Summer Gallant hasn’t been a town crier for very long, but she sure is getting the hang of it. In April, she beat out a dozen other candidates at an open audition to become Riverview’s new town crier. The 25-year-old moved around a lot after high school, went abroad for a while and was even an au pair in New Zealand. When she returned home, she wanted to connect with her childhood community. “My roots are definitely in Riverview, born and raised here, and when I came back, I decided I wanted to be super involved, and I saw the posting for the town crier position. I thought what an amazing opportunity to combine my love of theatre and my love of Riverview as a community into two and so I decided to shoot my shot and got in,” said Gallant. Her first official event was the swearing-in of the new council in June after this year’s provincial elections. But she has a much bigger event coming up. Gallant will be taking part in the World Town Crier Competition in Chester, England in September. She auditioned a few months ago and was one of 25 applicants accepted. “I’m super excited. I’m a little nervous because I’m up against some pretty professional town criers and I’m definitely the youngest and the most amateur of the town criers who will be out there,” said Gallant. Criers from the United States, Belgium, Germany, Australia and of course, the United Kingdom will provide some stiff competition. “I do have lots of theatre experience, so I do have a lot of confidence when it comes to being on stage or in front a crowd, but when it comes to the town crying aspect of things, I’m more there for the experience and learning. Definitely going to try and beat out some other competitors,” said Gallant. Gallant is replacing long-time crier Gerry Forsythe who passed away last year. “He was an amazing man and really cared about the community, so it’s really nice to carry on the tradition,” said Gallant. The international competition is taking place in Chester, a few hours away from London. Accommodations for the six nights of the competition are covered, but little else is, so she’s started her own Go Fund Me campaign. “I have to fly in and out of London and it’s one of the most expensive cities,” said Gallant. Blair Smith stopped on the boardwalk to chat with Gallant on Saturday. Smith has lived in Riverview for 13 years but grew up in Saint John where town criers are commonplace. “I think it’s awesome. Saint John is the loyalist city so I grew up with events, parades all with town criers, and he would do announcements at the city market,” said Smith. Gallant’s favourite part of her new role is the community aspect and getting out and meeting people. “The kids love it. I find the seniors love it too, especially where I am younger and I am a woman. I’ve had a lot of older women come up and say how amazing it is to have someone so young in a position that kind of holds a lot of heart in community,” she said. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
