INNISFAIL – This summer's historical Canada 150 celebration at Centennial Park has officially been given a big thumbs-up for success with momentum building to making the holiday party an annual event.
“I think at the end of the day it was well received from the community. “There were a lot of people there. We were pleasantly surprised,” said Henry Wong, the town's director of community services who was the facilitator of the local Canada 150 Organizing Committee that put together the June 30 event at Centennial Park.
“What we will probably do is strike another organizing committee and begin the process again.”
Wong said original members of the Canada 150 Organizing Committee met on July 27 to prepare a wrap-up report. He said comments were positive for the June 30 Centennial Park town-sponsored party, the first large scale one hosted by the town at the Napoleon Lake-area park.
Wong noted there was nervousness for the organizing committee before June 30 on how well attended the Canada 150 event would be.
“I think we were all sitting on pins and needles figuring out how many people were going to show up, being that it was the first weekend of the summer and it happened to be a long weekend on top of that,” said Wong. “We weren't sure what the numbers were going to be like because for most it might be a good idea to get out of town. We thought that was going to have an impact.”
But it wasn't. The venue was packed for the event, which began late in the afternoon and concluded at around midnight after a spectacular fireworks show. Wong estimated the turnout was between 1,500 and 2,000 citizens who attended and stayed at various times of the Canada 150 party.
“They ran out of cotton candy and the same thing with the Lions club with their beer gardens, with their food and beer services, they had to make extra runs to the store to keep up with the demand,” said Wong, adding there was positive feedback about the entertainment that night. “I particularly enjoyed the cultural stuff. It was very entertaining. The weather was perfect.”
In the meantime, the issue of repeating a big town-sponsored Canada Day birthday party at Centennial Park will be on the agenda at the Sept. 19 meeting of the Community Services Standing Committee.
Wong said an open invitation has been sent out to various community groups, including sports, cultural, service groups and individuals, to see if they want to become involved in future Canada Day celebrations. He said part of the meeting would be set aside to have that discussion with the people that attend.
“What I envision is for the groups that do show up, they form part of the organizing committee, (and) they assign a member or two to participate in the organizing. I am hoping they each take a piece,” said Wong. “Let's find out from the community, based on people who are interested and attend the meeting. We could potentially move forward with another event.
“I think if the weather gods cooperate it will be just as successful next year.”
Henry Wong, the town's director of community services
"What we will probably do is strike another organizing committee and begin the process again."
