For the first time in two years, the North Battleford Communities in Bloom Committee won't be competing in the Communities In Bloom competition.
The NBCIBC will just be registered as a "friend." No judges will be coming here this summer to judge the city against other cities.
However, that doesn't mean residents can't keep beautifying the city.
The NBCIB has come up with a way to help people do just that. They've set up Communities In Bloom Week, which runs July 8-14.
The week will be kicked off Monday, July 8 with the official launch of the week. A flag will be raised at City Hall at 10 a.m.
The committee has also come up with some hints on what people can do during the week to help beautify the city. There are suggestions for each day, but people don't have to do them on that day if other days work better for them - they're just ideas.
Monday - Pick your weeds, check out how much green space is in the city;
Tuesday - Walking tour, learn the history of the city;
Wednesday - Help out at the Healing Garden behind the Allen Sapp Gallery;
Thursday - Business beautification;
Friday - Floral Friend, share your flowers with a friend;
Saturday and Sunday - Family fun in the parks.
"It's just a week for people to be aware (of the need to keep our community clean and beautiful), to take the initiative to really start doing stuff around their properties and really make them look good," NBCIBC chair Nora Rongve says.
"If you see weeds somewhere, go pull them. I was out pulling weeds in parking lots last week."
Rongve says the committee decided this spring not to enter the CIB competition. She says that idea had been percolating for months.
"It's a lot of work and we just thought, 'you know what? We'll take a year off with that,'" Rongve says.
She notes the committee has still been active, promoting beautification of businesses, for example.
Asked if the committee is planning to re-enter the CIB competition next year, Rongve says it's too early to know.
"We haven't really talked about it. I think we'll probably discuss it when we get back together in the fall," she says.
