Despite the rain and cool temperatures, hundreds came out to celebrate Canada Day. Celebrations were held at the Fred Salvador Field at Hollinger Park and Gillies Lake Conservation Area in Timmins on Friday for Canada’s 149th birthday.
The festivities got under way at 11a.m. with a walk from City Hall to the Schumacher Flag Park which was followed by the official opening ceremony that was scheduled for noon.
Dignitaries were be accompanied by the Royal Canadian Legion Br. 88 & Legion Br. 287 Colour Party and RCSC Corps TIGER Band. Dignitaries included Mayor Steve Black, Mattagami First Nation Chief Walter Naveau, MPP Gilles Bisson and MP Charlie Angus.
There was entertainment performing on the main stage most of the day; followed by the 2016 Summer Concert Series kick off at 6:45 p.m.
At Gillies Lake Conservation Area, the Boardwalk Rentals Kayaks, Pedal Boats, Sup’s was open at the beach area and hosting a BBQ as well as a scavenger hunt. Unfortunately, no one turned out to compete in the Paddleboat races.
While Timmins Transit was not running for access to public transit, Handy Transit services were offered to those who were registered users of the handy transit service and who had pre-registered for service.
A free shuttle service was provided by Leuschen Transportation from 10:45 a.m. to 1 a.m.
The pickup and drop off locations were the Whitney Arena, South Porcupine Legion, and McIntyre Area. There were also stops at the Timmins Square, Mountjoy Arena, Archie Dillon Sportsplex and the Confederation Multi Sports Complex.
The $20,000 fireworks display which was sponsored by Paul Woodward and 22 other local businesses was carried out from the Goldcorp Berm at 10:30 p.m.
