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Millet receives 5 Blooms at Communities in Bloom symposium

Millet Museum receives special recognition
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Millet has been named the winner in the Class of Champions (Medium) category for Communities in Bloom.

The national and international communities in bloom ceremonies took place in Ottawa-Gatineau from Sept. 13 to 16.

Earlier this July National Edition of Communities in Bloom judges Evelyn Alemanni from Elfin Forest, California and Jim Baird from Rothesay, New Brunswick toured Millet as they evaluated the community.

Millet has participated in Communities in Bloom since the program’s inception in 1996.

The community received a 5 Blooms - Silver rating and a special mention of the Millet Museum during the 2017 National/International Symposium and Awards Ceremonies, as Millet was also a finalist for Outstanding Achievement Awards in Heritage Conservation and Canada 150 Projects.

A press release states, “Following their evaluation, volunteer judges Evelyn Alemanni and Jim Baird wrote: ‘Millet Alberta has a population of only 2,000 residents and a volunteer base that gets the job done. Millet has participated in CiB (Communities in Bloom) since 1996 and seven members of the Millet in Bloom (MiB) team have participated for 20+ years on the committee. Millet can justifiably use the tag line of “Prettiest Little Town in Alberta”. Visitors might mistake the Town Hall and Museum building for a garden center because it has so many flowering plants at the entry. The museum opened in 1985 has accreditation as a Recognized Museum in the Province of Alberta and professional quality and varied nature of the exhibits, research and archives leave no doubt that the designation is deserved. They are also responsible for the numerous interpretive plaques located throughout the community which go beyond the simple recognition to tell the story of a bygone time. The museum has all the records of Millet’s CiB participation, including planting diagrams, plant lists, tree, shrub, and perennial inventories, and thousands of related photographs’.”

In previous years Millet has competed internationally with Audley, England in 2000, and Waringstown, Northern Ireland in 2002. In 2005, Millet decided to compete at the provincial level as it was Alberta’s Centennial and Millet’s 10th year as a participant in the Communities in Bloom Program. In 2006 Millet began once again to compete at the National Level.

amelia.naismith@pipestoneflyer.ca