musician at the end of the night.

“There’s one musician who told me he has every card that we’ve given him since he started playing here,” she adds.

Friday Night Happy Hour begins at 6pm and is usually wrapped up by 9:30. MacCuspic says that time slot is popular with artists, as they don’t usually book gigs that early.

“A person could actually perform here and then go to another gig,” he says.

McNab says the event gives young adults in the community a place to go, and that their participation has been a key to the success.

“They’re getting empowered too,” she adds. “They have ideas of what we can do.”

“I’m not from here. I moved here three years ago, and it’s very refreshing to see the youth contributing to this event, and they’ve helped a lot and have been a big part of this success.”

In addition to the bar and entertainment, Happy Hour also features food, as they’ve been able to find a partner to operate the kitchen in the hall. Some weeks, McNab notes, the line for food eclipses that of the bar.

She says they’ve also established successful partnerships with local brewers like Coldstream and Big Spruce and most recently Breton Brewing.

With the support of Coldstream, they’ve even developed a signature drink, called Creignish Sunset, which is pre-made so there’s lots available.

“We make jugs of it,” she laughs. “We go through a lot of that.”