Today I went to town to celebrate Canada Day. Canada Day is like the American Fourth of July.
The day is celebrated with parades, fireworks, and other festive events in most towns and cities throughout Canada. Some years I have driven about five hours to reach the national capital, Ottawa. From there I can watch a 20 minute fireworks display and see my tax dollars go up in smoke.
This year I rode on a float in the local town parade. My day began early shortly after 6 A.M. Our team began building the parts that we had been constructing through the month of June. The complete float had to be assembled on the trailer, decorated with flags and other festive banners that promote our theme of Canadian heritage, and then driven to the staging area at the beginning of the parade route. The parade started at 10:00, so the float and its tow vehicle had to be in place by 9:30.
Our team had done this several times before and we completed everything without incident and had a half-hour to spare. This is when we tried to think of what we had forgotten or what had to be made more secure so that it would not blow off during the parade.
The judges evaluated the floats before the parade began and awarded us a prize for the most original float.
At the end of the one-hour parade we scrambled to disassemble the float so that we could move on to the other festivities of the day. For me they included a concert by a band doing a tribute to the Rolling Stones and a fireworks display of my local tax dollars at work. I do enjoy a grand fireworks display, like Disney produces to ring in the New Year.
So how are you going to celebrate your national holiday? Will it be a local celebration, or will you travel to another town or city?
