The second annual Celebrate Canada event kicks off next week in Swift Current, to celebrate the diversity and cultures that make up Canada.
Put on by the City of Swift Current, in partnership with a variety of local organizations, the two-week celebration features an array of events, explained Partnerships and Events Coordinator for the City, Brad Woods.
“The Celebrate Canada event is basically recognizing three days over the course of June and leading up to July 1st to celebrate the great things about being Canadian,” he stated.
The three significant dates are National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, Multiculturalism Day on June 27, and Canada Day on July 1.
While Canada Day has been celebrated in Swift Current for many years, the focus was shifted last year with the help of some funding from the Government of Canada.
“There was a push to celebrate more than just, Canada Day itself and we want to recognize, all people that celebrate being Canadian,” Woods elaborated. “Last year, with the grant from Heritage Canada, we were able to connect with some of our cultural groups in town and were able to kick things off with a number of lead-up events to Canada Day itself and being more inclusive to the whole community and all peoples of Canada.”
The series of events will kick off at the Living Sky Casino on June 20, with a community consultation hosted by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, the Southwest Multicultural Association and Nekaneet First Nation.
The following day, a flag-raising, and cultural program will take place in Market Square at noon for National Indigenous Peoples Day.
The day will include blessings and smudging, round dance, and a reading from poet Laureate Carol Rose GoldenEagle.
The next event in the lineup will take place on June 27 for Multiculturism Day. The programming for the day will begin at 11:30 a.m. in Market Square and will feature a lunch party hosted by the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre.
“They host an event where they do a luncheon where there's a number of different ethnic foods prepared and presented as part of your lunch menu,” Woods elaborated. “So, they're going to do that again this year, as well as they are really going to pump up the energy there at Market Square. They're going to bring in a DJ, they're going to have some music, they're going to have cultural performances. I think on tap, they have a Colombian dancer and some African drumming and things like that.”
The afternoon will culminate with a whole hog rotisserie right in Market Square.
The "Celebrate Canada" events will conclude on July 1, with the Frontier Days Parade at 10:00 a.m., a flag raising and luncheon at Memorial Park at 12:00 p.m., and the Living Sky Casino Fireworks at Kinetic Park starting at 11:00 p.m.
More information on all the Celebrate Canada events can be found, here.