Summerside's 'heart of hope' overlooks city amid COVID-19, Nova Scotia shooting

Passersby will notice the landscape surrounding Summerside Electric has a glowing new addition that comes in the shape of a giant lighted heart.

The city's new "heart of hope" was put up to provide a sense of comfort and community in what has been a challenging time for many across P.E.I. and the Atlantic region, said Ward 8 Coun. Carrie Adams, who brought the idea forward to the utility.

"It's something that could be seen from across the city, from most houses and if people were out for a walk. People commented that, you know, they liked to be able to look up and see the same thing that everybody else was seeing across the city," Adams said. 

"They went way above what I was thinking ... but what they did, they made it so it's sort of dimensional and it's intertwined with each other. So depending how you look at it, it's either a heart or you could look at it as a broken heart, which was very timely." 

The heart, Adams said was put up within the same pocket of time a "series of unfortunate events" reverberated through Nova Scotia, including a mass shooting on April 18-19 in central Nova Scotia that left 22 victims dead.

"It was like we were already in such a period of unknown and then that just made it worse because you had really no way to reach out to each other, to make each other feel better. So by putting this up quite a few people had commented that, you know, they sent it to friends in Nova Scotia," she said.

Sounds like we're going to need it for a little while longer for sure.— Carrie Adams, Ward 8 councillor.

"It was our symbol to other people that we were all together in whatever you're going through right now because we can't physically be there for each other."

For now, Adams said the heart will remain where it is, looking over the city, as they continue to navigate COVID-19.

"Sounds like we're going to need it for a little while longer for sure." 

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