Sunday, July 23, 2017

Canada 150 - The Smitten Image 10

Time between blog posts seems to be longer and longer as my everyday life seems to get busier and more demanding. I keep hoping that I can put more time into blog posting and visiting but that just doesn't seem to happen. I'll keep hoping though!

This time, I thought I should acknowledge a couple of events - Canada's 150th birthday and my 10th blogging anniversary - both happening this month. Unfortunately, only one of those occasions gets a parade, party, music and fireworks - so my photos will focus on Canada's celebrations as they occurred in Peterborough.

Before I do, I want to express how very rewarding it has been (and hopefully will continue to be) to connect with hundreds of amazing bloggers this past decade. I've made friends with whom I've connected in real life, in email, on the phone and through Facebook. And I have sadly lost wonderful people along the way to illness and to tragedy. I've had incredible feedback on my photography and feel validated and appreciated because of it. Thank you ALL for allowing me to share my creativity through the years and for sharing yours with me. I hope we can all enjoy many more years of that blogging connection.

That's enough of stealing the spotlight from my elderly country. Canada turned 150 on July 1, and my town of Peterborough celebrated in style. Let's start with the parade.

on wheels
Kidlets of all ages brought their wheels to the event.





sir john a
This guy represents our first Prime Minister, Sir John A. McDonald who did many wrongs to our Indigenous People - wrong which we continue to hope that our current government will begin to right.





Shriners Hospital
What's a parade without the Shriners and their funny little cars doing tricks and spins throughout the route?





Terry Fox
Remembering our beloved Terry Fox who raised awareness and funds for cancer research by attempting his walk across Canada. Cancer took his leg prior to his journey across our country and it sadly also took his life during his Marathon of Hope in 1977 - a month before his twenty-third birthday. His life is celebrated every September with a 10k run, walk or cycle which raises money in his name.





Southcrest Farms in Lakefield
This original float represents Southcrest Farms in nearby Lakefield, Ontario.





brownsea base rowing
The Trent-Severn waterway passes through Peterborough. This means that boats, canoes, kayaks and floating recreational devices of all kinds are very popular in this area. This young canoe enthusiast sporting Canada-red hair represents Brownsea Base Water programs for Scouts.





All decked out
After the parade, I wandered over to Del Crary Park where some of city celebrations were happening. Crowds had already gathered.





dance
Several local performers took their turns to sing and dance on stage.





cakes
Two cakes were presented for sharing with the crowd. One was Canada's 150th birthday cake and the other represented our Multi Cultural Day which coincides with Canada Day.





Four Little Canadians
Leaving the park, I encountered this adorable scene. Their Canada Day hats were homemade. Mom had posed them on this couch sculpture and was taking their photo from the front. I thought the back of their heads, all decked out in their patriotic finest were every bit as cute.





Four Little Canadians2
Eventually they turned to look over the back of the seat and I stole around to the front for a different angle.





tree hugging flag
I headed home for a few hours to recharge and saw this tree-hugging flag along the way.





kim Mitchell6
The evening took me back to Del Crary Park to see singer/DJ Kim Mitchell perform. The concert kicked off the MusicFest season of free outdoor concerts every Saturday and Wednesday night through the summer.





kim Mitchell3
Our seats were close and the music was LOUD.





kim Mitchell2
They put on a good show.





kim Mitchell8
The crowd left with major smiles and minor hearing loss.





little lake at night
Night had fallen and we walked along the shoreline of Little Lake so that we could take in the Canada Day light show..





Canada 150 fireworks19
Colourful jets of fire burst forward with colour, exploding in the night sky leaving tinkling showers of silver in its wake.





Canada 150 fireworks
Canada's signature red and white lights scattered across the sky, shattering into a multitude of glittery sparks.





Canada 150 fireworks3
Puffy golden stamens were ablaze in the dazzling heart of a delicate flower of fire.





Canada 150 fireworks16
The finale brought cascading waterfalls, dazzling whirls and shimmering spirals - all which rained down on the lake in a twinkling trail brilliance.

Hopefully it won't take me this long to get my next blog post out but I'll have more photos for you whenever that is. Thanks for celebrating with me.