Berwick Curling Club says goodbye to 'many good times' at current location

The Berwick Curling Club is celebrating its last hurrah at its current location with a celebration Saturday afternoon honouring its 60 years of operation in the Nova Scotia community.

The club is moving from its location at 136 Orchard Street to the Larsen Curling Centre, a four-sheet facility set to open this fall.

"We're going to be closing a building, but the Berwick Curling Club is alive and well. We are thriving. We're looking forward to being in our new home," said club president Michael Larsen.

'Many, many good times'

Larsen said the current three-sheet club has been a social gathering place in Berwick for decades. He said the club prides itself on its social atmosphere.

"We have couples who met in the Berwick Curling Club ... Over the years, just a lot of great curling shots made, a ton of laughs being had and many, many good times," said Larsen.

Plans for the new club have been in the works for 15 years and it will be part of the Kings Mutual Century Centre, an athletic complex that is a little more than one kilometre away from the existing curling club.

New location opening soon

Larsen said construction of the new rink is expected to be completed in July and the refrigeration component should be finished in August.

Larsen expects to move into the new facility in August and September, and hopes to be up and running by curling season, which usually starts in October.

The new rink will be built to World Curling Federation standards, which Larsen said is important for the club to market itself to host events.

"The biggest thing for us is being able to host larger provincial bonspiels if we want to and now we'll have a building that will be able to accommodate that," Larsen said.

He said another big difference at the new rink will be the fourth sheet. He said club membership is growing and more ice surfaces are needed to keep up with the demand.

'Not a sad ending'

"We're a little bit taxed right now to find enough ice time for everybody in our curling club," said Larsen.

The building that houses the current club is in the process of being sold. Larsen said it's a conditional sale. He said the building is being purchased by a local business owner who "intends to re-purpose the building essentially as it stands."

"It's not a sad ending for our current building. Our current building is going to go from a curling club to a business and it gets a new life," said Larsen.