Day 4 - 182 -- A Time to Celebrate

Interesting celebrations seen today across the country and around the world. Ottawa had major rain early in the day that left large puddles on 'the hill'. Lots of people were out for the day despite lineups. Trafalgar Square was home to a major Canada Day fete -- outside Canada House. Other countries saw smaller groups of Canadian troops celebrating with sports events. Here in our small town, we had a wonderful program that was moved indoors due to the damp weather. It was a moving and fun event. For the first time in history, the local Mi'kmaq chief was officially part of the celebrations. We heard wonderful music with a patriotic bent from a large community choir compiled for just this event. This was accompanied by several great dance numbers with local youth dancers. One number made me smile -- those over 50 likely would recall the song from the Centennial year. It seemed fitting to hear it again at the sesquicentennial. In keeping with the multicultural nature of our country, good wishes were given in Mi'kmaw, Fante twi, Hindi, Hebrew, Farsi, French, and English. The fireworks were not cancelled due to weather, perhaps they should have been. Low hanging cloud meant the smoke did not dissipate well and just moved very slowly to fill the air in the immediate area. This fully and partly obscured the view of many explosions. Perhpas this could be called the year of the big smoke <grin>. What I saw, I loved <smile>. I just heard more than I saw.

A song from the local ceremonies seemed to fit the feeling of the day and the messages of speakers at all celebrations. The version shared here is from two years ago and was filmed on the west coast of the country. Enjoy!

This is my Home -- Vancouver Children's Choir