“Canada Day 2016 Celebrations: Our 149th Birthday Party”

           By Jeff Stackhouse
June 24^th 2016

July 1^st 2016 marks Canada’s 149^th Birthday. This year the top locations to celebrate are Mission, Abbotsford, and Vancouver.

Mission’s Canada Day celebrations kick off at 8:30 am and last until the fireworks at 10:30 pm. Entertainment on the gazebo stage runs all day and includes performances by Fraser Valley Fiddlers and Cloggers, Dry Rain Band, Fraser Valley Academy of Dance, the Punjabi Cultural Bangra Club, Mission Belly Dancers, and Mission’s Got Talent. Headliner Big City Soul will take the stage at 8:30 pm.

Abbotsford will celebrate Canada Day with a sports themed parade and celebration to build excitement for its hosting duties for the BC Summer Games this July. The parade kicks off at 11am and then people gather at Exhibition Park for great entertainment by T and J, Fionn Band, Jada Klein, Kiss Radio DJ and headliners, my friends, Vancouver rock band “Her Brothers”.  Fireworks will cap off the night at 10 pm.

“Her Brothers” is an excellent band that writes their own music and plays dramatic covers. If you have not heard of them yet, you certainly will. The last time they came to Abbotsford they performed at The Reach Art Gallery for “The Fraser Valley Biennale 2015” in which my art was selected as one of the top works in all of BC Canada. It was a huge honor to have them play my show.

Vancouver’s Canada Day celebrations at Canada Place will take us all back in time musically and artistically to the 1980’s. For the first time in 30 years the excitement of Expo ’86 is back with a parade, music, fireworks (10:30pm) and art that celebrates all things Expo!  Top legendary performers Red Robinson, Tiller’s Folly, Twin Kennedy, Barney Bentall, Sheena Easton and Aaron Pritchett will play 80’s hits.

Vancouver’s best visual artists will present newly found images of the ’86 World Fair.  I am extremely happy to announce I was chosen out of several thousand photographers to present my photography of Expo that will be showcased July 1^st at the original Expo 86 site, Canada Place.
Come out to any or all of these great fully accessible celebrations to wish our country a happy 149^th!!!