When is your giant flea market?
The short answer -- Friday, Aug. 15 to Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008.
Good to know -- The New Brunswick Antique Auto Club Giant Flea Market is always the third week of August.
We expect 40,000 visitors to peruse the nearly 1,000 tables set up around Princess Louise Park that weekend. Canada's
largest outdoor flea market is 26 years old in 2008! Plan to join us between 8 am and 8 pm on Friday and Saturday, and between
8 am and 5 pm on Sunday.
When does the Balloon Fiesta happen?
The short answer -- Friday, Sept. 5, to Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008.
Good to know -- The
Atlantic International Balloon Fiesta always takes place the weekend after Labour Day. You will be able to watch 30 hot air balloons from across Canada
and the U.S. float over Sussex during those three days. 2008 is the 23rd year for the event, with 50,000
guests expected. However, with the Sussex area fast becoming the hot air ballooning centre for Atlantic Canada, you can often
see one of these wonderful creations floating overhead year round!
The twice daily launches happen around 6 am and 5:30 pm due to that usually being the calmest air conditions of
the day. Hot air balloons must have practically no wind in order to get off the ground, making it a highly weather-reliant
sport.
Hot air balloon rides can only be booked the day of the event, on a first-come, first-served basis. There are no
preregistrations and no guarantees a flight will happen. You can obtain information on flights during the fiesta from the
information booth in Golden Jubilee Hall, near the launch field in Princess Louise Park.
How big is a hot air balloon?
The typical round, sport balloons range in size from 65,000 to 105,000 cubic feet in volume and are
around 70 feet tall. They usually fly at altitudes between 500 and 1,000 feet.
What can you tell me about your covered bridges?
The short answer -- There are 16 covered bridges in the Sussex area, one-quarter of the 64 such bridges remaining
in New Brunswick.
Good to know -- Eight of those 16 covered bridges are within a 10-minute drive of downtown Sussex. This
makes the Sussex area the Covered Bridge Capital of Atlantic Canada.
You can tell a New Brunswick covered bridge from others like it by two main reasons. The first and most obvious is that
they were not painted, with the boards being left to weather to their signature grey colour. The Point Wolfe covered bridge
in Fundy National Park is the rare exception. The second reason is the taller openings or portals. As most of the bridges
were built in farming territory, the rules were the bridge had to allow a full wagonload of loose hay to pass through easily.
Why are covered bridges covered?
The short answer -- To make them last longer. A covered bridge lasts up to five times as long as one
without a roof.
Good to know -- The pragmatic men who constructed New Brunswick's covered bridges put the roof
over the bridge floor for a very simple reason. Protecting the working beams, or the supports underneath the bridge floor,
from the wetting and drying that comes with being rained upon extends the useful life of a bridge substantially. An
open or uncovered bridge could be expected to last 20 years. Covering that same bridge means it will still be serving travellers
80 to 100 years after it was built.
How big is Sussex?
There are just over 4,100 residents within Sussex town borders, with the greater Sussex area serving
30,000 people.
As for dimensions, the town is 3.5 km wide from the border it shares with Sussex Corner to Hwy
1 at the west end (near Gateway Mall). It is 2 km from the intersection of Leonard Drive and Main Street in Sussex to
the flashing light at Needle Street (Route 121), Sussex Corner.
Can you board a train at Sussex?
The short answer -- No.
Why not? -- The Sussex train station on Broad Street is one of its signature landmarks. In fact, Sussex was
created because of the train. Freight trains pass through town regularly, but passenger service has been discontinued. The
closest connection for passengers wishing to travel by rail is
Moncton. The Sussex train station is now home to a military museum, the Sussex visitor information centre, business offices
for the local chamber of commerce and downtown business association, as well as Sully's famous ice cream stand.
What are the names of your big cows?
The short answer -- The big one is Daisy, the calf is Buttercup.
Good to know -- The world's largest cows,
Daisy (the mother) and Buttercup (the calf),
greet visitors to Sussex from their paddock at Exit 195 on Hwy 1. Daisy is four times the size of a normal cow. These concrete
creations are the work of renowned Penobsquis sculptor
Winston Bronnum from 1986, whose fun, oversized figures can be found all over Atlantic Canada. (Check out his famous Animaland on Route
114 just outside Sussex, too!) The Holstein cows were a gift to the town of Sussex from the Irving family to mark the area's
history as a dairy community.
A mature Holstein cow normally measures five feet tall at the shoulder and 8.5 feet long from nose to rump.
Daisy stands 12 feet high at the top of her head and is 16 feet long, while Buttercup is five feet tall and eight feet long.
This makes Daisy more than twice the height and four times the size of your average cow!
Why are you the Dairytown?
The short answer -- For more than a century, we have been producing the most milk in the Maritimes.
Learn more -- The Sussex region was producing most of Atlantic Canada's milk when the town was incorporated
in 1904. Local businessman Hugh McMonagle is credited with importing some of the best dairy cattle to the region
in the mid 1800s. This lead to its reputation as the Dairy Centre of the Maritimes. The Sussex area is home to 1/3 of
New Brunswick's dairy farmers today. Our proud reputation continues, with
Dairytown Products producing the world's best butter and being a regular national leader in this golden spread.
