Cambridge-Narrows, where the living's easy
Published Wednesday August 5th, 2009
Festival Fifth annual Life at the Lakes offers two days of art, wine, music and nature in a picturesque village
CAMBRIDGE-NARROWS - The view of sprawling lakes dappled with sunlight is worth the trip alone, says Tom Nisbet.
"This is the most beautiful, unspoiled scenery you will find anywhere," the president of the Washademoak Region Chamber of Commerce said as he prepared for his community's biggest annual showcase.
This weekend, Cambridge-Narrows, the tiny lakeside village wrapped around the Washademoak Lake, will celebrate its postcard-perfect surroundings with the fifth annual Life at the Lakes, a two-day festival of music, art and nature.
Nisbet expects the tight-knit community's population will reach new heights Saturday and Sunday, as visitors flood the town, population 700, to explore local beaches or photograph the wharfs along the lake - remnants of the area's riverboat era.
A highlight this year is a Saturday night concert by Fredericton's David Myles, winner of the 2009 Great American Songwriting Competition in the folk/acoustic category, and the 2009 East Coast Music Award winner for folk recording of the year.
On Sunday, at 2 p.m., Isaac & Blewett will take the stage for a free show at the bandstand.
The festival, sponsored by the Washademoak Region Chamber of Commerce and the Queens County Historical Society, is meant as a showcase for local business and talent, Nisbet said.
"This is a beautiful day trip from anywhere in southern New Brunswick," he said of the village's central position in the Saint John-Fredericton-Moncton triangle.
The weekend will includes studio tours at Richard Flynn's Acacia Gallery, as well as works by several other local artists at the municipal building. There will be wine tastings and tours at Motts Landing Vineyard, quilt displays, guided nature walks at the Pines Conservation Park, traditional children's games and a sidewalk chalk contest.
Maps of businesses and popular beaches, as well as a schedule of events, can be picked up at the municipal building throughout the weekend.
Mayor Peter Knight said Cambridge-Narrows comes alive during the festivities.
"(This is the) best way to show off the region," he said.
Nisbet said the village's population nearly triples in size during the summer months by campers and cottagers drawn to the region's scenic lakes.
This weekend, the community's few streets will be lined with visitors.
"We expect to see a lot of people with a connection to Cambridge-Narrows," Nisbet said. "Maybe they camped here when they were younger and want to return, and others will be day-trippers who either love the area or want to check it out." The weekend festivities are intended to celebrate the peace and simplicity of life on the Washademoak and southern Grand Lake, where, if you let it, life can slow to a turtle's pace.
"None of these places are what they used to be," Nisbet said. "At the turn of the century Cambridge and the Narrows were two places, and they were bustling," he said.
He added while the school in the community nearly closed two years ago due to the dwindling number of children, the area is seeing a revival, particularly in its arts and culture offerings and in the way it promotes its natural attributes.
"The thing that's neat about this village right now is everyone, whether its village council, the Chamber of Commerce or the Canaan-Washademoak Watershed Association, are all of the same mind. They're forward looking, and they want to maintain that rural, natural, green component while trying a few new things.
"Things may be slower here now than they used to be but that is part of what draws people here, and businesspeople and residents can benefit from that."
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