The historic competitive spirit between Lunenburg and Massachusetts was rekindled last month as Stephen Findlay, Lunenburg’s town crier, travelled south to compete in the 2024 Provincetown Town Crier Competition.
(photo provided by Stephen Findlay)
Findlay’s flourish of the handbell and singsong “oyez” placed him second overall in the competition, winning against criers from across the US and Canada.
It was Findlay’s first time competing, having been appointed Lunenburg Town Crier on Jan 26, 2021 in the middle of the pandemic. Fellow town crier Daniel Gómez Llata, whom Findlay met in a Facebook group, invited him to compete.
Gómez Llata hosted the event in Provincetown.
“I’d always been curious. I kinda feel that I’m at an age where I want to have as many cool and unique and different life experiences as I can,” said Findlay.
Findlay embarked on the journey to the seaside town with few expectations.
“I went into it a little bit blind,” he said. “Basically, I had to write a town cry about the place I was representing and exposing all the wonderful things about Lunenburg. But, I had to do it in 100 to 125 words.”
After drafting a cry that was 1,000 words long, Findlay focused on sharing key aspects of Lunenburg. He made sure to mention the Bluenose, the brightly coloured houses, the kind Maritimer spirit, and the picturesque waterfront.
The competition included a second component, where the criers were asked to perform a historical cry about the host town.
Staying true to his theatrical background, Findlay decided to share the news of Provincetown resident Eugene O’Neill being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1920.
The weekend wasn’t all about performance and competition. Findlay noted that the hosts took care of the competitors, including a lunch at the Provincetown Brewing Co., a trolley ride through town, and a lobster supper.
“It was more about the camaraderie and meeting people from the different places in the USA and Canada. They all came together this day to do this kind of fun thing.”
