Icons The dozen attractions on list will be featured in calendar
Peter Walsh/Telegraph-Journal
David Drummond, deputy market clerk at the City Market, says the city's 'jewel and crown' will have to live up its new name as Greater Saint John's greatest wonder.
SARAH REGAN
Telegraph-Journal
Appeared on page C1
SAINT JOHN - The votes have been counted and Saint John's greatest wonder is City Market. Fusion Saint John, a volunteer-run organization focused on preventing the migration of educated young people to larger cities, asked local residents to vote on the places they think are the 12 wonders in Greater Saint John.
After 900 votes were cast during the three-week event and Mayor Norm McFarlane revealed the winners at a social get together Wednesday night. Voters ranked the City Market as number one, followed by the Reversing Falls, Rockwood Park, Irving Nature Park and Harbour Passage.
"I think the market was the perfect choice," said Danny Jardine, second vice-chairman of Fusion Saint John. "It is definitely in the heart of Saint John." David Drummond, the City Market's deputy market clerk, was on hand to accept the venue's new title as the city's top wonder. "We always knew the market was the jewel and the crown of the city," he said in his acceptance speech at the The Call Box, a pub on Charlotte Street. "Now we will have to live up to our new name." Drummond said with 80 new vendors added over the past few years, the uptown landmark is shaping up to be the best it has been in 140 years. "It's a tourist attraction, yes, but it's more than that," he said. "It's a functional market that serves the people who live in this great city."
The 12 wonders will be shot by local photographer Jason Harper to create a calendar. Jardine said the calendar is expected to be on shelves of local businesses in September. It will sell for about $15, with $1 from each purchase going to the new skate park near Station Street. Jardine said he hopes the calendar serves as a reminder to those who have left the city what they are missing at home. "We would like to see parents buy the calendar for their kids who may be living in Alberta or British Columbia," he said. "Maybe the photos will remind them of all the good things about this city and they will realize Saint John is the place to be."
Over the past three weeks, residents have been casting their votes on Fusion's website and on its Facebook page. The idea was inspired by CBC's search for the seven wonders of Canada that took place earlier this year.
The other winners in the Saint John contest include the Market Square boardwalk in sixth place, followed by uptown historical architecture, the Loyalist Burial Ground, the Imperial Theatre, King's Square, the St. Martins caves and the Kennebecasis River.
