Spirit Square refreshed

Each Tuesday this summer, downtown Quesnel was buzzing with activity as people gathered at Spirit Square for Alive After Five, a pilot program that brought live music to a revitalized stage at the corner of Reid Street and St. Laurent Avenue. Completed with the help of a $180,960 grant from Northern Development, the City of Quesnel strategically revamped Spirit Square to create a sense of place that complements their brand while improving the stage, electrical components, equipment and storage.

Funding was approved through the Strategic Initiatives Fund in 2019, months before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. Subsequent public health orders meant that the live entertainment pilot part of the project was delayed until 2022. Beginning in May and ending on September 6, Spirit Square was activated each week, weather permitting, to draw people downtown and provide a free, accessible activity on weeknights for residents and visitors.

Improving Spirit Square and hosting regular events is part of Quesnel’s economic development transition strategy, to strategically guide the community away from its reliance on the forestry sector and towards other industries, including tourism. According to the City of Quesnel’s application, the economic benefits from the project are a strong downtown with no storefront vacancies on Reid Street, increased events held at Spirit Square and increased visitors to the community.

This is the second of four Strategic Initiatives Fund grants that the City of Quesnel was approved for since 2018. In 2020 and 2021, they were approved for the Quesnel Waterfront Development and Accessory Dwelling Unit Incentives projects, respectively. Combined, the City of Quesnel has accessed more than $1,693,000 in Strategic Initiatives Fund grants to support four projects with budgets totaling $2,124,719.