A long, winding line stretched along the sidewalk of John Peake Park for the pancake breakfast that kicked off the start of Chestermere’s Canada Day celebrations.
In the gazebo were some North American/First Nations dances that each had a unique story. Garbed in their traditional costume the dancers swirled around the gazebo floor, brightly colored tassels whirling. Children of Chestermere were even asked to come up and join in one of the dances. A fabulous hoop dance was performed where creatures of the earth kept showing themselves in the dance for the spectators to spot. This is the 3rd year that these dancers have been performing in Chestermere.
A remote controlled seaplane even soared and looped over the festivities; delighting young plane and crafting enthusiasts.
In another section of the park was the Rabbit Hopping Races that are normally held in the Chestermere Recreation Centre for other events, including the Annual Fall Fair Red Ribbon Competition in September so if you slept away Canada Day and missed out on the bunnies make sure you circle September 12th and 13th on your calendars for your next chance. Kids, parents, and fancifully drooling canines crowded along the edges of the grassy arena fence to cheer on their favorite rabbits, and in some cases to chuckle at the obstinacy, laziness, and fantastic hairstyles.
And for all you rabbit racing enthusiasts here are the winners of the races:
Time Trial: Babbitty Rabbitty won, doing the fastest single trial in 9.78 seconds. Babbitty also won the Side by Side Elimination, beating Popcorn 3-0 in the final.
Classic Hopping: Tesla took the win, beating Popcorn by less than a second. Tesla also took the High Jump, being the only rabbit to clear 8 bars.
Long Jump: Popcorn edged Amelia, as both rabbits cleared 8 bars, with Popcorn winning on the fouls count back.
A horse drawn wagon and surrey bikes of different sizes were seen all over John Peake park on Canada Day near the Library where different stalls were selling games, crafts, soaps, quilts, and other hand-made, novelty items. Congratulations to all the surrey bike riders who managed to pedal up the hill by the Town Hall; it’s a very arduous climb but great job for sticking to it.
From 6-8 pm Latin dance hopefuls gathered at the Town Hall for beginner salsa and bachata lessons to prepare them for the Salsa at the Lake Social Dance.
By 8 pm the salsa music was pulsing through the air, and children were jigging around on the wooden dance floor set up on the gazebo floor. At about 8:20 the adults swept onto the floor to show the kids how the salsa is really done. All $10 admissions from this dance will be going toward the Alberta Cancer Foundation. Salsa for a cause!
Thank you to everyone who made this celebration possible. We look forward to seeing you all again to celebrate the next Canada Day.
