Quebecers celebrate a damp 158th Canada Day
Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
cassandra@qctonline.com
From coast to coast to coast, Canadians celebrated the 158th anniversary of Confederation on July 1. In Quebec City, Mother Nature joined the fun by dropping more rain on Canada Day festivities. The ceremonial flag raising on Dufferin Terrace was cancelled, but crowds of people lined up in the rain to get their slice of Canada’s birthday cake prepared by the chefs of the Château Frontenac.
For almost an hour before the cake was served, people lined up outside and watched through large windows as the final touches of icing were applied.
Sticking to the schedule, at noon, some 2,000 pieces of the huge traditional cake, decorated to resemble the Canadian flag, were distributed from a side door of the hotel near the Champlain monument.
Regulars at the annual party tasted something different. Did the chefs dare change the recipe? Besides the usual 600 eggs, 360 egg whites, 11 pounds of white sugar, 50 pounds of flour and 90 pounds of butter, the head pastry chef added apple sauce to moisten the cake and used Quebec-made flour to make it more authentically Canadian. The result was delicious!
Slices of cake were served from under a tent by Jean-Yves Duclos, MP for Québec Centre; Lt.-Gov. Manon Jeannotte; Quebec City councillor David Weiser; and the director general of the Château Frontenac, Jean-François Vary.
While waiting for their cake, people waved their small Canadian flags. “I love coming to this event. I never miss it,” said Kasandra Pelletier. “I always meet people I know and haven’t seen in a year. Canada is a wonderful and welcoming country. I am so happy my grandparents chose to move here from Greece.”
On the Plains of Abraham, the National Battlefields Commission hosted an afternoon of family-friendly festivities. In the World Zone, families discovered various cultures that make up Canada’s multi- cultural society at the numerous booths, such as making bubbles at the SOIT (Service d’orientation et d’intégration des immigrants au travail) booth, traditional West African drums at the Djembé Québec booth or tasting tea while learning about Quebec’s English-speaking community at the Morrin Centre tent.
Children had their faces painted by the Kromatik Make-up before jumping around on the numerous bouncy castles. Parents had to keep a watchful eye due to the rainy weather making things more slippery. People were captivated by five performing acts on the nearby stage. Dragon and Drum, Kumquatz and the Old Men and the Sea roamed the site giving one-on-one performances. People stopped by the Trivia Canada table and photobooth for memorable experiences.
The sky finally cleared and the sun shone briefly over Quebec City before it set, just in time for the grand finale of the Canada Day celebrations. At 8 p.m., the duo Maxime Landry and Annie Blanchard gave a Western-style show at the Edwin Bélanger bandstand – The Country of Our Idols. They had the crowd line dancing in cowboy boots and hats to the tunes of the Daraîche Family, Patrick Norman and Renée Martel. The celebrations and the show ended with the Boréalis immersive laser show.