ST. PAUL – On July 1, people in the St. Paul region gathered at the St. Paul Recreation Centre to celebrate Canada Day with various activities put on by local community groups and businesses including face painting, bouncy castles, axe throwing, a car show, and many more.
Among those groups was the St. Paul Fire Department. “We set up a couple of trucks... we have our ladder truck... [and] our old antique fire truck,” said Fire Chief Trevor Kotowich.
“We also have some water spraying for the young kids,” added Kotowich. Overall, it was a beautiful day and the fire department was happy to give the youth the opportunity to have some fun, he said. “Everyone loved us.”
Another highlight of the afternoon was the lines of vehicles for the car show put on by the St. Paul Cruisers Car Club.
Allen Preston, who co-organized the car show, said there were about 52 entries hailing from throughout the Lakeland.
Preston said he is happy to see everyone work together to celebrate Canada Day and expressed his thanks.
Sarah Burton, executive assistant at the Town of St. Paul, agreed.
Compared to previous years, the Canada Day celebration in St. Paul typically sees about 700 people. This year, around 1,200 visited throughout the afternoon.
And it surely does take a lot of effort to make the celebration a success, noting the sponsors, the volunteers, and everyone who worked hard to put on the event, Burton said.
But this effort was all worth it.
“So, just a great big thank you to everything that attended and took the time out of their day to come,” she said. “We can plan, coordinate, and put these things all together. But at the end of the day, we need participation, and we definitely got that this year.”
She also thanked all the sponsors and volunteers who helped make the day a success.
Burton is hopeful for another successful celebration next year as new partnerships are being formed to make the celebration evolve and fresh each year.