The waterfront container village opens for the season

This is a sign that the summer season is just around the corner in southern New Brunswick.

AREA 506 Waterfront Container Village in Saint John opened for its third season on Thursday.

The opening coincided with a visit by the cruise ship MSC Meraviglia, its second stop of the season.

The organizers announced for the first time that all of their containers would be full on opening day.

This season there are 33 full-time vendors, most selling food, snacks, general merchandise and clothing.

According to the organizers, there are also two information/destination providers and two rental providers.

Additionally, numerous art installations by local and international artists have been installed throughout the village.

Fabiola Martinez designed and produced an amazing environment to enhance the food truck area behind the AREA 506 observation deck.

OakOak, a street artist from Lyon, France, has created over a dozen “interventions” throughout the site that organizers said will make for the best scavenger hunt of the summer.

There are also 12 ticketed concerts this year as part of the Waterfront Concert Series. It starts with Sloan on Friday night and Pretty in Pink on Saturday night.

The container village is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Extended opening hours apply for cruise ship visits.