July 1st every year marks the celebration of Canada Day for citizens and non-citizens alike all around the country, and this year I got a chance to attend UWaterloo’s celebration of the event at Columbia Lake Fields. Despite the hot, humid day, families poured in to the venue to enjoy the festivities, activities, and patriotism.
Food trucks were lined up outside the perimeter of the fields. And there were lots of them. Boston Pizza, authentic Indian cuisine trucks, and cotton candy among many others were packed with lines of families sampling all the food. I got the chance to try a BeaverTail for the first time (Nutella, peanut butter, and Reese’s Pieces oh yeah), and let’s just say I’m now even prouder to be Canadian.
Going around the festival I passed many of Waterloo’s community organizations, including the Waterloo Public Library, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, KW Symphony, and many others. The Engineering Science Quest also had activities for children who came to the celebration, and obviously as an engineering student, it makes me happy to see students taking such interest in the applied sciences.
There were also many bouncy houses and inflatable activities, which required money for tickets. They were plentiful though, and children lined up around them to play. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to check them out, but I would definitely second-hand recommend them to anyone who plans to check them out at future events.
From the University, there were picture booths, including the Engineering Society taking pictures with the tool. Beside the booth was a water slide running down the hill, which was a great way for children to cool off. Another interesting part of the festival was the UW Sikh Student Association tying red turbans for people to celebrate their religion. Along with that, they handed out pamphlets highlighting the importance of turbans in Sikhism.
The University was further represented by many volunteers who helped run the prize tent with spinning wheels, face painting, and henna. The Social Development Lab from the UW psychology lab was also present, as well as the science outreach booth, all having their own activities. If you’re reading this and you were a volunteer at Canada Day (whether it be with a society, Campus Response Team, etc.) then shoutouts to you for coming out on such a hot day to provide for the families!
The concert was ongoing, and encouraged crowd participation. Families were laying down in the heat just to listen, or they were cooling off in the mist station nearby. Nonetheless, Canada related songs were being played throughout the hour I was there, and the enthusiasm never died down.
The festival ended with fireworks, capping off one successful day and encouraging people to come next year. That BeaverTail certainly did it for me. So if you’re in Waterloo in Summer 2019, be sure to check it out!
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