Canada Day

By Kendall Knowlton

Wakefield will be super green for Canada Day this year. 

No fireworks. No drones lighting up the sky. No water bottles, no balloons, streamers or plastics, and every single dish, utensil and cup that revellers use will be fully compostable. 

“We’ve just been taking steps to be greener every year,” said Carly Woods, who organizes Canada Day every year at the Wakefield Recreation Association (WRA).

“We’ve shied away from the fireworks for environmental reasons,” said Woods. She said that removing the fireworks was partially due to complaints about people’s pets being afraid of them. There were no fireworks last year either, and Woods said the increased costs of drone shows has made it difficult for organizers to fit the aerial light show into their annual budget.

WRA’s budget changes from year to year but is estimated to be about $20,000 this year, according to Woods. 

Fireworks are wrapped with metal such as lithium and copper, and they can contain chemicals that contaminate the earth, according to Gwen O’Sullivan, an assistant professor of Environmental Science at Mount Royal University. He told CBC News in 2019 that the metals and chemicals are released when the fireworks explode to make colours like blue and red, and they can be toxic to animals and humans.

Wakefield has followed other regions, like Canmore, B.C., in banning firework shows for environmental reasons.

For those who do want to enjoy fireworks, both Chelsea and Low will be having displays. 

Woods also noted that all of the decorations will be environmentally friendly this year. 

“We are making our decorations and reusing them every year,” she said, explaining that the summer camp run by the Wakefield Activities for Youth (WAY) will have kids make decorations out of recycled materials for Canada Day. 

Dishes provided for the festivities will all be compostable, and there will be compost bins throughout the area. A group of people will be collecting all of the cans the day after. There will be no water bottles for sale – guests are asked to bring their own to refill.

“We’ve always been green, or as much as we can,” said Woods, “We are Wakefielders.”

As for the day of celebration, this year’s theme is Canada Strong.

The parade will leave from Centre Vorlage between 11:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. Festivities will take place throughout the rest of the day at the Wakefield community centre, where there will be kid-friendly activities, like bouncy castles, face painting and dunk tanks. 

And music. Local bands, such as The Jakes, will be playing at the community centre. A full lineup is coming soon.