Gaspereau, Nova Scotia

Gaspereau is a Canadian rural community located in Kings County, Nova Scotia.

It is located about 3 km south of the town of Wolfville on the Gaspereau River. The name "Gaspereau" is often used to refer to all of the communities throughout the 15 km Gaspereau Valley.

The name is derived from the Gaspereau fish, "Alosa pseudoharengus",which migrates up the river every spring. The fishing of Gaspereau hasbeen important to human settlement of the Gaspereau Valley for thousandsof years. When the Acadians came here around 1680, they named thefish and the area, Gaspereau. There is still a commercial fishery forGaspereau in the river.

Gaspereau is primarily an agricultural community, hosting dairy farms and apple orchards. In recent years many grape vineyards have been established and there is more than one winery in the village. Gaspereau Vineyards, opened in 2004, and L'Acadie Vineyards, opened in 2008, are both popular destinations in the village of Gaspereau.

The Gaspereau River is also known for its tubing, using an inner-tube and floating down through the beautiful river during the hot summer months when residents or visitors of the valley are over heated and the river is high.

Gaspereau is also home to a canal (referred to as "The Canal" or "The Gaspereau Canal" or "White Rock Canal). The 1.5 km long canal brings water from the White Rock reservoir to the hydroelectricity generating station. [ [http://www.county.kings.ns.ca/comdev/lakemon/lake_history_text.htm Gaspereau Watershed History] ] The canal is popular for swimming, but the canal is also the site for the yearly Duck Race in which rubber ducks are floated down the canal. People purchase tickets on a Duck and if their duck wins they get a $5000 gift certificate. The top 10 placing duck owners all receive prizes decreasing in value as you move down places.

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