Last year the Rotary Club of Guelph was caught off guard by the pandemic and unable to deliver the Canada Day celebration in wanted to, but the chair of that committee says this year there will be lots to see and do on the first of July.
“I was supposed to run the event last year, which I guess I technically did, but with the onset of COVID we basically cancelled all of our plans and did a very limited virtual fireworks display in the end. That was sort of the extent of what we did last year,” said Matthew Webster, chair of Canada Day committee for the Rotary Club of Guelph.
Webster said the Rotary Club still won’t be able to offer the traditional Canada Day celebration at Riverside Park that people know and love.
“This year we have set out to plan something that can happen regardless of where we are in the COVID framework within the province,” said Webster. “Even if we are in Green we can only have 100 people congregating together. That would be our best case scenario.”
As chair of the committee, Webster began planning this year’s event by surveying Rotarians about what is important to them about the Canada Day celebration.
As a result of that survey, this year’s committee came up with three main pillars for the 2021 celebrations — fireworks, citizenship and a new idea called Canada Day in a Bag.
“We are going to have fireworks, which we have made the commitment to having that happen whether people can congregate or not,” said Webster. We are trying to put them in a location where many people in Guelph will be able to see them from their homes and we will be broadcasting them through our social streams so we can get it out to as many people as possible.”
The citizenship ceremony has been a fixture at the Canada Day celebrations in Guelph for many years. Webster said it is unclear at this point if a traditional citizenship ceremony can happen.
“It’s a really cool experience to see these people going through it. They are so excited to become Canadian and it makes you not take it so much for granted that you are Canadian already,” said Webster. “At the very least we are going to be doing a virtual reaffirmation ceremony that everyone will be able to partake in.”
The virtual presentation may include interviews with people who have become citizens in recent years, a musical component and allowing people to reaffirm their citizenship virtually.
Lastly, Rotary Club of Guelph is planning to offer a Canada Day in a Bag, which Guelphites can purchase that will include products from local businesses, a gift card for downtown businesses and a sapling for people to plant, among other things.
“One of the things we aren’t able to do anymore is our tree-planting event, so that’s something we thought was important,” said Webster of the sapling included in the bags.
“To recognize the Indigenous community we are in the process of getting some tote bags printed with the Canadian Native Flag,” said Webster. “It’s a really beautiful flag and it recognizes the Indigenous community and our Indigenous committee from the Rotary Club is going to put some literature in the bag that explains the Indigenous community’s relationship with Canada Day to help people be educated on it.”
That literature will be created through consultation with local First Nations communities.
"We plan to allow the indigenous community a opportunity to speak for themselves on their relationship with Canada Day," said Webster.
Also included will be things like temporary tattoos and Canadian flags, as well as a checklist for a scavenger hunt intended to get people outside while learning about the ways the Rotary Club has benefited Guelph over the years.
Webster said Canada Day used to be considered a fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Guelph, but over the years has become considered more as a community event.
“It’s not a big fundraiser for us because the event costs so much to put on that it becomes a community service,” he said. “There are a lot of people who feel an obligation in our club, and I feel that as well, is to do something for the community for Canada Day because we have done it for so long.”
Fortunately the club was not out of pocket too much after the 2020 event was cancelled.
“We only had one deposit that was non-refundable, but it was carried forward to this year,” said Webster. “We did spend a little money on a virtual event that didn't bring any money back, but it was a cost we were willing to incur to do something.”
