It’s going to be a great day on Friday, July 1, as St. Albertans come together to celebrate Canada’s 155th birthday. There will be singing and dancing, food and fun, as you might expect.
Kristen Schopper, events and facility scheduling supervisor with the city’s recreation and parks department, expects that all of those facets of the day will be magnified simply by the fact that we all get to celebrate together.
“It is really exciting to be planning for in-person activities. I know that the residents are really looking forward to it,” she said.
How many residents? Schopper pondered, speculating on multiple unpredictable factors that might or might not occur between the afternoon and evening activities.
“We’ve seen anywhere around 5,000 in previous years. I don’t know. I guess it just depends on how ready people are to come out. We hear that they are. I hope so. I hope that this weather that we’ve been experiencing changes to sunshine by July 1,” she continued.
“It’ll go forward either way. We plan to go on rain or shine unless safety is compromised. The only thing that’s really limiting for fireworks is if it’s too windy.”
While it’s anyone’s guess how many hundreds or thousands of citizens will make it out for the festivities, the city has lined up the Park and Ride from the Nakî Transit Centre, with service running from 11:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the first section of the day’s events. The shuttle service to St. Albert Place is free, but users are encouraged to bring non-perishable food donations for the St. Albert Food Bank.
St. Albert Place is the People’s Place and its plaza is where the majority of the activities will actually be. Some events will be just a short walk away on St. Anne Street and down the Red Willow Paths to Lions Park, however. Come for the concerts, face painting, games, food trucks, and much more.
The schedule will see local Francophone performers Bub et Pit start things off at noon with a bilingual version of Oh Canada, right before they offer more family-friendly musical entertainments. The official opening ceremony is at 1 p.m., with the stage being commanded in sequence by Laura Charrois, members of the Africans & African Descents in St. Albert, and Zachary Willier, before the afternoon wraps up on a big brassy note with the Tubas of St. Albert.
A two-hour break for supper will let the crowds recharge before the movie Encanto receives two separate outdoor screenings — also at St. Albert Place — starting at 6 p.m. and at 8:30 p.m. There won’t be any parking available, so moviegoers will need to bring their own chairs. The 102-minute movie will end to give people enough time to find a suitable viewing spot for the grand finale: the always crowd-pleasing fireworks set to start at 11 p.m. They set off from the Meadowview Ball Diamonds.
For full details, people are encouraged to visit the city's website.
Morinville’s plans
The fun at the Ray McDonald Sports Grounds, 9908 104 St., also starts at noon, with the formal program starting at 1 p.m. Organizers have lined up live music, dancing, bouncy castles, free cake, pony rides, games, photo booth, door prizes, and more to keep the townsfolk in the spirit of celebration. Visit morinville.ca for more details.
