5 minute read
“Seaside life is our vibe”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHELLEY CAMERON-MCCARRON
It’s my second night in Summerside and an effervescent DJ in pink shorts is testing the crowd’s ’80s and ’90s song cred as I sip a strawberry coconut mojito, feet firmly in the sand, watching a perfect sunset over an inky harbour. Sounds of John Cougar Mellencamp and Madonna drift through the air as I settle into a lounge chair during music trivia night at the Knot Beach Bar & Rentals, a tiny tiki bar spilling from an old boat-building hut, crushing hard on golden summer.
Minutes earlier, and a street over, I’d vibed with the crowds sashaying down Water Street to the sweet strains of a live band, admiring block after block of classic cars filling this main thoroughfare turned pedestrian walkway.
It’s Friday night in Summerside and P.E.I.’s second-largest city is revving up relaxation on all cylinders.
“It’s part of who we are,” says Rose Dennis, Explore Summerside executive director. “It creates these vibes of letting things go. You see that throughout the city, that chill vibe. It’s seaside life. That’s our vibe.”
While not as heavily visited as some Island destinations, Summerside, gateway to P.E.I.’s west, has a lot going for it: the welcome’s warm and the city of about 17,000 has a surprising number of hotspots.
Take the Knot, found along Summerside’s crown jewel, the 6.5-kilometre Bayview Boardwalk. A few years back, Sean and Caley Aylward wanted to create something new, something fun. They trucked in sand to craft a small beach bordering the boardwalk and opened the Knot in a narrow, wooden harbouside hub that connects to their other business, the street-facing the Humble Barber. The Knot has been a summer staple ever since, serving margaritas, tacos, and Valley Pearl oysters, while hosting trivia and speakeasy nights and renting paddleboards, kayaks, and bikes.
Then there’s Classic Car Night, a fun, free event every Friday in July and August. Visitors flock to Water Street, closed to display vintage vehicles from across the eastern seaboard. A band plays ’50s and ’60s music and folks dance joyously in the street.
The undisputed star of the city is strolling Summerside’s Baywalk Boardwalk, where the pace of life slows to near perfection. The popular path, lined with rose bushes, largely parallels the harbour and passes a city beach, wetlands, and lighthouses to end in an Acadian forest. Herons visit the shoreline when tide ebbs and it’s a place where roller skaters, runners, and cyclists zip by. Contemplation and conversation come easily with seating sprinkled throughout. For a forest walking experience, nearby Rotary Friendship Park has a network of trails.
Ice cream lovers will be in their glory with several great dairy bars, all using milk from the farmers’ co-operative, Amalgamated Dairies Limited. One favourite is Holman’s Ice Cream Parlour, handcrafting goodness in a former heritage home. The smell of waffle cones greets you upon entry and servers wear 1950s-style ice cream hats. Adding to the fun, enjoy your cones outside in what is said to be one of North America’s oldest continually maintained Victorian-style gardens. In evenings, they light campfires. Sometimes there’s live entertainment.
You can eat well in Summerside, with many restaurants focusing on Island flavours, buying from neighbouring farms and fishers. “That’s what we’re putting on our plate, you’re getting a hyper-local culinary experience,” says Dennis.
Standouts include Evermore Brewing Co., in a train station turned public library turned restaurant. “Everything they do is a labour of love, from their microbrewery with beer handcrafted in small batches, to the culinary focus,” says Dennis. For seafood, head to the cluster of shops and restaurants at Spinnakers Landing to find rustic, harbourside Jolly Rogers, where items from hand-cut potatoes to coleslaw are made from scratch. Two doors down, climb the stairs to the bustling Deckhouse Pub, with, yes, a stellar, harbourside deck. It’s especially loved for the Catch (a fish sandwich) and its lobster BLT on a croissant.
Buy your seafood needs at JMK Fish Mart (they’ll pack it for you), but know they have a mini restaurant where you can buy steamed clams or lobster chowder and enjoy it on the water, savouring freshness. For Summerside’s largest deck and prime sunsets, try the Shipyard Restaurant, reopening this spring after extensive renovations.
If lattes are life, beeline to Samuel’s Coffee House, in a 19th-century brick beauty originally built to house the local newspaper. Sitting at the intersection of Queen, Water and Central streets, it’s near an Instagram darling, swings overlooking the harbour that are topped with a sign hash-tagging #citybythesea.
Saturday mornings, crowds queue for the Summerside Farmers’ Market (try Vinegar Hill Bakery) and farm markets at Compton’s and Kool Breeze.
Also, not-to-miss? The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada (offering musical productions and student demos) and fab acts headlining the 500-seat Harbourfront Theatre. Chill vibe almost guaranteed.
