Review staff
There’ll be plenty of bright lights and lots of banging this Canada Day in Rimbey, and no, it won’t be a visit from some touring heavy-metal rock band.
Thanks to two generous donations from members of the business community, the Town of Rimbey will have an extra $6,000 to spend on this year’s celebrations with the lion’s share being forwarded to the purchase of fireworks that promises to be the best show ever in the community.
But according to Recreation Program Coordinator Judy Lamb-Richardson, the late-night fireworks extravaganza will be only one of a plethora of activities scheduled for Canada’s birthday.
“The day will start at Pas-Ka-Poo Park with a vast array of events for all ages starting with a pancake breakfast from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.,” Lamb-Richardson said. “We’ll also be partnering with the Rimbey Parent Link Centre for some old fashion family games later in the afternoon.”
Among those are sack races, three-legged races, spoon races and a number of others. As well, the public will be able to experience the tastes of other countries and cultures at the Ethnic Food booth that will feature samples of Greek, East Indian, French and Asian cuisine.
As well, the public will also have the opportunity to renew their allegiance to our country as part of a Reaffirmation Oath of Citizenship ceremony planned for 1:00 p.m. as part of a Colour Parade by members of the Royal Canadian Legion.
While all the morning’s and afternoon’s activities will be centered around Pas-Ka-Poo Park, the evening’s line up of entertainment will be held at the Soccer Fields on the community’s southern edge, including a display of Native dancing and a fireworks display the likes of which have never been seen in Rimbey.
“The dancers are coming in from the Big Horn Reserve and they’ll have several categories, so there’ll be a mix of them,” Lamb-Richardson said. “We’re not exactly sure who is all coming out, but they’ll include fancy dancers for women, junior, traditional, chicken dancers and a number of others. Not only is the display of dancing spectacular, but we’re hoping that everybody takes away a little bit on knowledge from it as well. They’re going to give a bit of background and describe each dance prior to the performers.”
Thanks to two donations totaling $6,000 from the Frosty Top and Rimbey Gas & Splash, spectators can look forward to a dazzling exhibition of fireworks to close out the day.
“We will be having the biggest fireworks display that we’ve ever been able to hold thanks to the generous donation from our official sponsor the Frosty Top Café,” Lamb-Richardson said. “As a result, we’ll be able to triple the number of fireworks we’ve had in the past so we hope it’ll be a great show for everybody.”
If for some reason the weather doesn’t cooperate, the fireworks display will be held on the next available day.
With the exception of some activities such as mini-golf, samples of ethnic food and craft items, the entire celebration is free of charge however donations to any group or attraction are more than welcome.
If any group or member of the public would like to get involved with Canada Day 2008 celebrations as a volunteer, added attraction or to add to the international flavour of the Ethnic Food booth, they are more than welcome to contact Lamb-Richardson at the Recreation Department.