A new playground has officially opened in Portapique as a sign of hope in a community still healing from tragedy.
The grand opening and ribbon cutting were held on Sunday in the rural Nova Scotia community as part of a project to help residents rebuild the community.
The playground consists of wooden logs and green slides. It’s situated among the trees at the more than 150-year-old Portapique Community Hall.
The goal of the community project is to transform the hall into a more accessible space to help the community come together.
The work began in the days after a lone gunman disguised as a police officer killed 22 people in central and northern Nova Scotia.
The 13-hour rampage began in Portapique on April 18th, 2020. Thirteen of the victims were locals.
The shooter was killed the next day at a gas station in Enfield.
The Rotary Club of Truro says it struck a committee in the aftermath to discuss ways to support Portapique.
Artists’ Rendering of the New Portapique Hall. (CREDIT: Community Foundation of Nova Scotia)
They launched the “Community Build Up +” project under “The We Rise Again Fund,” which was established with support from the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia, The United Way, Ulnooweg Indigenous Communities Foundation, and the Rural Communities Foundation of Nova Scotia.
The Rotary Club of Truro says in a Facebook post, the goal is to help address the needs of the community and lift its spirits.
“This collaboration has demonstrated the caring nature of our people and has been a testament to how we support each other in times of challenge, and that together we all can rise again,” the Facebook post says.
The small white community hall will also see a new structure added along with a commercial kitchen to allow for dances, weddings, conventions, and even children’s parties.
It will include a playground, a picnic area, sports fields, as well as some gardens.
The goal is to raise a total of $685,000 to fund the entire project.
There is just over $100,000 left to go, according to the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia.
