A Day in Grand Lake with the Ignite Marketing Team
With a rich local history and a growing business community, the Municipality of Grand Lake welcomed the Ignite Marketing Team with open arms last week. My colleague, Julia, and I spent the day exploring local gems and connecting with passionate people behind businesses and municipal services in Chipman, Minto, and beyond.
We started our journey in Chipman at Rachael Sky Photography & Gallery, run by award-winning photographer Ingrid Blakey. Originally from England, Ingrid’s work has been featured by the BBC, CBC, and National Geographic. Her artwork now fills her welcoming gallery and gift shop, alongside handcrafted prints, crochet gifts, and other locally made gifts. This space doubles as a creative and community hub, with plans to grow in the years ahead.
Before heading for our next stop, we made a quick stop at KBistro Café, a locally beloved gem known for its famous donuts. From there, we went to the Chipman Municipal Building to meet with staff and learn more about their work in the community. Alyson Boudreau, Grand Lake’s Senior Development Officer, joined us for the rest of the day to provide insights into our next stops for our visit.
We travelled across the lake to Minto, where we visited the second municipal office and staff. While in Minto, we had the chance to explore the rich history of the area through its flagship museums: The New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum and the Minto Coal Mining Museum – both now located in lower level of the Minto Municipal Building. The Internment Camp Museum showcased an important part of history often overlooked with uniforms and work tools, personal items, and even a scale replica of the camp created by local Junior High students in display. Across the hall, the Coal Mining Museum preserves the community’s proud mining heritage with displays of mining equipment, photographs, and a recently opened time capsule from the year 2000.
We stopped for lunch at the cozy Omega Restaurant to enjoying some dining classics before heading to our last stop – Princess Park Campground, located just 20 minutes outside of Minto.
Right by the shores of Grand Lake, the park offers a peaceful and family-friendly evergreen space with cabin and trailer rentals, picnic areas, a public beach, playgrounds, and more. It’s the perfect place for outdoor lovers and community members, and visitors to create everlasting memories. Keep an eye out for bookings for their upcoming 2026 season!
Throughout our day in Grand Lake, we experienced the welcoming spirit the entity is known for. From all the businesses and the inspiring faces behind them to the unique local history and natural beauty of the area, Grand Lake is a truly inspiring community – one we can’t wait to return to. Stay tuned for our next entity visit, coming soon!