Happy 143rd birthday, Canada!
Canada Day 2010 was a day of celebration for the people in Red Deer. It was a day to reflect on all the freedoms and privileges we have in this great country of ours. It was a day to enjoy our beautiful Bower Ponds with family and friends.
Canada Day in Red Deer is organized by the Red Deer Cultural Heritage Society. Countless volunteers work together to make the day possible.
A huge thank you goes to the staff at Weatherford Canada Rentals for providing generators to power the food booths and light up the site; Heritage Canada for providing flags and pins and funding for the day; Servus Credit Union and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for providing funding for the day; Big 105 and the Drive for providing funding as well as our great emcees, Jordyn, Ryan and Shawn; the North Hill Inn for making a four-foot by eight-foot birthday cake with 143 strawberries for the crowds; and last but not least, the Red Deer Advocate for providing advertising.
A very special thank you to the staff of the City of Red Deer for the phenomenal job of preparing and cleaning the park, the stage, the playground, the walkways, etc. for the day.
Thank you to Red Deer Transit for providing the park and ride service all day.
Thank you to all the members of the RCMP who provided security and kept us safe all day; to all the members of Red Deer Search and Rescue for all your rescues; to HSE Integrated for providing medical assistance to the crowds; and to Kentwood Alliance Church members for the excellent cleanup of the site.
Thank you to all the cultural groups who provided a wide variety of ethnic foods for the day. The efforts of their many volunteers are much appreciated.
Thank you to our entertainers who kept the stage going continuously for more than 13 hours with talent from Central Alberta. You are all amazing!
Finally, thank you to the many volunteers who organized activities, provided information, distributed flags, pins, and tattoos, directed people, and especially provided smiles and best wishes to all the people. They really showed us that Red Deer has some of the best volunteers anywhere.
Our apologies to anyone that we inadvertently missed.
Edna Warriner
Volunteer Co-ordinator for Canada Day 2010