By Chris Lewis | June 10, 2021
The Town of Bay Bulls cut the ribbon Monday evening on a brand new community pavilion, freshly constructed and set up right alongside the town hall. It comes thanks to a donation from the Bay Bulls Come Home Year committee, whose event back in 2015, brought many former residents back to the community.
Bay Bulls Mayor Harold Mullowney said the committee, at the end of the event, still had some leftover funds and approached the Town with the goal of using that money to provide the town with something solid that residents and visitors can make use of for years to come.
After some ideas were floated between the committee and council, Mullowney said the idea for a community pavilion was landed on.
The committee ultimately donated $12,000, with the Town pitching in on any other minor costs after that money was used up.
“It took a while, but we’ve got a beautiful pavilion here now,” Mullowney said. “We’re quite pleased with it.”
The planning of the pavilion itself took about a year, according to the mayor, and as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the province, it put everything – including the pavilion – on hold.
The site of the pavilion is what is known in the community as the Ryan property, which was purchased by the Town when it became available and ultimately went on to win a contest to become the first “forgotten corner” in the province, designated as such by the Landscape NL Horticultural Association back in 2019.
Inside the pavilion, there are a number of wooden patio furniture pieces. While the pavilion itself was built by residents of Bay Bulls, the wooden furniture came as a result of a partnership between the Town and Her Majesty’s Penitentiary (HMP).
Mullowney explained the Town had partnered with HMP a few years back to take advantage of a program they offer that aims to give inmates important life skills. Among them is carpentry.
“So, the benches, picnic tables, garbage boxes, all that you see around the Town was all built by HMP,” Mullowney said.
Come Home Year Committee member Kevin O’Brien said the aim of the pavilion was to make sure the town benefited from the leftover funds with something that could be enjoyed by anyone and everyone – residents and visitors alike, regardless of age.
“As a committee, we wanted to give back to the town and include everybody,” he said. “This is what we came up with … This, I think was the best fit to make something that everybody could enjoy. So, after four years, this is the last thing to come from our Come Home Year event. I think it’s a good way to end it off, and hopefully in a few years we can all get together to do it again.”
