Happy 148th Canada! Calgary prepares for the big day

After months of planning, the day is finally here.

Cities and communities across the country are celebrating Canada’s 148th birthday and there’s once again, a full slate of places to go and things to do in Calgary.

Sarah Iley with the City of Calgary said planning for their festivities starts right after New Year’s.

“We can’t put this on without a lot of partners,” she said. “It does involve a fair amount of road closures, so we look to our friends in roads and the police…It’s a pretty significant piece of our work during the year.”

Fort Calgary President and CEO Jane Getzner is expecting at least 20,000 visitors this year and she said expect the crowds to spill out.

“All of these activities are all connected and so people tend to walk from Fort Calgary down 8th Avenue, so there’s wonderful group of massive people just moving through the downtown,” she said.

The East Village Canada Day Party is one of the events that continues to grow.

After 20,000 people last year attending the two blocks of activities down 9th Avenue S.E., this is the first year it has sold out space for vendors and Shelly Tupper with the East Village Neighbourhood Association said she expects it to grow in the future.

“The construction limits us to just the two blocks this year, a little over over two blocks. Next year we’re talking about having at least four blocks of vendors,” she said.

Along with the events in the southeast, here’s more to do on Canada Day:

-Heritage Park’s Dominion Day activities begin at 9:30 a.m. with pancakes, a parade, entertainment and a citizenship ceremony for 75 new Canadians.
-Prince’s Island Park actives begin at 10 a.m. with a Powwow and includes thousands of Calgarians creating the human flag
-Celebrate with Calgary Stampede mascot Harry the Horse at nearby Eau Claire Market, along with a special birthday cake and a scavenger hut courtesy of Downtown Calgary
-The Genesis Centre in Falconridge is inviting residents to mark the anniversary of Confederation and the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag starting at noon
-Chinatown’s activities begin a little later in the day at 3 p.m. and includes a lion dance a world record attempt for most people doing Tai Chi at one time
-The Riverfront Avenue Stage Show happens at the Harry Hays building beginning at 7 p.m. with music guests including Stars
-Wrap up the day with the Centre St. fireworks happening around 10:45 p.m.

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