Visitors to Chatham's downtown won't be able to miss the new patriotic decorations.
Sixty new Canadian flags have been installed on local buildings by the Downtown Chatham BIA.
"This is just the beginning of the projects we have lined up for revitalizing our downtown," said Andrew Thiel, Co-Chair of the Downtown Chatham BIA. "The flags are just the first of many great things happening in Downtown Chatham, Retrofest is next weekend, we will be replacing the River Rock mural in June, and we have some amazing announcements coming up right up until the end of the year."
The idea of brightening up the downtown with the flags came from BIA board member Lucinda Harp.
"I was inspired by my hometown of Cobourg and neighbouring town Port Hope," Hard explained. "Every year, businesses and residents show their patriotism by putting out Canadian flags. I thought with everything happening in the world, it would be a nice idea for our downtown to do something similar. When I brought the idea to the board, there was unanimous support."
CK Councillor and BIA board member Conor Allin was completely on board with the idea and managed to secure the funding for the project.
"When I was asked to see if I could help with funding the project, it was a real no-brainer," Allin said. "A project like this can really unite a downtown, and with the availability of the Hydro One grant funding, it was made possible."
JP Contractors was awarded the contract to install the flags.
A second installation is planned for the summer, around late June and early July.
Downtown businesses that weren't able to participate in the first installation and would like to take part in the second one can reach out to the Chatham BIA at downtownchathambia@gmail.com. Businesses outside the BIA area that would like to take part but require a commercial installation or assistance with the permit process, can contact JP Contractors at jpcontractors.ca.