Close X
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canadians Around The World Prepare To Celebrate Canada's 150th

The Canadian Press, 30 Jun, 2017 11:52 AM
    If Rahel Bailie still lived in Vancouver, she would likely poke fun at the Canada 150 festivities or steer clear of them altogether.
     
     
    Now that she's lived in London for more than three years, however, Bailie said she's relishing the chance to celebrate her homeland and share that with her new friends.
     
     
    Bailie, a digital and content strategist, said she bought a Canada 150 shirt and maple leaf shoes at Giant Tiger during a recent visit to Canada specifically to wear them at a day-long celebration in Trafalgar Square.
     
     
    In a way, being abroad makes it more acceptable to be earnest, she said.
     
     
    "I decided, to heck with it, don't have to be blase, there's nobody around — it's like dancing in your living room," she said.
     
     
    "You're giving yourself licence to feel a little bit of unadulterated joy in your heritage and where you came from."
     
     
    Hordes of people are expected in Trafalgar Square on Canada Day for a public party hosted by the High Commission of Canada, a family-friendly event capped off by performances by the Polaris Prize-winning Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq and the Toronto punk band PUP. A private organization has also planned 150 after-parties across the country for late-night revellers.
     
     
    "We think this is going to be an opportunity for people who either know about Canada and want to come celebrate that or who are curious about Canada and want to find out more about it," said Canada's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Janice Charette.
     
     
     
     
    "Whether it's sentimentality, interest or pure want-to-have-fun, there will be something for everyone."
     
     
    Similar parties are also being held in cities across the world, many of them organized by expats.
     
     
    Some 500 are expected to pack the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood for what organizers believe will be the largest Canada Day celebration in Los Angeles history.
     
     
    The event will feature Canadian beers and poutine and performances by Canadian stars such as Maestro Fresh Wes, according to the Southern California chapter of Canadians Abroad.
     
     
    "I'm excited just to meet people," said Tim Chan, one of the group's board members.
     
     
    "I think moving to L.A., no matter where we move from, it's always a stressful experience, it can be a little overwhelming at times. There's a sense of community when you meet fellow Canadians here and it makes you realize the world is quite small."
     
     
    In Hong Kong, which has one of the largest Canadian expat populations in the world, the day coincides with a national holiday marking the city's repatriation to China in 1997, meaning both countries are commemorating milestones.
     
     
    An afternoon celebration organized by the Canadians in Hong Kong club is expected to draw up to 100 people and will feature games and a poutine bar, said Lilly Ng, the club's co-founder.
     
     
     
     
    "I think the festive spirit will definitely be higher this year," Ng said in an email.
     
     
    "I think it's important to celebrate Canada 150 and/or Canada Day whether or not I'm in Canada," she said. "In today's political climate, I think Canadians have a lot to be proud of. We come from a safe and clean nation with universal health care, cultural diversity and tolerance, freedom to live as we see fit, and much more."
     
     
    Hearing others around the world praise Canada and its reputation has helped some expats get in a more festive mood.
     
     
    "I feel like I've become more patriotic since leaving the country," said Allison Dunnings, who is planning to go to the Trafalgar Square event with her dog and a friend.
     
     
    "When you live abroad people have such warm thoughts about Canadians and such nice things to say about Canada that I've actually become even more proud to be Canadian."
     
     
    Showing that pride is part of the appeal of the Canada Day celebration, she said. But there are also more mundane reasons.
     
     
    "We have heard that there is going to be Tim Horton's, so that is a huge reason that we are going to make our way — to find coffee and a donut and hopefully a Timbit for the dog."  

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Indian, Canadian Companies To Produce Tablet To Help Learn Punjabi: Bardish Chagger

    Indian, Canadian Companies To Produce Tablet To Help Learn Punjabi: Bardish Chagger
    Canada values diversity and to that effect a Canadian company has joined hands with an Indian company to produce a tablet that will help people learn to read and write Punjabi and Gurmukhi, said Bardish Chagger in an interview.

    Indian, Canadian Companies To Produce Tablet To Help Learn Punjabi: Bardish Chagger

    Indian-American Sikh Doctor Amandeep Singh In Indiana Gets Death Threats

    Indian-American Sikh Doctor Amandeep Singh In Indiana Gets Death Threats
    Amandeep Singh, a general internist at Monroe Hospital in Indiana, recently received the death threat through a text message on his mobile by the unknown individual who claimed to have murdered the number’s previous owner

    Indian-American Sikh Doctor Amandeep Singh In Indiana Gets Death Threats

    B.C. To Match $2.2 Billion Contribution For Surrey Light Rail, Broadway SkyTrain Extension

    B.C. To Match $2.2 Billion Contribution For Surrey Light Rail, Broadway SkyTrain Extension
    SURREY, B.C. — The British Columbia government has announced it will match the federal funding commitment of $2.2 billion for new transit projects in Metro Vancouver over the next 11 years.

    B.C. To Match $2.2 Billion Contribution For Surrey Light Rail, Broadway SkyTrain Extension

    'I Almost Died': Injured Snowboarder Mark McMorris Sends First Tweet Since Crash

    'I Almost Died': Injured Snowboarder Mark McMorris Sends First Tweet Since Crash
    VANCOUVER — Star Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris says he "almost died" when he crashed going off a jump in the B.C. backcountry last weekend.

    'I Almost Died': Injured Snowboarder Mark McMorris Sends First Tweet Since Crash

    Halifax Man Sentenced To Seven Years For Trafficking 14-Year-Old Girl

    Halifax Man Sentenced To Seven Years For Trafficking 14-Year-Old Girl
    Owen Ross Gibson-Skeir, 21, was arrested a year ago in Halifax and pleaded guilty in December to three charges.

    Halifax Man Sentenced To Seven Years For Trafficking 14-Year-Old Girl

    Edmonton Warehouse Stabber Sentenced To Life, No Parole Eligibility For 25 Years

    EDMONTON — A mentally ill Edmonton man who stabbed two co-workers to death and badly injured four others has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

    Edmonton Warehouse Stabber Sentenced To Life, No Parole Eligibility For 25 Years