Theodore Tugboat to spend summer in Saint John

When Haligonians head down to the waterfront this summer, a familiar bright yellow smiling face will be missing.

Theodore Tugboat plans to spend the 2018 tourist season in Saint John.

Dennis Campbell, CEO of Ambassatours Gray Line which owns Theodore Too, told HalifaxToday.ca Toronto was interested in hosting the tugboat.

The company declined the offer but it got them thinking of where he could visit that would be closer to home.

“Saint John just seemed like the obvious choice, because it's a working, bustling harbour and he's got lots of fans there.”

They've already been getting a lot of positive feedback from excited residents in the Port City.

It's not Theodore Tugboat's first trip away from Halifax. A few years ago he spent half a summer in Quebec. He's also been through the Great Lakes to Chicago and did a 50-city tour along the eastern seaboard to Tampa Bay.

The passenger-carrying tugboat is based on a popular children's show which aired on CBC in Canada and PBS in the United States.

With so much interest in the vessel, when asked if Theodore Too could one day be cloned into a Theodore Three and Four, Campbell said it's not an impossible scenario.

“If the show were to be revived, then absolutely we'd be looking at that,” he said. “We've actually talked about trying to encourage production companies to revive the show. There has been some interest but so far nothing has been firmed up, but I predict sometime in the future we will see that.”

Theodore will head out on his trip June 1 and return home to Halifax Harbour in November.

If you have visitors with young children coming this summer and you were hoping to take them for a ride on Theodore Tugboat, Campbell recommends their family-friendly Harbour Hopper Tour as an alternative.