Happy birthday to you…. Canada turns 148 years old today, and in honour of our motherland, be sure to check out a local Canada Day celebration happening in a city near you. Here are Canada Day events from coast to coast.
If you live in Halifax, you’re urged to enjoy a pancake breakfast, sing Oh Canada from the top of Citadel Hill, watch the Tattoo Parade in downtown Halifax and join us for the Maple Lodge Farms Family Fun-Fest on the Commons. Check out the biggest free summer concert of the year featuring Juno Award winner Arkells, who will also be joined by Glorious Sons, Party Boots, Laura Roy, and Halifax’s own Elephants in Trouble!.
The nation’s capital always takes pride in hosting the biggest Canada Day parties in the country (and rightfully so). There’s really no other place to be if you’re in Ottawa for Canada Day than Parliament Hill – the festivities start at 9am with a flag-raising ceremony followed by the changing of the guard, a noon show with artists like Magic!, Kiesza, Marc Dupré, Gord Bamford, and Jonas, and then another evening line-up of performances by many of the same musicians, and 10pm fireworks. There are also parties planned for Major’s Hill Park, Jacques Cartier Park, and at the National Arts Centre.
Hey you, in TO – you don’t want to miss the annual fireworks show at Ashbridges Bay (it kicks off around 9:30am), Harbourfront Centre, and Canada’s Wonderland, who will all help celebrate our country’s birthday with impressive pyrotechnics shows. You can also catch the last day of Toronto Ribfest, Toronto Fringe Festival, or go to Toronto’s annual Canada Day bash at Mel Lastman Square (where activities are planned for the entire day).
Hello Montreal – get to the Old Port for a busy (and fun day) of celebrating Canada Day. There will be workshops, demonstrations, music and dance, and a 10pm fireworks show.
In Winnipeg, The Forks will have three stages of performances starting at noon and capping off with an 11pm fireworks show. There will be a street festival on Osborne Street, which closes to car traffic between River and McMillan Avenues from 6pm until 1am, and a number of museums in the area are hosting historical as well as family-friendly events.
If you live in Vancouver, you don’t want to miss the annual Canada Day parade, which starts at Georgia and Broughton at 7pm and will feature live music, food carts, street hockey, and fireworks at 10:30pm. There will also be free outdoor concerts at Crab Park, the Steveston Salmon festival (which has taken place since the 1940s), and even more firework shows at Dundarave and Coal Harbour at 10:30pm.
Photo: Canada Day Montreal
