Lobster Thermidor anyone? Well, not for this lucky lobster.
Karen and Chris McCallum sent Lucky the Lobster on a journey across Canada on April 29, starting off in Charlottetown, P.E.I. Lucky is a stuffed toy lobster settled in a lobster trap with instructions on how to keep the fun and Lucky moving. “We are relying on fellow Canadians to give him a ride to our home in Alberta,” said the McCallums.
They first tried Lobster Quest back in 2010 where Lucky made it to Ontario before taking a detour into the States, and unfortunately was lost in Chicago. The McCallums decided to give it another try this year with Lobster Quest East to West 2.0, adding an air-tag to the trap. Social media has helped spread the word about Lucky, taking off on TikTok and cultivating a following on Facebook (#LuckytheLobster and #LobsterQuest).
Lucky has moved through the eastern provinces, arriving in Ontario this past month. Lucky has made new friends along the way, and even new companions join along for the ride as people have added stuffies to the trap and signed it, showing just how far Lucky has come. Already, Lucky has been at the Varney Motor Speedway, Chapman’s Ice Cream, and spent time with the Hanover Lions. The amazing story of the travelling lobster has caught the attention of Canadians and Lucky has been featured on local news and radio programs.
Local Meaford residents Paul and Dominika Kaminski and their family heard about Lobster Quest and were eager to pick up Lucky and be a part of the phenomenon. Last week they brought Lucky by The Meaford Independent office, and we took some pictures on the steps of Meaford Hall. The Kaminski family plan on giving Lucky a thorough tour of the area, taking it to the Meaford Harbour, by the Thornbury Dam, over to Blue Mountain, and into Collingwood. The Kaminskis will also be taking Lucky to see the sites in Toronto before swinging up to Tobermory and sending Lucky off on the Chi-Cheemaun ferry to Manitoulin Island, where Lucky can continue on up through Northern Ontario and across the prairies to meet the McCallums back in Alberta.
When it feels like there is only bad news to be had, it is nice to hear of a story like Lucky’s and families like the Kaminskis, who go out of their way to join a community built around kindness, sharing, and a stuffed lobster from P.E.I.
