I was fortunate enough to make it to Ottawa for Canada Day and what a celebration it was. The 143rd Anniversary of Confederation was my first time celebrating Canada Day in Ottawa and it was fantastic. There was so much to see and do, it was extremely difficult to take it all in, and I recommend that every Canadian make the trip at least once in their lifetime. The Ottawa Citizen estimates 350,000 people attended festivities in the downtown Ottawa area on July 1st; saying it was a little crowded is probably the biggest underestimation someone could make. I have never been to an event of this magnitude before in my life.
As most know, Queen Elizabeth II was in Ottawa for Canada Day, and did she ever draw a crowd. She arrived on Parliament Hill in a horse drawn carriage around noon. After O’ Canada and God Save the Queen were played, Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave a quick speech regarding the “success” of the G20 in Toronto this past week, then the Queen took the stage. She was wearing a wonderful red dress and a hat with matching red flowers; there was even a maple leaf broach on her lapel that I later saw in photographs.
Much of the Queen’s speech was in French, which I thought was really neat. Standing in amongst the crowd, it was difficult to hear her; however, I was able to view everything on the CPAC channel later on in the day. Queen Elizabeth’s words were extremely positive in regards to Canada and the exciting events that have taken place here recently, including the Olympic Winter Games.
Throughout her time on Parliament Hill, the Royal Standard of Canada, also called the Queen’s personal flag, was raised at the top of the peace tower. After several other speeches were given and songs were preformed, the Queen walked the red carpet through the crowd, waving warmly.
There was a great deal of excitement in the air as the snowbirds were flying over head in formation and the 21 gun salute was given for the Queen. As she left Parliament Hill by car, the Queen traveled down Wellington Street. The group of Waterloo students I was with were able to see her through the car window as she waved her white gloved hand to the crowd. Within seconds, the Queen’s standard was replaced with our maple leaf flag at the top of the Peace Tower and then Canada Day festivities truly began.
The Jazz Festival and museums in Ottawa were free all day and people were able to enjoy everything that there was to see. Street vendors and buskers lined the streets and people milled about in their various patriotic adornments. I have never seen so much red and white in my life. Or dresses made out of flags with maple leaf face paint. Walking along the canal, it was evident that everyone was excited to have the day off to celebrate Canada and enjoy the sunshine.
Later in the evening, musical performances commenced. Two stages were open to the public, one on Parliament Hill and the other in Major Hill Park. Everything started on Parliament Hill at 6pm with a pre-show by the official Team Canada DJs – definitely the best DJ’ing I have ever heard.
The musical acts included a variety of French and English performers, some I have heard of and some I hadn’t, but all proving to be entertaining nonetheless. Such performers included Johnny Reid, Hey Rosetta!, Alex Cuba, Michael Kaeshammer, Samian, the Campbell Brothers and Dione Taylor. Joannie Rochette even gave a speech to her adoring fans. Oh, and how could I forget The Barenaked Ladies. They really are as good live as everyone says. Following a priceless rendition of If I had a Million Dollars, fireworks commenced. They were spectacular, providing all the glittery, sparkly, twirling explosions you could ask for. Now, if that kind of a weekend doesn’t make you want to switch out of Engineering and go into some form of pyrotechnics, performance art or event planning program, I don’t know what would.
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