County Canada Day

Glorious weather draws crowds out on Canada Day

Wellington sure knows how to throw a party. The cue for fun started on Sunday evening when Cue the Funk took the stage on Main Street and got folks dancing with their signature high-energy music. After two hours, the audience was thoroughly warmed up and ready for more music from The Shadows, who played an enjoyable mix of pop and rock ballads from the 1970s through to the ’90s. Folks could cool down with an ice cream, get a caffeine boost or indulge in a plateful of fries available from vendors on the street. At dusk, the skies lit up in a spectacular display of fireworks, where over 1,000 onlookers lined the beach and dozens of motor boats bobbed offshore. The music and dancing continued well into the night.

(L-R): Marg Lake, Lynn Gillingham and Kerry Ford serve up a stack of pancakes at Wellington Town Hall before the parade.

On Canada Day, the events opened early with a fundraising pancake breakfast at Wellington Town Hall. By 10 o’clock a sea of red and white lined Main Street waiting for the traditional parade. A pipe and drum band led off the parade, followed by the Legion Colour Party. Marchers from Wellington on the Lake, the Rotary Club and the Wellington Dragon Boat Club, among others, were accompanied by a procession of classic automobiles, a phalanx of horse and riders, and a few gaily decorated bicycles. After the parade activities continued with a junior firefighter challenge in front of CML Snider School, a strawberry social at Wellington United Church, lunch on the lawn at St. Andrew’s Church and a Wellington Rotary rib dinner served in the park. The official Canada Day Ceremony took place in the park as well. Reverend Steve Spicer gave a blessing to begin and then MP Neil Ellis brought greetings from the federal government. “Wellington is a little town with a big heart,” said Ellis. “The parade today was probably one of the largest that has ever taken place in Wellington.

What an enthusiastic crowd.” Mayor Steve Ferguson extended his greetings and praised the work of the Wellington Recreation Committee in organizing the two-day event. After that, committee member Pamela Carter gave a welcome in French, and then Councillor Mike Harper summed it up by saying that Wellington is “the coolest spot when the weather gets hot.”

Canada Day celebrations took place across the County, from a pancake breakfast in Consecon to an oddball parade by residents in Cressy. In Picton, part of Main Street was converted into a grass-covered playing field where kids could play soccer, try out a hula hoop, or simply run with abandon. Over in Benson Park, kids and adults were entertained by Circus Jonathan, and the Department of Illumination set up a make-believe village constructed out of cardboard where kids could play to their heart’s content. Back on Main Street, the sound stage featured music from the Kitchen Family, Instant Rivalry and (not the real) Elvis. As usual, there were a number of food vendors, as well as fresh lemonade to slake anyone’s thirst on a warm summer day. Later in the night there were fireworks in Delhi Park.

While these Canada Day events are enjoyable and entertaining, they require a lot of work by the various recreation committees and resident groups to make them happen. And it comes at a cost. The Wellington event costs over $14,000, while their funding tops out at $11,000—and the committee also has to fund Pumpkinfest as well as some proposed events in the Town Hall. Sponsorships from local businesses and donations from residents go a long way to helping ensure these events continue into the future.