CAN ANYONE BEAT A SMALL-TOWN CANADA DAY CELEBRATION?

 CAN ANYONE BEAT A SMALL-TOWN CANADA DAY CELEBRATION?

The prospect and excitement of celebrating Canada Day July 1st in our new small town prairie home was titillating! No one pulls together more successfully than small communities for festive occasions. And Elbow had assembled a program for the day that would make any large city envious. Our local celebration was advertised to feature a pancake breakfast, a scintillating parade, a concert in the park and the grand finale - A Fireworks Extravaganza! Let’s hear it for Canada Day!

We encountered a tiny disappointment when we learned that the breakfast was being held in a neighbouring town (good neighbours pull together) and advertised a pancake/sausage breakfast for only $5. You won’t find a deal like that at Dennys! As we prepared to depart for our morning repast, a local informed us that the advertisement should have read, “ A pancake and A sausage for $5.” But what the heck, it’s Canada Day, let’s live it up!

Strangely, in the middle of a heat wave, the parade was scheduled to start at noon with temperatures hovering in the 90- degree range. We found a viewing spot in the shade and waited for the sound of the music and the action. In the end, we were mildly disappointed again when we were informed the parade had been cancelled. 

The 76 trombones and the 110 cornets band that I visualized from watching the movie The Music Man did not materialize. The Elbow Marching Band, was unable to perform as the three high school students who comprised the band had not had time to practise the Canadian National Anthem - either in English or French. It would have been great to hear our anthem proudly echoing on main street by one drummer, a violinist, and a featured kazoo player. But again, it was Canada Day and a little disappointment never hurt anyone! Yay, Canada!

Thankfully, as the day wore on, the temperature dropped to the high 80s - a perfect temperature for a concert in the park. Actually, a grassy empty lot behind the town museum. But beggars can’t be choosers! The crowd of dozens let out a collective moan when we were informed that the three boys set to sing for us were unavailable. Apparently, they had all just discovered the female gender and chose to spend their Canada Day with their girlfriends rather than entertain a group of old geezers. But what the heck, it was Canada Day and the assembled masses sang a few choruses of She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain, and Old Man River to pass the time.

Despite a few bumps in the road our Canada Day adventure was racing toward the highlight event - a fireworks blitzkrieg! As people waited for the sun to set, they wandered the main street, and stood in lines outside the candy store, coffee shop and ice cream parlour. Because of the heat and the numbers, people had to book online for a time to be admitted to the ice cream store!

Minutes before sunset, the town fire truck was called out of town to a grass fire and had to race away. According to local fire regulations, the town cannot set off fireworks without the presence of the fire department. Another minor setback, but what the heck, it was still Canada Day. We raced home and watched a ten- minute YouTube Video of the fireworks at the opening of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. It provided a spectacular ending to our Canada Day celebrations in Elbow. Let’s hear it for Canada Day one more time!

You can’t ruin a great celebration like Canada Day with a few disappointments! I love being a Canadian and I’m proud of it!

NOTE: The author has taken some liberties with some (most)( almost all) of the facts above, but what the hell, it was Canada Day!