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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Canada Day Celebrations ~ Riverside Park ~ Kamloops,BC

Canada Day celebrations in Riverside Park made it a great day for thousands of people.  The city offered free bus service for the day so there was no parking or traffic problems to deal with. There was also a free shuttle offered from the Lansdowne Market transit exchange to Riverside Park.
The collage shows several different locations in Riverside Park with crowds of people
Canada Day Celebrations in Kamloops, BC brings out the crowds
The Folkfest and Art in the Park had people coming in droves to see the sights, the entertainment and the art as well as to try the food from the multicultural booths that were set up throughout the park.
Photographer is taking pictures of the dignitaries involved in the opening ceremonies of Canada Day in Riverside Park
Dignitaries pose after the Opening Ceremonies

The dignitaries including local polticians participated in the opening ceremonies. We didn’t arrive in time to hear them speak but I was able to get this photo of those that were there, although I didn’t get names of the unfamiliar faces.  The ones I do know are Terry Lake, MLA for Kamloops/North Thompson, Kevin Krueger, MLA for Kamloops/South Thompson, Cathy McLeod, MP for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo and Tina Lange, Kamloops councilor form part of the front row.  Cheryl Blackwell, the MC for the ceremony and Chief Shane Gottfriedson of  KIB are in the back row.

Tina Lange helps cut the Canada Day cake 
 Cake cutting ceremony for Canada Day in Kamloops, BC
Councillor Tina Lange helps to cut the cake as the Miss Kamloops royalty looks on.  The cake cutting is always a favorite with line-ups starting early for the free piece of cake they would be given.  The cake looked great but I wasn’t joining into that line.
Artists and Musicians at Riverside Park, Kamloops, BC
There were some very talented artists there with their artwork on display and for sale.  The booths were set up all over the park and ISC entrance, overall displaying an exciting variety.  What a great place to show the talented artists Kamloops has.

Carly Schmidt works on a painting and displays many she has painted
Carly Schmidt - Hand painted pictures
One very talented artist is Carly Schmidt and she was busy working on one of her painting.  She had several examples of her talent hanging for us to see.  Click here to see more of her work on her webpage.
A hat  that Sheila Munro designed is displayed at her booth
Sheila Munro - Dropping Form Designs
Another talented lady is Sheila who works magic with feathers and hats!  This hat was beautiful, as were her others on display, check out her webpage for more info.

Several inflatable fun centers are set up for the kids to play in
Children's Activities at Canada Day in Kamloops, BC
These appeared to be a popular part of the activities, I suspect the line-ups were a constant for the children’s activities that were on hand.  The big inflatables included a spaceship and a pirate ship.
Costumed actors entertaining at Canada Day celebrations in Kamloops, BC
Pirates and a Princess for Canada Day in Riverside Park
There was the Pirate magician and several actors dressed in costumes and wandering the park entertaining the kids and offering photo opportunities for the tourists who were also there enjoying the Canada Day celebrations.
this collage shows different hats and a flag seen at Canada Day
Flags and Canada Day hats galore
The festivities began with the pancake breakfast at 7am and were ongoing throughout the day ending with fireworks at 10:30pm. Thousands of us enjoyed the day and it was great to see a big turnout spending the day in the sunshine having a fun time with their families and friends.
Thanks to all who worked hard to make this special day a success, including the City of Kamloops workers who installed the gabion wall of sand to make sure the river didn’t interfere with the celebrations in Riverside Park. Well done!

Check here for more information about Canada Day and the National Flag of Canada.