You’ll be surprised by Petrolia’s new town slogan.

That’s it: You’ll be surprised.

The town began looking for a new slogan to use for tourism marketing last February. Town Councilors, business leaders and others were asked questions about their perfect day in Petrolia and what they would say to people who wanted to relocate here. “One theme was a sense of community, another of our pride, another, the importance of our heritage,” says Laurissa Ellsworth, the town’s marketing manager.

Residents were surveyed last spring with similar results.

The town held a contest for a slogan and while Ellsworth says there were a lot of great ideas, there wasn’t a succinct phrase to market the town. Instead of naming one slogan a winner, two random winners were chosen by draw – Colleen Bradley and Kristin Mueller’s class at LCCVI.

Ellsworth and her branding group continued working, reviewing surveys from visitors to Victoria Playhouse. It was hard, Ellsworth says, to pinpoint what Petrolia is. “Petrolia has so much; a community centre, world-class theatre, a hospital, a rich heritage, a farmers’ market, the Greenwood Recreation Centre, service clubs, a thriving downtown, green spaces and much more,” she told council.

But one of the things which did stand out of the VPP surveys was surprise “as to how much Petrolia has to offer.

“When turning off the highway at the historic downtown Petrolia sign, one is really only at the beginning of what there is to see and do while you’re here….pride, community and independence shine through.”

Ellsworth says the new slogan invites people to visit Petrolia because “You’ll be Surprised!”

“You’ll have great fun with that,” says Councilor Mary-Pat Gleeson.

“I like it, it’s kind of fresh,” says Mayor John McCharles. “It’s not about a topic; it’s not about oil or heritage, it is open for your imagination. Come and discover us.”

Ellsworth says the town will continue to use “Celebrating our Heritage; Investing in our Future” for economic development and municipal correspondence.