STITTSVILLE - The Fire Spinners brought a
fiery feature to this year’s Canada Day celebrations on Thursday, July 1 in
Stittsville. But they were just the appetizer – the real headliner was this
year’s fireworks display – 21 minutes of spectacular bursts lighting up the
sky, especially several that went on and on, exploding across the darkness.
What a fireworks display!
It certainly more than made
up for last year’s fireworks which, due to an announced technical problem, were
over way before they should have been. The Stittsville Village Association,
organizers of the Canada Day celebrations, promised that this year’s fireworks
display would make up for last year’s disappointment – and it sure did.
With five to six thousand eyeballs
watching, the Sweet Instincts Band led a countdown at 9:44 p.m. –
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1…and then the first firework soared into the sky, bursting
overhead, and the show was on.
A couple of the fireworks,
particularly one that went on cascading continuously and another which sparkled
continuously, brought forward applause from the onlooking crowd.
The show went on until 10:05
p.m. when a final flurry wrapped up the show. Applause rung out over the
Goulbourn Recreation Complex grounds as those in attendance realized that they
had just seen perhaps Stittsville’s most spectacular fireworks display ever.
The lead in to this year’s
fireworks display was also on the awesome side. While the Sweet Instincts Band
performed on stage, the Fire Spinners did their thing in front of the stage in
the growing darkness. Imagine batons twirling with flames on each end. Imagine
a fiery hula hoop being spun round a waist and then an ankle. Imagine a barbell
being tossed in the air, with flames soaring into the darkness. Imagine
juggling three batons with fire on their ends.
And as the Fire Spinners did
their thing with fire, living up to their name, the Sweet Instincts sang
“Taking Care of Business”, following it up with a Led Zepplin classic.
And then, with a final singing
of “O Canada” with the crowd and then the countdown, the fireworks took over.
This was all a fitting
conclusion to a day of patriotism and fun which started at 3 p.m. with a
ceremonial marching on of the colours to the stage area, with bagpiper Jordan McConnell
leading the way. Carleton-Mississippi Mills MP Gordon O’Connor carried the Canada flag
while local MPP Norm Sterling held the provincial Red Ensign flag. City of Ottawa Stittsville ward councillor Shad Qadri displayed
the city of Ottawa
flag while Legion members carried the Royal Canadian Legion flag, with the
whole colour party under the guidance of the Legion’s John Leroux as
sergeant-at-arms.
As red and white balloons
adorned the stage, along with mini Canada flags placed across its
front, Stittsville’s singing youth duo of Kyle and Joel Curry led in the
singing of O Canada, with many in the red-outfitted crowd singing along. The
Curry’s then followed this up by singing the song made famous by the Vancouver
Olympics, “I Believe.”
It was then time for some
official greetings, all brief, delivered by MP Gordon O’Connor, MPP Norm
Sterling and city councillor Shad Qadri.
Both MP O’Connor and MPP
Sterling reminded everyone that Canadians live in the greatest country in the
world. Councillor Qadri noted that Canada opens its doors to the world
and is unique in that once here, everyone contributes to the country.
On-stage entertainment
included the Stittsville community band, Highland dancer Michaela McConnell,
singers Kyle and Joel Curry, the Sue Fay Healy Irish dancers, the Stittsville
Dance Band, the Johnnie Conkaroo Band, the Rothwell & Mofatt Band and,
winding up, the Sweet Instincts Band. There were also a couple of martial arts
demonstrations, one by Therien Martial Arts and one by the Ottawa Academy of
Martial Arts.
But there was more than just
ongoing entertainment. The Stittsville Scouts were on hand with a number of
activities such as joisting and shooting rubber chickens with bows and arrows.
There were hay rides, with the wagon going around the adjacent Sacred Heart
High School track. There
was bingo under canvas, thanks to the Stittsville Legion. The Goulbourn Museum
was on hand with a Canada Day quiz and a craft activity involving hand
painting. Ray’s Reptiles were in attendance, with snakes and other reptiles,
always a hit with youngsters. There was a bounce and croquet golf. Amberwood
BBQ was on hand offering pork and chicken sandwiches and hot dogs.
Sunshine poured down on the
site all day long, although a rather constant wind blew until about 5 p.m. when
things started to become calmer.
Hundreds of glow sticks were
handed out free to those in attendance as the evening went along. When darkness
descended on the site, just before the fireworks, the glow sticks could be seen
throughout the crowd which had swelled to a couple of thousands by then.
Videographer Sandy Durocher of Stittsville showed live pictures
of the crowd on a giant impromptu screen which was set up beside the stage.
Those in attendance loved seeing their images on the giant screen as Sandy panned across the
crowd.
Classic Amusements was on
scene all day long, with a couple of midway rides and games. Even after the
fireworks, as the crowd was dispersing from the scene, the rides kept going.