INNISFAIL – The town is ready to celebrate Canada’s birthday.
"My Canada, My Home" will kick off at Centennial Park in Innisfail on June 30.
“It’s going to be a continuation of what we did starting a couple of years ago with Canada 150,” said Kane Williams, recreation program coordinator with the Town of Innisfail. “We had so much fun with it and we got so many positive comments (about the event), that we kept it going.”
Williams said the Canada Day festivities will get underway with children’s activities, games and crafts at 2 p.m., followed by entertainment and other festivities beginning at 4 p.m., including musical acts and cultural performances on stage and at the beer gardens.
Local artist Dean Foster will also be on hand to draw caricatures free of charge, dancers with Joy’s School of Dance and Highland dancers with McLeod of Lewis, as well as local singers, including Cole Martin, Cole Malone, Chloe Lucas and Devin Cooper will also provide entertainment throughout the day.
“Part of the reason we like to do ours on June 30 is because there’s lots of great things to do on (July 1). We just like to turn it into an extra long celebration,” said Williams, noting the event will also feature a community barbecue by the Innisfail Lions Club, food trucks and local favourites. Dark Woods Brewing and Stone Heart Distillery will be available at the beer gardens. The event will have some new games for families to enjoy and there will be a skydiving demonstration by Alberta Skydive Central.
“The event will go ahead, rain or shine at Centennial Park, including the fireworks (at dusk),” said Williams.
The Innisfail Kinsmen Club, the Rotary Club of Innisfail, the Innisfail Fire Department and the Innisfail and District Historical Village are also helping out for the event.
The Town of Penhold will be hosting its own Canada Day celebration on July 1 at the Lincoln Street Rec Centre. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will include a variety of activities for the entire family, such as face painting, bouncy castles, games and a barbecue.
The Innisfail historical village will also be open on July 1 to welcome visitors for festivities and Canada Day fun.
“We’ll have a few performers that day and we have Jim Swinston of Eagle entertainment who will be MCing the event and bringing some local talent,” said Kayla Godkin, manager, noting the day begins with a pancake breakfast, hosted by the Rotary Club of Innisfail, from 9 to 11 a.m.
Other events run from noon to 5 p.m.
“We’ll have games, lawn games, bouncy castle, kids crafts and all sorts of little things going on around the site,” she said. “We’ll also have food provided by the Innisfail Phil-Can Society, which they will sell on site that day and we’re going to have a bit of a vendors' market in the Tea House too.”
The day will finish with the Innisfail Legion Pipe Band and Colour Party and birthday cake, Godkin concluded.
