As we approach the end of our season and watch our stock slowly disappear from the concession, we keep struggling to accept how life, traditions and times change, sometimes for the better, and sometimes not.
Our family will miss the Lions volunteers who came to build and maintain the most well-used and fun-filled park on the Island. We will miss the children who came to the window for ice cream or candy; the parents who are teaching them to be independent and polite by allowing them to order and pay for what they want while using good manners.
We will miss all of our regular customers and those that bought their dogs a treat. We will miss chatting to the tourists who came from all over the world to view the spectacular display of sand sculpting and the volleyball players who just needed to get their water bottles filled.
We will miss the non-profit groups we helped with fundraising as they participated in selling cotton candy and popcorn on event days. Most of all, we will miss our sensational staff that managed to maintain poise and grace while they provided food for lineups that lasted several hours. They were what made our business successful and we were blessed that they kept coming back year after year to eventually be considered a part of our family.
We wish to thank the city and council of Parksville for providing us with an incredible opportunity to own a business in the best park on Vancouver Island, and for this we are truly grateful. A shout out goes to Paul Harvey and Amanda Weeks for being our liaisons from City Hall and our saviours when things went wrong.
The heartfelt goodbyes and well wishes from the young university students who were hired to do maintenance in the park, were unexpected but much appreciated, as the feelings were mutual because most of them also had a four-year tenure at the beach.
A special thanks is sent to all of the organizers of the Parksville Beach Festival, Quality Foods and their wonderful events. Their ability to bring tourists to our area keeps our economy alive and thriving in the summer.
We are going to miss this little concession. A tradition that most of us grew up with in many parks on the Island is now coming to an end. Media hype and many ‘foodie shows’ have popularized or romanticized the trendy specialized food truck eateries. They are replacing old-fashioned concessions that sell everything but the kitchen sink with these gastro delights that specialize in mastering their chosen food. We wish everyone good luck next year as the park heads in new directions.
Barb Hooper
Parksville