Abbotsford already has an official flag and a coat of arms – now it has tartan.
The brainchild of long-time community supporter Christine Wiebe, the new tartan will be officially unveiled on July 1, during the Canada Day celebrations.
“We were approached by Christine, who said she thought Abbotsford should have its own tartan,” said Mayor George Peary.
He told her if “there was a substantially low cost, or no cost option,” the city would be interested.
After doing some research, and online design work, Wiebe approached the University of the Fraser Valley for help. She teamed up with local student Samantha Merritt.
“She did a great job of designing it, she really captured what we wanted,” said Wiebe.
The new tartan, which was registered on April 7, has a pattern called a Sett, which is eight inches long and 288 threads.
There are six colours, all representing the city: White is for the dairy industry; red represents the strawberry, raspberry, cranberry and brick industries; blue is for aviation and blueberry industries; green symbolizes both the university and the fertile, green valley; yellow is for daffodil and corn; and black represents the blackberry industry, rail and road.
She hopes the new tartan can be used as a branding tool for the city. It will also be used for clothing and tourism merchandise in Abbotsford.
But it doesn’t mean Peary will be walking around in a kilt any time soon.
“The police honour guard may very well want to wear them,” he said, “but I’ll likely just get a tie.”
As part of the registration, the pattern can only be woven with the written consent from the Abbotsford city clerk’s office.
To view the tartan and the registration information, visit www.tartanregister.gov.uk.