Canada Day ~ 150th Celebration ~ Kamloops, BC

July 1 is the day the Canadians celebrate Canada’s birthday.  This year brings an even bigger reason to celebrate as it has been 150 years since the Constitution Act was enacted.  When formed in 1867, it was called the British North American Act then was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed.

The large crowds at Riverside Park

Kamloops has drawn a huge crowd for our annual celebration at Riverside Park to celebrate the 150^th birthday.  There were vendors with art that shows the talents of many local artist, too many to mention but a very impressive gathering of excellent art in many forms. 

Wyatt Purcha, actor & director

Wyatt of the Project (X) Theatre is joining others from that group to mingle with the crowd and let everyone know about their X FEST 2017 productions to be held at Prince Charles Park from
July 10 - 29, 2017.  We enjoyed the Wizard of Oz last year and look forward to seeing The Jungle Book and Rapunzel this year.  For tickets and info click here.

Beach of Riverside Park returns after flood

This scene is a great change from only a few weeks ago when the river water was so high it reached the sidewalk edge.  The level is now much safer and allows for swimming and boating on our Thompson River.

Playtimes at Riverside Park

There is no shortage of entertainment nor young ones to enjoy the waterpark, playground equipment and bouncy castles in the shade of the large old trees in Riverside Park.  The lineup for face painting was a long one.

Multicultural Folkfest

The Kamloops Multicultural Society hosted a Folkfest at the park with cultural displays and international food booths.  A great opportunity to try something new. 

Bandshell speeches

There was a great flag display in front of the bandshell and large tents that offered shade for those who wished to have a chair to sit in for the entertainment and speakers who were there to offer greetings on this special birthday for Canada.

Colorful spectators

There was no shortage of the color red nor of the maple leaf which signifies our flag.  The red and white was amazing to see and added to the celebration feel to the day. The park was so full of people wearing special clothing that there could have been a fashion show of patriotic clothing!

Pledging allegiance to Canada

The RCMP were represented at this ceremony and this gentleman in red serge led us in the English version of pledging allegiance to Canada.  All who were there, stood with their right hand raised and repeated after him.  We remained standing and he was followed by another RCMP who did the same in French.  Thankfully, she did tell us we did not have to repeat after her.  I heard several sighs of relief.

Birthday Cake

Happy Birthday on this special 150^th year of Canada becoming a nation.  A large cake was waiting to be cut and shared among those who were participating in this celebration.

Many acts of entertainment were held at the park including Pokotillo Ukrainian Dancers and the Desert Sounds Harmony Chorus following the introductory speeches.  Lots to enjoy and much to see.   The day ended with a fabulous fireworks display.