Canada Day ’17: Canada Turns 150

Expand

Canada 150

Happy 150th, Canada! July 1 is Canada Day, and this year Lake Superior’s northern steward turns 150. Cities big and small around the Lake will be celebrating the sesquicentennial.

In Thunder Bay, the festivities start at Fort William Historical Park, with canoe trips, carnival games, live music, a scavenger hunt and other family activities from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Then, starting at 5 p.m., head over to the waterfront for live music, interactive science exhibits and a huge fireworks display after dark. Plus, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery has a new exhibition: “The Perspective From Here: 150 Artists From the North.”

Neebing, just north of the Minnesota-Ontario border, has an afternoon of family fun planned.

Many of the small cities across the top of Lake Superior have big Canada Day plans. Some highlights are Red Rock’s hike, scavenger hunt, cake, cook-off and fireworks; Terrace Bay’s fireworks show at the beach; Schreiber’s soap box derby; and Marathon’s activities at Penn Lake Park all day.

Wawa has a three-day celebration planned, beginning Friday with a golf tournament and the kickoff for the weekend’s Wawa Music Festival. On Canada Day, the Tourist Information Centre will host a variety of family activities. The fireworks show starts at dusk at the beach. But the day’s biggest event is the unveiling of a new Wawa Goose statue at noon. Sunday is Wellness Day with activities at the waterfront.

Sault Ste. Marie’s Canada Day activities stretch across the city starting tomorrow and through the following week. The highlights include the History Fest at Ermatinger-Clergue National Historic Site on Friday and Saturday, the Hub Trail Festival and Parade of Paddles on Saturday and a family festival along the waterfront on Saturday. Dr. Roberta Bondar, hometown hero and Canada’s first woman in space, will host the Canada Day opening ceremonies at the park and pavilion that bears her name. (It’s the 25th anniversary, too, of her historic space flight.) The day will end with a fireworks show.

Pukaskwa National Park, on the northeastern side of the Lake, celebrates with cake, family-friendly activities and the grand opening of a new backcountry loop trail.

The provincial parks on the Ontario shore have big plans, too. Sleeping Giant Provincial Park near Thunder Bay will put on a parade, fire demonstration with forest rangers and a Canadian Classic Film Hour. Lake Superior Provincial Park south of Wawa presents a coastal campfire evening at Agawa Bay. White Lake Provincial Park east of Marathon has activities planned for the afternoon, including a hula hoop competition and a photo booth, and an evening campfire with hot chocolate, s’mores, songs and Canadian trivia. Neys Provincial Park is hosting a running race in the morning and then celebrates in the evening with red-and-white cupcakes and a screening of “Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven.”