Boissevain-Morton will have special visitors next week.

Two judges for Communities in Bloom, Colleen Stockford from New Brunswick and James Bourgeois from Quebec, will arrive Wednesday for their three-day excursion in the community.

On Wednesday an open meet-and-greet will take place at the Sawmill at 7 p.m. The judges will tour the International Peace Garden on Thursday, and will explore Boissevain-Morton on Friday.

"We will be visiting some of the businesses, we will be looking at the murals, we'll be talking about what we do for the environment, we'll be going to the recycling," said Mayor Judy Swanson.

Boissevain-Morton is competing against only one other community, the city of Castlegar, B.C., in the Grand Champions category.

"I've only been to Castlegar once and it's quite beautiful," Swanson said.

Although their competitor is larger, Swanson says the evaluation process is tailored to the size of each community which levels out the playing field.

The Grand Champions category was created to provide more of a challenge to communities who have experienced consistent success in the program, like Boissevain-Morton.

Swanson says it's important to change things up every year to provide a fresh tour to judges. New this year is the 4-H club's flowerbed at the Wildlife Museum and a mural painted on the side of the drug store along Main Street.

"It's beautiful and it's full of colour and it adds a lot of life to the downtown area. It says 'these roots run deep,' which is true about this community," she said. "It shows that we do respect our roots but our community is also changing."

The mayor encourages residents to attend Wednesday's open event, as well as Friday's lunch at the farmers' market.

"By all means please just come and talk to the judges, and take the time before they arrive to make sure your yards are tidy and everything's in order."