While all of Kimberley's fire hydrants got repainted with the traditional red paint this year, 10 selected hydrants in the Kimberley downtown area received special attention and ended up with a different type of facelift.
This project has been in the planning stages for a while and finally, earlier this summer, an invitation was sent out to the public asking for design ideas. The actual painting of the hydrants took place during the last two weeks in August. One of people's favourite designs is R2D2, which can be admired on the bottom of the stairway leading up to Selkirk Secondary School.
By the entrance to the train station, a little miner is standing tall and an alien has "landed" at the north end of the Platzl. The hydrant across the post office is proudly covered in handprints by Kimberley volunteers, symbolizing the "Spirit of Volunteerism".
To see all of the unique designs, just take a stroll around the downtown area, and let's not forget to stop in for a visit at Cominco Gardens: theirs got a facelift as well!
City Council, the Kimberley Fire Department and the Kimberley Arts Council had to make the difficult decision of choosing 10 designs that would work and fit the criteria provided. They are very pleased with the final outcome and would like to thank everybody for their participation and support.
Christine Besold, the Arts Council's administrator, would like to express a special "Thank You" to their summer student Kaity Brown.
"She did a wonderful job organizing people and helping to paint the hydrants during the final stages of the project. We couldn't have done it without her."
David Bellm Insurances, BJ's Restaurant and Togs'nToys generously sponsored prize money for the three best designs. Winners in order are: Spark's Youth Centre (first place for "Alien"), Brittney Mclean (second place for her design of the "Miner) and Christopher Kitto (third place for "R2D2"). Congratulations and well done!