Oh Canada, what a party in the park that was!
Hundreds of people gathered at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park this weekend to celebrate Canada’s 149th Birthday!
The opening ceremonies are always something special to kick off a celebration of everything Canadians have to be proud of, especially this year seeing the culture, growth, and acceptance Prince George has to welcome others into their country! Shirley Bond gave a special welcome to a Syrian family who came to Prince George last year, they were in the crowd draped in Canadian garb!
This year’s celebrations were also extra special because for the inaugural year of the award, the Medal of Good Citizenship was presented to John Scott of Prince George! The award was presented on behalf of British Columbia and it signifies a wide range of contributions to the community, the enrichment of youth, and the sacrifices made by the recipient.
Canada is drenched in amazing heritage and culture, and that is exactly what it showed off on stage throughout the entire day!
Belly dancers, Khast’an Drumming, Pow Wow dancers, acapella singing, Ukrainian dancers, Bollywood dream dancers, what an inspirational group of performers it was on stage all afternoon! I had the opportunity to emcee the stage throughout the afternoon and no I didn’t get to watch every performance, but it is a surreal feeling, watching everybody get so excited to perform in front of hundreds of Prince George locals! The Bollywood Dream Dancers were taking selfies together before they performed, and I thought I would jump in there to make them laugh or ease any nerves they had before performing!
Every year Chong takes the stage and does his incredible Thai Fire Poi Spinning and that was no exception this year! Although it started downpouring, and his entertainment became increasingly more difficult, everyone stayed out in support and cheered him on as he spun the flaming objects around like a pro!
There were of course countless food vendors from all over the world including greek cuisine, chinese food, bannock, and even a hot dog stand run by the crew from the World Baseball Challenge!
Plenty of vendors on hand doing plenty of activities, including kids arts and crafts, face painting, prize giveaways, and much more. One of the more entertaining booths from the vendors included the Shire of Cold Keep who were LARP’ing (Live Action Role Play) in the park! A very interactive and fun thing to watch take place, definitely something you don’t usually see, check them out on facebook!
Unfortunately the day maybe didn’t end the way everybody would have like it to due to the rain, but what a beautiful day it was while it lasted! Hundreds of great people surrounding each other, delicious food, and amazing entertainment! What a way to celebrate Canada Day!