TRURO - With a lot of anticipation, a number of balls were thrown in Truro on the weekend.
The official opening of the Cobequid Lawn Bowls Club took place on Saturday, which attracted about 100 people to the site. The facility is behind the Douglas Street Recreation Centre.
Club president Ted Lohnes delivered the first ball on Saturday.
"Three years ago, this was simply just a dream," Lohnes said.
"It had some merit to it and within six months, we had a committee formed under the chair of (town Coun.) Brian Kinsman."
Lohnes credited the recreation directors from both the Town of Truro and the Municipality of Colchester County for keeping the "train on the track and hands on the wheel."
"But our biggest obstacle was raising funds and in August we started the tender process."
The final tender was called in March and construction of the facility started soon after that.
Thanks to funding from the club, Town of Truro, Colchester County, the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness and the federal government's New Horizons for Seniors program, the lawn bowling club was created.
Mills said the governments worked together on the project, which he called a "magnificent facility."
"Over the coming months, I can see a lot of activity going on here," Mills said, adding it has the potential to attract lawn bowlers from New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Also during the official facility opening ceremony was a demonstration of a two-end game on one of the eight rinks.
The object of the game is to bowl your ball the closest to the jack, which is a smaller yellow ball at the end of the rink.
"It's better to have your balls behind the jack because if the jack is moved, it could end up closer to your ball," Lohnes said during the demonstration.
While many watched the club members demonstrate, some in the crowd, such as members of the Dartmouth club, tested the facility for themselves.
Five other lawn bowling clubs in the province - Dartmouth, Bedford, Bridgetown, St. Mary's and Wanderers (Halifax) - participated. Aside from the opening of the facility, the local club also launched its website - www.cobequidlawnbowls.com.
In addition, the club hopes to have a clubhouse this summer after renovating three of the classrooms inside the school. New windows and doors will be installed this week, while a 60-foot deck will be built between the clubhouse and the green the week after.
rtetanish@trurodaily.com
What Derpy said!