This week's photo: Main Street on a Sunday afternoon.

Welcome to SussexNOW.ca. This website is designed to promote Sussex, Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada and the surrounding communities. Sussex is a great place to live or visit. The town’s population is just over 4,000 residents, and the general area is home to some 35,000 people. It’s a quiet, friendly area, where people on the street smile and say “Hi”, even if by chance they don’t know one another. Sussex has a great Drive-in Theatre that is open each weekend during the summer and early fall, (weather permittting). And speaking of fall, each September Sussex is host to the annual “Atlantic International Balloon Fiesta”, where as many as 30 Hot Air Balloons fill the skies.

Called kissing bridges, Kings County has 16 covered bridges, but Sussex has 8 of those within 10 minutes of downtown, making it the “Covered Bridge Capital of Atlantic Canada”. The Kings County Covered Bridge Festival is held here each July, but if you visit during the tourist season, stop at one of the Tourist Information Centres to pick-up a map showing all the local Covered Bridges, and bring your camera.

Sussex is nicknamed Dairytown and is known as the “Dairy Center of the Maritimes”; the reason is obvious when you look in any direction. Farms dot the landscape of Sussex and its outlying areas, and there are even some operating within the town’s boundaries. It’s not uncommon to see tractors and other farm equipment traveling in town or on local roads, especially during fall harvest or haying seasons. Sussex really is an agricultural center, besides the poultry and dairy farms, pastures of cattle, sheep and horses, a livestock auction is held in town every Wednesday, and it's even home to the NB Agriculture Museum.

Overlooking Sussex, Dairytown Products Limited turns New Brunswick milk into award-winning butter, and also operates “Mrs. Dunsters”, a bakery famous for its donuts. Just east of town in the community of Penobsquis the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan operates an underground salt and potash mine. A mine may not seem to have much in common with farming, but potash is a key ingredient in fertilizer.

Sussex is the main shopping center for eastern half of Kings County. It has 2 small shopping malls, one downtown and second in a growing retail area in the western end of town; featuring 2 grocery stores, 2 drug stores, a new Wal-Mart store - plus various other clothing, book and electronic stores. Sussex also has 3 full-service car dealerships, 2 large building supply outlets, numerous fast food restaurants, and several banks. Despite it’s continuing growth, Sussex and the surrounding communities have maintained their country-charm.

The Sussex Downtown Business District is lined with small shops, restaurants and offices, while other parts of Main Street feature businesses such as insurance agencies and beauty salons set in attractive older buildings. Sussex has the best of both worlds, the convenience of the city and the friendliness of the country. And if for some reason a resident can’t find an item or service in town… the cities of Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton, are each only about an hour drive away.

It's probably because Sussex is a dairy community and has been famous for its dairy products for over 150 years, but it only seems natural that ice cream is part of it's history. Since the days of the former Sussex Cheese and Butter Ltd., travelers have taken the time to stop for some great local ice cream. Today, the tradition continues as Sussex has several nice Ice Cream Parlours to choose from.

Camp Sussex, (which is now the Sussex Industrial Park), housed and trained most of the army personnel who were dispatched overseas during the Second World War. The 8th Hussars Regiment is headquartered here and hundreds of veterans return each year to see the town that they called home during training. There is a Military Museum in the Sussex Train Station with lots of history about the part Camp Sussex played, and as part of the Sussex Mural Project, a mural commemorating Camp Sussex has been painted downtown.

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Norton - The Village of Norton is about 10 minutes west of Sussex via the 4 lane highway, but like several of the small communities along the railway in Kings County, Norton gives no hint to its previous busy history. This quiet little village was once where trains crossed the Kennebecasis River heading north thru Belleisle Creek to Cody’s, across the Washademoak Lake and then onto Chipman and Minto.

Norton has some beautiful older homes, churches and it's own Elementary School. Farms surround the community, there are small stores, a nice bank, a call centre and residents are very friendly. A recent fossil discovery west of Norton is believed to be the oldest known fossil forest in Canada. Norton is also home to Country Music Artist Chris Cummings.

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Penobsquis (pronounced pen-ob-skwis) is to the east of Sussex on Route 114. Penobsquis has lots of beautiful farmland, but also several other points of interest, such as the Plumweseep Covered Bridge or the cement sculptures at Animal Land Park (seasonal). Also, the Potash Company of Saskatchewan Mine (PCS) is easily Penobsquis’s most prominent feature. The mine-site can be seen for miles and PCS directly employs hundreds of local people, boosting the Sussex economy. Recent test drilling around the Penobsquis mine has led to a substantial natural gas find, so far enough to supply the needs of the mine’s mill. Exploration continues, and talk of a Natural Gas Energy Park has been suggested, should large enough reserves be found. Beside mining, campgrounds and farming there are several other interesting businesses in the area. Avon Valley Ltd. has a wholesale greenhouse in Penobsquis, Cardwell Farms has a composting facility, and Weeks Construction operates a large quarry.

Fundy National Park - Leaving Sussex it's not necessary to travel through Penobsquis to reach Fundy National Park, (using exit #211 from the 4-lane highway is actually faster and shorter), but the eastern exit to/from Penobsquisis is also connected to the road to the famous Fundy National Park and the Village of Alma, and if you enjoy a slower pace... it's a nice little detour. While in the Park take the time to explore a few of the footpaths or plan a round of Golf at the unique 9-hole course. The 1st Tee is incredible.

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Sussex Corner – For a visitor, if you miss the signs it might be hard to tell where Sussex ends and the Village of Sussex Corner begins. Sussex Corner shares a lot in common with Sussex… Main Street, Trout Creek, a Nature Trail and even the 4-lane highway that passes around the 2 communities. You could easily travel from one to the other without noticing the boundary, but Sussex Corner has a pleasant personality all its own. Sussex Corner has subtle differences, like the maple trees uniformly planted along Main Street’s green-belted sidewalks, or the ratio of homes to businesses is different… Sussex Corner is more residential. "The Corner" is like a smaller version of Sussex, small stores and service stations substitute for shopping malls and the skating rink is outdoors (and weather permitting, usually busy). The village motto says it all: “A quiet corner in a busy world”.

East of Sussex Corner via the Newline Road is the route to the Village of St. Martins and also the breathtaking Fundy Trail Parkway (open spring, summer and fall). From Sussex Corner, it's about a 40 minute drive to St. Martins and another 10 to the Parkway, but it's worth the trip. You can cruise through in your own vehicle or walk along the well-built paths and then take the Shuttle Bus back to one of the many parking lots. The Parkway has only it's first phase complete, so you'll have to plan for the drive back to Sussex when you're finished enjoying the spectacular Bay of Fundy views. Phase 2 of the Parkway is expected to start in the next few years, and will eventually connect directly with Fundy National Park.

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